Submissions Guidelines

About

Open Mind provides a forum for two types of submissions: original Research Reports on all aspects of cognitive science, emphasizing new discoveries that advance the field or definitive contributions that settle an on-going controversy, or Perspectives that are a mix of short review and opinion piece on a critical issue in the field that highlights a new conceptual or methodological approach. Open Mind is a diamond OA publication; there is no Article Processing Charge (APC). 

We encourage the inclusion of Supplementary Materials as a complement to Research Reports. These Supplementary Materials will be linked to the main manuscript and should be smaller than 500KB in size. For larger data sets (e.g. video files), they can be freely archived in the Open Mind repository within The Dataverse Project system once a manuscript has been accepted for publication.

Submission

Manuscript submission will be handled by the Janeway web-based system.

We will conduct the manuscript review process, for both Research Reports and Perspectives, using “blinded” authorship and anonymous reviews. Although there is no perfect solution to ensure an unbiased review process, we believe that a legitimate attempt to evaluate the science, rather than the scientists, is a minimal step toward achieving that end.

To simplify the submission process, manuscripts can be uploaded in Word or LaTeX format as a single file. They will then be converted to a PDF for the review process. Once a manuscript is accepted, detailed instructions will be provided to upload final files in the proper format for publication by the MIT Press.

All Research Reports should conform to the format and style of the American Psychological Association as specified in the APA Publication Manual (7th edition). Be sure that your manuscript has page numbers, either in the header or at the bottom of each page. Perspectives should follow APA conventions for style, but the organization and use of sub-headings can be determined by the author.

Articles are neither copyedited nor proofread before publication. Prior to publication, each article will undergo review by an editor, and authors will have an opportunity to review a proof in order to make corrections and minor changes.

Review

The review process for research Reports will begin with an evaluation by the editor, in consultation with one or more of the associate editors, as to the suitability of the manuscript for undergoing a full review. If that decision is positive, an associate editor will be assigned and will solicit 2-3 reviews from experts on the editorial board and/or in the specific sub-field of the research.

While we are open to unsolicited submissions of Perspectives, we advise authors to email the Editors-in-Chief ([email protected], [email protected]) with a short summary of the proposed Perspectives in advance of submission to determine whether the topic is likely to fit the goals of Open Mind and to not overlap with other submissions that are under review.

Evaluations from the reviewers are requested with a 21-day deadline, and the associate editor’s decision is expected within 1-2 months of submission.

Peer Review Taxonomy

Identity transparency: Double anonymized
Reviewer interacts with: Editor
Review information published: None

Formatting Final Submission

Once an article reaches the stage of revision, we do require specific formatting. Files must be provided in Word or using the OPMI LaTeX style file.

Word submission requirements:

• Single-column
• Standard 12 pt. serif font (e.g., Times)
• Text, references, and figure legends all double spaced
• Equations in Math Type (not images)

LaTeX submission requirements:

• Use the OPMI style file MS. setting
• Provide all elements of the TeX package
• Include a compiled PDF version in the MS. setting format

Figure requirements, Word and TeX: Figures may appear inline, but please also supply them as separate files. Appropriate formats include EPS, JPG, and TIFF. High-resolution (300 dpi) figures are desirable, and individual figure files should be no larger than 10Mb. Figure labels and lettering should be legible once figures are reproduced at their publication sizes (no larger than 7x10 inches). Separate panels should be labeled clearly and fully referred to in the figure legend. Authors are strongly encouraged to design their figures so that they reproduce well in the final pdf layout.

Table requirements: Tables should appear inline and be formatted as tables, not tab or comma delimited text.