Manuscript Checker for Independent Researchers
Submit with confidence without institutional support or in-house editorial review.
Check my manuscript, it's freeNo account required · Results in <2 minutes · PDF, Word & LaTeX
What challenges do independent researchers face at submission?
Without a university affiliation, independent researchers may have limited access to journal style guides, no institutional submission history to learn from, and no colleagues to do internal peer review. They may also face scrutiny from journals that require institutional email addresses or author affiliations. Correctly formatting author metadata (affiliations, ORCID, corresponding author contact) without institutional support is a common source of errors.
How we help independent researchers
Author affiliation and metadata completeness check
Verify that author affiliation fields are complete and correctly formatted, even for independent or unaffiliated authors.
Independent researcher affiliation format validation
Check that independent researcher affiliations are formatted acceptably for major journals that do not require institutional addresses.
Reference access and format check
Validate reference list completeness and citation format without assuming access to institutional reference management tools.
Declaration completeness
Confirm all required declarations are present, especially relevant when the research is self-funded.
Submission readiness report
Receive a prioritized report of issues to fix before submission, replacing the institutional editorial review that independent researchers lack.
Checks relevant to this topic
Part of our 80+ automated checks
Author affiliation completeness
All authors have affiliations listed, with correct formatting for independent researchers.
ORCID
ORCID iDs present for all authors.
Corresponding author email
Valid corresponding author email address present.
Funding statement (or 'none' declaration)
Funding acknowledgment or declaration of no funding present.
Conflict of interest
Conflict of interest declaration present for all authors.
Abstract completeness
Abstract is complete and covers all required structural elements.
Reference completeness
All in-text citations present in the reference list with complete bibliographic details.
The practical edge your peers already use
Across disciplines and career stages, researchers reduce bottlenecks and submit with confidence: clearer drafts, easier guideline compliance, and less back and forth with co‑authors and reviewers.
I use it to review my students' papers. It instantly highlights typos, missing references, and unclear sections, helping me focus my feedback on the quality of the research instead of surface errors.
Ilyass
Professor in Mechanical Engineering, ÉTS Montréal
I relied on it throughout my thesis to strengthen my writing. It suggested clearer phrasing, improved flow between sections, and ensured my references were complete before the final deadline.
Manon
Master's Student in Speech Therapy
I write research in both Portuguese and English, and it adapts perfectly to either language. It provided precise feedback in Portuguese, helping me maintain academic tone and consistency across my drafts.
Afonso
PhD Candidate, UFPE
It gave excellent advice on how to rephrase and present ideas more clearly and concisely. The suggestions helped me refine my arguments and make my research more impactful.
Félix
Postdoc Researcher, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology
A round of suggestions helped to generally refine the text of my paper and, moreover, to present some of its key points in a more focused form.
Oleg
Professor, Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University
I use it to review my students' papers. It instantly highlights typos, missing references, and unclear sections, helping me focus my feedback on the quality of the research instead of surface errors.
Ilyass
Professor in Mechanical Engineering, ÉTS Montréal
I relied on it throughout my thesis to strengthen my writing. It suggested clearer phrasing, improved flow between sections, and ensured my references were complete before the final deadline.
Manon
Master's Student in Speech Therapy
I write research in both Portuguese and English, and it adapts perfectly to either language. It provided precise feedback in Portuguese, helping me maintain academic tone and consistency across my drafts.
Afonso
PhD Candidate, UFPE
It gave excellent advice on how to rephrase and present ideas more clearly and concisely. The suggestions helped me refine my arguments and make my research more impactful.
Félix
Postdoc Researcher, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology
A round of suggestions helped to generally refine the text of my paper and, moreover, to present some of its key points in a more focused form.
Oleg
Professor, Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Many journals accept submissions from unaffiliated or independently affiliated researchers. Most major journals do not require an institutional affiliation as a condition of submission, though some may ask for an institutional email address.
Most journals do not require an institutional affiliation as a condition of submission. For the affiliation field, independent researchers can list their independent research organization, their city and country, or state 'Independent Researcher' depending on the journal's requirements.
Independent researchers commonly miss ORCID iDs, funding declarations (including declarations of self-funding or no external funding), conflict of interest statements, and correctly formatted affiliations. CheckMyManuscript flags all of these.
CheckMyManuscript provides automated compliance review that replaces some of the institutional editorial support that independent researchers lack. For scientific peer feedback, consider preprint servers like bioRxiv or SSRN, or communities like ResearchGate.