Transactions on Cognitive Systems, Dataflows and Computing

About the journal

Aims and scope

TCSDC aims to disseminate impactful work that helps the community design, evaluate, and deploy systems that are:

• Cognitively capable (reasoning, learning, decision-making)

• Dataflow-aware (streaming, pipelines, event-driven processing)

• Computationally scalable and efficient (distributed systems, cloud/edge/HPC)

Scope (topics include, but are not limited to)

Cognitive systems & AI

• Cognitive architectures, reasoning and planning, knowledge representation

• Human–AI collaboration, decision support, interactive intelligence

• Explainable and trustworthy AI, robustness, model monitoring and governance

Dataflows & data-centric computing

• Dataflow models, orchestration, workflow optimization

• Stream processing, event processing, real-time analytics

• Data engineering for ML systems (feature pipelines, MLOps, lineage)

Modern computing

• Distributed systems, cloud-native and serverless computing

• Edge/fog computing, IoT and cyber-physical systems

• High-performance computing, heterogeneous systems, energy-efficient computing

Security, privacy, and reliability

• Privacy-preserving analytics and federated learning

• Secure architectures, adversarial resilience, reliability engineering

Applications

• Smart cities, healthcare, industrial systems, transportation, energy, scientific computing

Out of scope Manuscripts that lack clear novelty, rigorous evaluation, or relevance to the journal’s focus areas may be declined during editorial screening.

Peer review

TCSDC uses a double-blind peer review process to support fair, rigorous evaluation.

Review Process

1. Editorial screening for scope, clarity, baseline quality, and policy compliance.

2. External review by independent experts (typically at least two reviewers).

3. Editorial decision based on reviewer feedback and editorial assessment:

   • Accept

   • Minor revision

   • Major revision

   • Reject

Review criteria

Reviewers are asked to evaluate:

• Originality and significance

• Technical correctness and methodological rigor

• Quality of validation (experiments, proofs, benchmarks, comparisons)

• Reproducibility and transparency of reporting

• Clarity, structure, and completeness

• Ethical compliance (data, consent, conflicts, integrity)

Confidentiality and conflicts

• Manuscripts under review are treated as confidential.

• Reviewers and editors must declare conflicts of interest and recuse themselves when appropriate.

Open access

TCSDC is an open access journal: published articles are freely available online for anyone to read.

APC policy

TCSDC does not charge any Article Processing Charge (APC) for submissions or accepted articles until 31 December 2028.
Authors can publish open access during this period without fees.

Ethics and policies

Ethics in publishing

TCSDC maintains strong policies to support research integrity and reader trust. These policies cover:

• Originality and plagiarism prevention

• Authorship and contributorship standards

• Competing interests and funding transparency

• Ethical approval and consent (where applicable)

• Data availability and reproducibility expectations

• Image integrity and responsible figure preparation

• Responsible use and disclosure of generative AI tools

• Corrections, retractions, and editorial actions when needed

The journal may perform editorial checks (including similarity screening) to support these standards.

TCSDC expects all parties—authors, reviewers, and editors—to follow recognized ethical standards.

Research integrity

Submissions must not include:

• Plagiarism (including unattributed reuse of text, ideas, figures, or results)

• Fabrication (inventing data or results)

• Falsification (manipulating methods, data, images, or outcomes)

• Misleading selective reporting that changes the meaning of results

Human participants, privacy, and consent

If research involves humans or identifiable personal data, authors must:

• Obtain appropriate ethics approval (e.g., IRB/ethics committee) where required

• Obtain informed consent when required

• Protect privacy and confidentiality

• Remove identifying information unless explicit publication consent is provided

Animal research (when applicable)

Animal studies must:

• Follow relevant welfare regulations and standards

• Include ethical approval and key husbandry/welfare details

Dual-use and potential misuse

If findings could be misused to cause harm, authors should clearly describe safeguards, limitations, and responsible disclosure considerations. The journal may request additional review or decline publication if risks outweigh benefits.

Submission declaration

By submitting to TCSDC, authors confirm that:

• The manuscript is original and not under consideration elsewhere

• All authors have read and approved the submitted version

• The work is presented honestly, with accurate methods and results

• All necessary permissions, approvals, and consents have been obtained

• Any closely related manuscripts, preprints, or overlapping content are disclosed

• All funding sources and competing interests are declared

Authorship

Authorship should reflect meaningful intellectual contributions.

Authorship criteria

An author should have made a substantial contribution to one or more of the following:

• Conception and design

• Methods development or core software contribution

• Data analysis and interpretation

• Drafting the manuscript or critically revising it for important intellectual content

All authors must:

• Approve the final version

• Agree to be accountable for the integrity of the work

Acknowledgements

Individuals who contributed in limited ways (e.g., general supervision, administrative support, language editing, funding acquisition only) should be recognized in Acknowledgements, not listed as authors.

Changes to authorship

TCSDC expects authorship to be finalized before submission.

If a change is requested after submission (adding/removing/reordering authors), the journal requires:

• A written explanation for the change

• Written confirmation from all listed authors

• Written confirmation from any author being added or removed

Changes after acceptance are only considered in exceptional cases and require editorial approval.

Declaration of competing interests

Authors must declare any relationships or interests that could be perceived to influence the work, including:

• Employment, consultancies, honoraria

• Stock or equity interests

• Patents or patent applications

• Paid expert testimony

• Personal, professional, or institutional relationships relevant to the study

If there are no competing interests (copy/paste)

Competing interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Funding sources

All financial support must be disclosed.

Include:

• Funding organization(s)

• Grant number(s) (if applicable)

• The role of the funder (if any) in design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, writing, or publication decisions

If there is no funding (copy/paste)

Funding: This research received no external funding.

Declaration of generative AI use

TCSDC supports responsible use of generative AI tools with full transparency.

Core requirements

• Generative AI tools must not be listed as authors.

• Authors remain fully responsible for accuracy, originality, proper attribution, and compliance with ethical standards.

• Any meaningful use of generative AI must be disclosed in the manuscript.

Recommended statements (copy/paste one)

No use

Generative AI statement: The authors declare that no generative AI tools were used in the preparation of this manuscript.

Language improvement

Generative AI statement: Generative AI tools were used to improve language and readability. The authors reviewed and edited the content and take full responsibility for the final manuscript.

Code assistance

Generative AI statement: Generative AI tools were used to assist with code drafting/debugging. All outputs were verified by the authors, who take full responsibility for the work.

Preprints

TCSDC supports preprints to accelerate research sharing.

Authors may post manuscripts on reputable preprint servers before submission and during review, provided that:

• The preprint is clearly marked as not peer reviewed

• Any preprint is disclosed at submission

• After publication, authors should link the preprint to the final article (using the DOI)

Use of inclusive language

TCSDC encourages inclusive, respectful language that promotes equity and avoids bias.

Authors should:

• Avoid stereotypes and language that implies superiority of any group

• Use people-first language where appropriate (e.g., “people with…”)

• Describe demographic attributes only when scientifically relevant

• Use precise, respectful terms consistent with community standards

Reporting sex- and gender-based analyses

Where relevant, authors should report:

• Whether sex and/or gender were considered in study design

• How sex and/or gender were measured or recorded

• Whether analyses were stratified or adjusted

• How findings may differ across sex and/or gender groups

If not applicable, authors should state so and briefly explain why.

Jurisdictional claims

TCSDC remains neutral with respect to jurisdictional claims in maps, institutional affiliations, and territorial descriptions. Authors should ensure geographic references are presented in a neutral, factual manner.

Writing and formatting

File format

TCSDC accepts submissions in standard scholarly formats:

• Microsoft Word (.doc/.docx)

• PDF for initial review is acceptable when generated from Word and clearly legible

Figures may be embedded for review and also uploaded as separate high-quality files.

Title page

The title page should include:

• Article title (concise, informative)

• Full author names

• Affiliations for each author

• Corresponding author email address

• ORCID iDs (recommended)

• Funding statement

• Competing interests statement

• Generative AI statement (when applicable)

For double-blind review, the journal may require:

• A separate title page with author details, and

• An anonymized main manuscript.

Abstract

The abstract should be a standalone summary that typically includes:

• Background/motivation

• Objective

• Methods

• Key results

• Conclusion and significance

Avoid undefined abbreviations and avoid citations unless essential.

Keywords

Provide 3–8 keywords that reflect the core contribution and improve discoverability. Use specific technical terms rather than broad categories.

Highlights

Highlights help readers quickly understand the contribution.

Guidance:

• Provide 3–5 bullet points

• Focus on what is new and what was demonstrated

• Keep each bullet short and specific

Graphical abstract

A graphical abstract (optional) is a single visual that summarizes the core idea or workflow.

Best practices:

• Minimal text, clear flow, high contrast

• No exaggerated claims

• Must accurately represent results and methods

Math formulae

• Use standard mathematical notation and define symbols at first appearance.

• Number equations that are referenced.

• Use an editable equation format (Word equation editor), not images of equations.

Tables

Tables should:

• Be editable (not images)

• Have clear titles and column headings

• Define abbreviations in footnotes

• Avoid repeating information already shown in figures

Figures, images and artwork

Figures must be:

• Clear, legible, and consistent in style

• Provided at sufficient resolution for publication

• Accompanied by descriptive captions

• Faithful to the underlying data (no misleading manipulation)

If any figure contains previously published content, authors must provide permission and proper attribution.

Generative AI and Figures, images and artwork

If generative AI is used to create or modify any visual content, authors must:

• Disclose what was generated/modified and why

• Ensure the visual does not fabricate or misrepresent results

• Retain original source files and be prepared to provide them if requested

• Avoid AI modification of scientific/medical images in a way that changes interpretation

Recommended statement (copy/paste):

AI in figures: Generative AI tools were used to create/modify Figures [X–Y]. The authors confirm that the visuals accurately reflect the underlying methods and results and take full responsibility for the content.

Supplementary material

Supplementary material may include:

• Extended methods

• Additional experiments or ablations

• Additional figures and tables

• Appendices and technical proofs

• Extra implementation details

All supplementary items must be clearly labeled and referenced in the manuscript.

Video

Video submissions are welcome when they enhance understanding (e.g., system demos, robotics behavior, interactive visualizations).

Videos should:

• Include a brief title and description

• Avoid copyrighted material without permission

• Respect privacy and consent requirements

Research data

TCSDC encourages authors to share data, code, and materials to support transparency and reproducibility, when ethically and legally possible.

If public sharing is not possible (privacy, contractual restrictions, security concerns), authors should explain the restriction and, where feasible, describe controlled access conditions.

Data statement

A Data Availability statement is required.

Copy/paste options:

Public repository

Data availability: The data supporting this study are publicly available at [repository name], [persistent link/DOI].

Available on request

Data availability: The data supporting this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Not available

Data availability: The data supporting this study are not publicly available due to privacy/ethical/commercial restrictions.

Data linking

Authors are encouraged to:

• Use persistent identifiers (e.g., DOI) for datasets and software

• Cite datasets and software formally where possible

• Link data/code in the Data Availability statement

Research Elements

Alongside the article, authors may share research outputs such as:

• Datasets

• Code/software packages

• Protocols or detailed methods

• Multimedia (audio/video), if relevant

These elements should be clearly described, appropriately licensed, and referenced from the manuscript.

Co-submission of related data, methods or protocols

If you submit related materials (data, methods, or protocols) with your manuscript:

• Ensure titles, authorship, and versioning align

• Provide persistent links/DOIs when available

• Cross-reference them clearly in the manuscript

Article structure

A typical research article structure includes:

1. Title page

2. Abstract + keywords

3. Introduction

4. Related work (optional)

5. Methods / Materials

6. Experiments / Evaluation

7. Results

8. Discussion

9. Conclusion

10. Declarations (funding, competing interests, generative AI, data availability)

11. References

12. Appendices / Supplementary material (optional)

References

References must be accurate and complete.

Minimum expectations:

• Every in-text citation appears in the reference list and vice versa

• Prefer primary sources over secondary citations

• Provide DOIs where available

• Avoid irrelevant citations and excessive self-citation

Submitting your manuscript

Submission checklist

Manuscripts are submitted through the journal’s online submission system. During submission you will provide:

• Manuscript files (main text, figures, supplementary files)

• Author and affiliation details

• Required declarations (funding, competing interests, generative AI, data availability)

• Suggested reviewers

Before submitting, confirm that you have:

• A manuscript that fits the journal’s aims and scope

• A title page with author details (and an anonymized manuscript if required for double-blind review)

• An abstract and keywords

• Funding and competing interests statements

• A generative AI use statement (or “no AI used”)

• A Data Availability statement

• High-quality figures/tables with captions

• Permissions and credit lines for any copyrighted content

• References checked for accuracy and completeness

After receiving a final decision

Article Transfer Service

If accepted

You will be asked to provide final production-ready files and complete the publishing agreement and license selection. You will also receive page proofs for review before publication.

If revision is requested

Submit:

• A revised manuscript

• A point-by-point response to reviewer comments

• A clear description of what changed (and why)

If rejected

A rejection decision is final unless there is clear evidence of a procedural error. Authors may submit a substantially new version as a new manuscript when appropriate.

Article Transfer Service

If a submission is not suitable for TCSDC, the editorial team may recommend a transfer to a more appropriate venue to reduce resubmission effort. Transfers are optional and do not guarantee acceptance elsewhere.

Publishing agreement

Upon acceptance, authors complete a publishing agreement that defines:

• Publication rights and responsibilities

• The selected open access license

• Permissions and warranties regarding originality and third-party content

License options

To ensure articles are free to share and maximize reuse while preserving attribution, TCSDC recommends publishing under:

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

Open access

All TCSDC articles are published open access and are free to read online.
No APC is charged until 31 December 2028.
Articles are published under a Creative Commons license to allow sharing and reuse with attribution.

Permission for copyrighted works

If you include any third-party material (figures, tables, images, large text extracts, instruments, or datasets you do not own), you must:

• Obtain written permission from the rights holder before publication

• Provide a credit line in the caption/footnote

• Ensure reuse is compatible with the article’s license

Authors are responsible for permission fees, if any.

Proof correction

The corresponding author will receive proofs to review before publication. Proof correction is intended for:

• Typographical and formatting errors

• Minor clarifications

Major content changes at proof stage may require editorial approval.

Share Link

After publication, authors may share the official article link widely (website, institutional pages, repositories, and social media). The recommended sharing method is always the DOI link to the final version.

Responsible sharing

Authors are encouraged to promote their work responsibly by:

• Sharing the DOI link to the final article

• Depositing permitted versions in repositories (e.g., institutional repositories)

• Sharing supporting data/code in trusted repositories where possible

• Avoiding posting content in ways that conflict with third‑party permissions

Getting help and support

Author support

For questions about suitability, submission requirements, ethics, policies, or technical issues, please contact the journal’s editorial office through the website contact channel.

TCSDC supports authors by providing guidance on:

• Manuscript preparation and policy compliance

• Required declarations (funding, competing interests, data availability, AI use)

• Peer review and revision expectations

• Production steps after acceptance (license, proofs, publication)