Contributor FAQ

I want to submit a manuscript but I can’t decide which of the formats—Research Article, Research Report, Brief Report—is the best one to use to describe my study. Are there any guidelines? Yes, one good rule is to use the briefest format that allows a compelling account of your work. Research Articles, Research Reports, and Short Reports are limited to 4000, 2500, and 1000 words, respectively. If, for example, your first draft has 2700 words, try to eliminate 200 words so that the manuscript can be submitted as a Research Report. And, if you find that your first draft is a few hundred words under the limit (e.g., 3600 words for a Research Article) and covers all the necessary points, please resist the temptation to add words. Editors, reviewers, and readers all prefer manuscripts that are to the point.

Generally speaking, a Research Report or Short Report is the preferred format for a manuscript describing a single experiment with straightforward methods and analyses. The Research Article is the appropriate format for a manuscript that includes findings from multiple experiments or that has complex methods or analyses.

Are the word limits real or simply suggestions? They are real. Articles published in Psychological Science are intended to communicate groundbreaking findings in straightforward, economical prose; consequently, authors are expected to adhere to the word limit for each format. Manuscripts that exceed limits are returned.

What counts in the word limit and what is ignored? The main text counts, as do footnotes, acknowledgments, and appendices. The abstract, References, material in tables and figure legends do not count. However, there are separate limits for the number of words in the Abstract (150) and the number of items in the References (40 for Research Articles, 30 for Research Reports). Although there are no set limits for figures and tables, most published Research Articles have no more than four figures and tables (combined); most published Research Reports have no more than three figures and tables (combined).

Does Psychological Science have special requirements regarding style? Psychological Science generally follows the style of the APA Publication Manual (5th edition). You are encouraged to consult that document for guidelines. Several stylistic elements are particularly noteworthy:

  1. Description of participants—this should include how participants were selected and major demographic information.
  2. References—these should be done in APA style.
  3. Figures and tables—these should appear at the end of the manuscript, not embedded in the main text.
  4. Figure captions—these should be brief but descriptive. Paragraph-length (or longer) figure captions are not appropriate; key details regarding methods or results should appear in the main text, not the figure caption.

For additional information regarding style and other submission requirements, please read the information to contributors that appears inside the back cover of every issue and the APS web site.

I have some supplementary material to accompany my manuscript. If my manuscript is accepted, can this material be published online? Yes, we allow for online publication of supplementary material (sometimes referred to as supporting information). This information appears on the publisher’s website and is linked to the article.

We take the adjective “supplementary” seriously. This should be the sort of material that may enhance the reader’s understanding of an article but is not essential for understanding the article. (In other words, supplementary material cannot be used to finesse word limits!) Common examples of supplementary materials would be lists of stimuli, additional analyses, or videos.

If you intend to upload such material, please read Guidelines for Online Publication of Supplementary Material for Psychological Science, which describes conventions for naming files and for citing supplementary materials in the manuscript. Also, please go to http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/bauthor/suppmat.asp for additional information, including a description of the types and sizes of files that are supported. Files containing supplementary material should be uploaded to Manuscript Central when the manuscript proper is submitted.

I have a manuscript that I’m thinking about submitting to Psychological Science. If I send an abstract, will you read it and tell me if it’s a likely candidate for Psychological Science? No. Given the volume of submissions that we receive, we simply don’t have the time or the resources to provide feedback prior to submission. As described in the Information to Contributors, “Psychological Science encourages submission of papers from all fields — including cognitive science, neuroscience, linguistics, and social sciences — that are relevant to psychological research, theory, or applications.” If your manuscript fits this description, then we encourage you to submit it.

The Information to Contributors says that “Preference is given to articles…that are written to be intelligible to a wide range of readers.” Can you tell me more about the readership?Psychological Science is distributed to nearly 800 libraries around the world and nearly 3000 libraries belong to consortia that have access to Psychological Science. In addition, more than 20,000 APS members receive the journal. Most have Ph.D.’s, but a substantial number (18%) are graduate students. Personality/Social, Clinical, Cognitive, Developmental, Experimental, and General psychology are the most common topical areas reported by members. Finally, 86% live in North America, 10% in Europe, and 2% in Asia. Because of the international nature of the readership, authors should avoid writing that assumes the reader is a citizen of or intimately familiar with the author’s country (e.g., avoid a phrase such as “participants were students at a Midwestern university”).

It is possible to include color in figures? Yes. Articles that are published can include color in their figures. However, the use of color is very expensive--printing color images requires expensive inks and a complex manufacturing process. These incur costs several times greater than those of black and white images. Consequently, authors are allowed one free color figure per article; subsequent color figures cost $250 each.

We also allow authors to use color images in the version of the manuscript that is published online but black and white images in the print version. There is no charge for this option. However, because this increases workload during production, we (a) discourage gratuitous use of color in figures (e.g., presenting bar graphs in blue, where the color provides no unique information), and (b) require that authors provide only one version of every figure—one that will be suitable in color and when gray-scaled for print (e.g., in bar and line graphs, this means that color alone cannot be used to distinguish different graphic elements; texture or shape would need to be added).

Is there any limit to the number of manuscripts that I can submit to Psychological Science? Yes. Since 2004, Psychological Science has had the policy that the editorial staff will not consider papers by the same (set of) author(s) on what the editors consider to be the same topic at the same time. In other words, if Smith and Jones submit a manuscript on modality effects on free recall, Jones and Smith should not submit a manuscript on modality effects on cued recall until review of the first manuscript is complete. In addition, when a manuscript has been accepted for publication, the editors will not consider another submission from that (group of) author(s) on that topic for six months.

Of course, in a true free market of ideas, this policy would be unconscionable. But Psychological Science is seriously constrained in the number of articles that can be published and this policy is designed to ensure that many different authors appear in the journal’s pages. And editors attempt to follow this policy sensibly, not rigidly (e.g., in deciding whether two manuscripts have the same authors or address the same topic).

Is a cover letter necessary? For revised submissions, a cover letter is often useful in explaining how an author has addressed concerns that were raised by the editor and by reviewers. However, for new submissions a cover letter is not needed. All of the necessary information that an author might include in a cover letter (e.g., that the research complies with ethical guidelines and that the manuscript is not under review elsewhere, suggestions for reviewers) is requested by Manuscript Central when an author uploads a manuscript. Sometimes authors include long descriptions about why their submission is ideal for Psychological Science. Frankly, editors don’t pay much attention to this material because it’s the manuscript that needs to make a compelling case, not the cover letter.

I see that the web site allows authors to suggest preferred reviewers. Is it really okay to list people here? Yes, definitely. Authors often are familiar with experts in their area of research and editors appreciate the suggestions. Of course, editors do not always use the suggested reviewers, because the individuals have reviewed for the journal recently, they are unavailable, their previous reviews have not been sufficiently helpful, or they appear to have a conflict of interest (i.e., suggested reviewers should not be a recent mentor or student, a recent collaborator, or a colleague).

How quickly are manuscripts reviewed? The Editor and one Associate Editor read each new submission to decide whether it is likely to be competitive for publication. Within two weeks of submission, you will be notified by e-mail that your manuscript either (a) has been declined without review or (b) has been sent out for review. For manuscripts that are reviewed, you can expect a decision within 60 days of manuscript submission.

What is the acceptance rate at Psychological Science? We expect to receive 2,500 submissions in 2010. About 65% of them will be declined without review. Of the 900 that are reviewed, about 300 will be accepted, which makes for a 12% acceptance rate.

How many manuscripts are declined without review? Approximately 65% of submitted manuscripts are declined without review, which means that about 1,600  submissions are not sent out for review. But, given the number of submissions to Psychological Science, this also means that we review approximately 900 submissions, which is more than almost all journals in the field.

The substantive answer is that manuscripts are declined without review because they do not meet the editorial goals of Psychological Science. We look for manuscripts that report innovative findings that are of general theoretical significance or of broad interest across specialties of psychology and related fields, and that are written to be intelligible to a wide range of readers. Of course, not all accepted manuscripts meet all of these goals. However, manuscripts are most likely to be declined without review when they are written poorly, directed at a small segment of the Psychological Science readership, and report findings that represent an incremental contribution to the literature.

How many manuscripts are declined without review? Approximately 65% of submitted manuscripts are declined without review, which means that about 1,600 submissions are not sent out for review. But, given the number of submissions to Psychological Science, this also means that we review approximately 900 submissions, which is more than almost all journals in the field.

What kinds of manuscripts are most likely to be accepted for publication? We hope to publish manuscripts that are innovative and ground breaking, and that address issues likely to interest a wide range of scientists in the field. Before submitting a manuscript, ask yourself the following question (which we encourage reviewers to use in evaluating manuscripts): “If you’re a ‘specialty area-A’ psychologist, do the findings reported in the manuscript represent some of the best and most exciting work in specialty area-A, the sort of results that you’d be excited to mention to your colleagues in specialty areas B, C, and D or colleagues in areas related to psychology?” If the answer is “no,” then a specialty journal is probably a more appropriate outlet.

I’ve fixed some of the problems identified by the reviewers and want to resubmit. May I? Psychological Science has long had the policy that resubmission is by invitation only. In other words, you should submit a revised version only when the action editor’s decision letter explicitly indicated that he or she would like to consider a revised manuscript. Uninvited revisions are usually declined immediately.
This policy may seem harsh but is essential given the number of manuscripts submitted to Psychological Science. That is, of the (approximately) 2,200 manuscripts that will be declined in 2010, most of them could be improved by some combination of rewriting, additional analyses, or additional data. But the editorial team simply could not manage 2,200+ revised manuscripts on top of the 2,500 new submissions that are expected.

I’ve had a manuscript accepted for publication in Psychological Science. Can I place a version on my website and with my university’s research article repository? The version that was submitted may be placed on the web or with the university repository immediately; 12 months after publication, you may do this with the final, accepted version of the article

I have a question that’s not listed here. How can I get an answer? Send an e-mail to Psychologicalscience@psych.purdue.edu. We’ll answer promptly.