Aims and Scopes 

The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology (QJEP) is a leading international journal that publishes original articles on any topic within the field of experimental psychology. The journal publishes Rapid Communication articles (under 3,000 words) reporting novel techniques or ground breaking results, as well as substantial experimental reports.  The journal offers an Open Access option, approved by the Wellcome Trust and other funders.

The journal is keen to encourage submissions across a broad range of areas in experimental psychology, including those reporting work on human and animal subjects. Manuscripts including the use of functional brain imaging are also encouraged, as are papers reporting computational modelling of behavioural data.

QJEP offers a competitive publication time-scale. Accepted Rapid Communications have priority in the publication, and usually appear within a few months. Full articles appear on-line, through the iFirst system, making them available to readers several months prior to paper publication.

Ethical considerations: Research reported in this journal is expected to conform to appropriate ethical standards.

Humans:  Ethical guidelines for research using human subjects are outlined in the Medical Research Council's guidelines for clinical experiments: Responsibility in Investigations on Human Subjects, British Medical Journal, 1964, 2, 178-180; or in the British Psychological Society's guidelines for non-clinical experiments: Ethical Principles for Research with Human Participants, The Psychologist, 1992, 6 (1), 33-35.

Animals:  Ethical guidelines for research with animals that were prepared by the British Psychological Society and the Experimental Psychology Society can be found in the Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 2001, 54B, 81-91. Authors of accepted manuscripts that report research with animals will be requested to submit a letter to the Editor confirming that the research was conducted in accordance with the Guidelines, and in accordance with the European Communities Council Directive of 24 November 1986 (86/609/EEC), or with the Guidelines laid down by the NIH in the US regarding the care and use of animals for experimental procedures, or with equivalent legislation in the country where the research was conducted. 

The Editors reserve the right to reject, after consultation with the President of the Experimental Psychology Society, any paper that in their judgement contravenes these principles.

Submission of manuscripts

Manuscripts should be submitted to http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/pqje

Journal Production Editor: Ruth.Chalmers@informa.com


Format:

Manuscripts: The style and format of the typescripts should conform to the specifications given in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.).

Manuscripts should be submitted in Word.doc or PDF formats, typed throughout in double spacing, with adequate margins, and numbered throughout. British English spelling is required (including “-ize”, etc.)  On acceptance of a manuscript, authors will be asked to provide a copy of their main text in MS Word format, with figures as separate high quality image files and tables as separate MS Word files.

The title page of an article should contain only:

(1) The title of the paper, the name(s) and address(es) of the author(s)
(2) A short title not exceeding 40 letters and spaces, which will be used for page headlines
(3) Name and address of the author to whom correspondence and proofs should be sent
(4) Your telephone, fax and e-mail numbers, as this helps speed of processing considerably.

Title: The title should be as concise as possible.

Abstract: An abstract of 50-200 words should follow the title page on a separate page.

Headings: Indicate headings and subheadings for different sections of the paper clearly. Do not number headings.

Acknowledgements: These should be as brief as possible and typed on a separate page at the beginning of the text.

Permission to quote: Any quote over six manuscript lines should have formal written permission to quote from the copyright owner. It is the author's responsibility to determine whether permission is required from the copyright owner and, if so, to obtain it. (See the bottom of the page for a template of a letter seeking copyright permission.)

Footnotes: These should be avoided unless absolutely necessary. Essential footnotes should be indicated by superscript figures in the text and collected in a separate section at the end of the manuscript.


References:

Reference citations within the text. Use authors' last names, with the year of publication, e.g., “(Brown, 1982; Jones & Smith, 1987; White, Johnson, & Thomas, 1990)”. On first citation of references with three to five authors, give all names in full, thereafter use [first author] “et al.”. In the references, the first six authors should be listed in full.

If more than one article by the same author(s) in the same year is cited, the letters a, b, c, etc., should follow the year. If a paper is in preparation, submitted, or under review, the reference should include the authors, the title, and the year of the draft (the paper should also be cited throughout the paper using the year of the draft). Manuscripts that are “in press” should also include the publisher or journal, and should substitute “in press” for the date.

Reference list. A full list of references quoted in the text should be given at the end of the paper in alphabetical order of authors' surnames (or chronologically for a group of references by the same authors), commencing as a new page, typed double spaced. Titles of journals and books should be given in full, e.g.:

Books: 
Rayner, E., Joyce, A., Rose, J., Twyman, M., & Clulow, C. (2008). Human development: An introduction to the psychodynamics of growth, maturity and ageing (4th ed.). Hove, UK: Routledge.

Chapter in edited book:
Craik, F. I. M., Naveh-Benjamin, M., & Anderson, N. D. (1998). Encoding processes: Similarities and differences. In M. A. Conway, S. E. Gathercole, & C. Cornoldi (Eds.), Theories of memory (Vol. 2, pp. 61-86). Hove, UK: Psychology Press. 

Journal article:
Hugdahl, K., Lberg, E.-M., Jrgensen, H. A., Lundervold, A., Lund, A., Green, M. F., et al. (2008). Left hemisphere lateralisation of auditory hallucinations in schizophrenia: A dichotic listening study. Cognitive Neuropsychiatry, 13(2), 166-179.


Tables: These should be kept to the minimum. Each table should be typed double spaced on a separate page, giving the heading, e.g., “Table 2”, in Arabic numerals, followed by the legend, followed by the table. Make sure that appropriate units are given. Instructions for placing the table should be given on a separate line of the text and centred in parentheses with a line space above and below, e.g.:

"(Table 2 about here)"

Figures: Figures should only be used when essential. The same data should not be presented both as a figure and in a table. Where possible, related diagrams should be grouped together to form a single figure. Figures should be drawn to professional standards and it is recommended that the linear dimensions of figures be approximately twice those intended for the final printed version. Each of these should be on a separate page, not integrated with the text. Make sure that axes of graphs are properly labelled, and that appropriate units are given. Dense tones should be avoided, and never combined with lettering.

Half-tone figures should be clear, highly contrasted black and white glossy prints. Black and white photographs are acceptable. Electronic files should be saved with a resolution of at least 300dpi. Colour figures are not normally acceptable for publication in print—however, it may be possible both to print in black and white and to publish online in colour.

Figure captions: The figure captions should be typed in a separate section, headed, e.g., “Figure 2”, in Arabic numerals. Instructions for placing the figure should be given on a separate line of the text and centred in parentheses with a line space above and below, e.g.:

"(Figure 2 about here)"

More detailed Guidelines for the preparation of figure artwork are available from the publisher: Email: Ruth.Chalmers@informa.com

Statistics: Results of statistical tests should be given in the following form:

"... results showed an effect of group, F(2, 21) = 13.74, MSE = 451.98, p < .001, but there was no effect of repeated trials, F(5, 105) = 1.44, MSE = 17.70, and no interaction, F(10, 105) = 1.34, MSE = 17.70."

Other tests should be reported in a similar manner to the above example of an F-ratio. For a fuller explanation of statistical presentation, see pages 136-147 of the APA Publication Manual (5th ed.). For guidelines on presenting statistical significance, see pages 24-25.

Units: The Systeme Internationale (SI) will be used for all units. (If measures such as inches are used, then SI equivalents should be given.) If in doubt, refer to Quantities, Units and Symbols , published by the Royal Society, 6 Carlton House Terrace, London, SW1 5 AG, UK.

Abbreviations: Abbreviations that are specific to a particular manuscript or to a very specific area of research should be avoided, and authors will be asked to spell out in full any such abbreviations throughout the text. Standard abbreviations such as RT for reaction time, SOA for stimulus onset asynchrony or other standard abbreviations that will be readily understood by readers of the journal are acceptable. Experimental conditions should be named in full, except in tables and figures.


After acceptance of publication in the journal

Proofs: Page proofs will be emailed to the corresponding author as a PDF attachment to check for typesetting accuracy. No changes to the original typescript will be permitted at this stage. A list of queries raised by the copy editor will be included with the proofs. Proofs should be returned promptly.

 

Offprints. Once your article is available online you will be granted access to the article. If you do not have a username, one is created for you, and an email will be sent to you containing your login details. On informaworld^TM, you can access both HTML and PDF versions of your article. You may download a PDF version, which will contain a watermark noting this is an author copy. You are free to circulate this PDF to up to 50 colleagues by email, or make 50 printed copies and circulate by mail. This acceptable use policy does NOT permit distribution to more than 50 individuals of the PDF by authors or editors without express permission from the publisher.  Prohibited uses include the distribution of the PDF via professional or personal listservs or posting to personal, organizational, or institutional websites in a format that would allow downloading or printing. 

Volume contents and author index: The list of contents and the author index for the whole of the year's issues are published in the last issue of the year of each journal. For the Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology this is issue 12 (December).


Copyright permission

Contributors are required to secure permission for the reproduction of any figure, table, or extensive (more than six manuscript lines) extract from the text, from a source which is copyrighted — or owned — by a party other than Psychology Press or the contributor.

This applies both to direct reproduction or "derivative reproduction" - when the contributor has created a new figure or table which derives substantially from a copyrighted source.

The following form of words can be used in seeking permission:

Dear [COPYRIGHT HOLDER],

I/we are preparing for publication an article entitled:

[STATE TITLE]

to be published by Psychology Press Ltd in the Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology.

I/we should be grateful if you would grant us permission to include the following materials:

[STATE FIGURE NUMBER AND ORIGINAL SOURCE]

We are requesting non-exclusive rights in this edition and in all forms. It is understood, of course, that full acknowledgement will be given to the source.

Please note that Psychology Press Ltd are signatories of and respect the spirit of the STM Agreement regarding the free sharing and dissemination of scholarly information.

Your prompt consideration of this request would be greatly appreciated.

Yours faithfully