jmf-workflow

JMF Workflow Router (jmf-workflow)

The orchestrator for a JMF submission. Figure out the stage and the format (full article vs. brief

report), then send the user to the matching skill. JMF publishes family-science research across

sociology, psychology, demography, and family studies — the router keeps the paper pointed at a

families-and-close-relationships contribution, not a generic social-science result.

When to trigger

• Starting a new JMF paper and unsure where to begin
• Mid-project and unsure which skill applies next
• Deciding between a full article and a brief report
• Returning with a decision letter (route to jmf-rebuttal)

First question: which format?

| Situation | Format | Route to |

|-----------|--------|----------|

| Full original study, broad family-science significance | Article (≤ ~35 pp.) | normal pipeline below |

| Focused single contribution, replication, innovative design, or important null finding | Brief Report (≤ ~25 pp.) | normal pipeline, tighter scope |

| Re-running / reassessing a published family finding | Replication (often a brief report) | jmf-research-design + jmf-transparency-and-data-policy |

| Prospective design, not yet collected/analyzed | Preregister / consider OSF | jmf-research-design (PAP) early |

> Brief reports are not "short articles you padded down" — they are crisp, complete contributions.

Routing map (stage → skill)

Idea / fit?                        → jmf-topic-selection
Where does it sit in the field?    → jmf-literature-positioning
What's the framework?              → jmf-theory-and-conceptual-framework
Is the design defensible?          → jmf-research-design
Are the analyses sound?            → jmf-data-analysis
Are the exhibits clear?            → jmf-tables-figures
Does it read in modified APA?      → jmf-writing-style
Repro package & data statement?    → jmf-transparency-and-data-policy
How will it be judged?             → jmf-review-process
Ready to submit?                   → jmf-submission
Got a revise-and-resubmit?         → jmf-rebuttal

Default order

`topic-selection → literature-positioning → theory-and-conceptual-framework → research-design →

data-analysis → tables-figures → writing-style → transparency-and-data-policy → review-process →

submission → rebuttal`

Iterate: most papers loop framework ↔ design ↔ analysis several times before writing-style.

Anti-patterns

• Treating JMF like a general sociology or psychology journal — the contribution must advance **family

science** (families, couples, parents, children, kin)

• Ignoring the unit of analysis (individual vs. dyad vs. family) when picking the next skill
• Padding a complete focused study into a full article when a brief report would land harder
• Skipping the data availability statement and repro package until the end

Router pass for Journal of Marriage and Family

Treat this skill as an executable review pass, not a prose hint. First lock the family process, population/sample frame, measurement validity, and longitudinal or comparative leverage; then judge whether the current manuscript answers the venue's real reader: family scholars who inspect measurement, household process, longitudinal design, and implications for family theory.

• Do the pass: Run the pack as a sequence: fit gate, evidence gate, writing gate, source-map gate, and final output contract; stop when a gate lacks evidence.
• Return a ledger: give claim / evidence / risk / manuscript location rows, so the next agent can edit rather than rediscover the issue.
• Sibling guard: compare against Demography for population-process emphasis, Social Forces for general sociology, Child Development for child-centered outcomes; if a sibling owns the contribution, recommend re-routing before polishing format.
• Stop condition: do not give submission-ready advice until the pack's resources/official-source-map.md has been checked for volatile rules and the manuscript has one concrete fix for the largest venue-specific risk.

Output format

【Stage】idea / positioning / framework / design / analysis / exhibits / writing / transparency / review / submit / rebut
【Format】Article / Brief Report / Replication
【Route to】jmf-<skill>
【Why】one line
【Then】the next skill after that

Supplementary resources

• [../../resources/external_tools.md](../../resources/external_tools.md) — family-science data + software by method
• [../../resources/official-source-map.md](../../resources/official-source-map.md) — official JMF/NCFR/Wiley URLs behind every fact in this pack