Types

Cognitive Science publishes articles in four formats. Most typically, it publishes REGULAR ARTICLES, namely, articles having a target length of 12,000 words of primary text (about 30 published pages total, including figures, tables, references, and other end matter). Note that 12,000 words is a target, not a strict limit. Ultimately, it is up to editorial discretion how far regular articles may depart from the target.

Because some articles require more space to make their case, Cognitive Science publishes EXTENDED ARTICLES that have a target length of 18,000 words (about 45 published pages total). Depending on editorial discretion, however, extended articles may be longer in exceptional cases. Because of their greater length, extended articles should be of greater interest to the field, and should therefore be evaluated according to higher standards than regular articles.

Because some articles require relatively little space to make a significant contribution, Cognitive Science will also publish BRIEF REPORTS that have a target length of 4,000 words (about 10 published pages total). In general, brief reports should typically introduce important new findings that are timely and of broad interest to the cognitive science community. They should not simply reiterate findings reported in the Proceedings of Cognitive Science Meetings. Instead, they must report novel findings not published elsewhere, as is also the case for regular and extended articles. Any type of article may include findings from a Proceedings article, as long as the new article goes significantly further (as judged by the editorial staff), and the relation between the two articles is acknowledged appropriately.

Besides reporting on original research, extended, regular, and brief articles may also review a literature of current interest to the cognitive science community, as long as the review makes an original contribution. Also, the Journal will continue to occasionally publish sets of thematically related articles. Depending on the format appropriate for a topic, the articles in a set could be regular or brief.

Finally, each issue of the Journal will contain a fourth section entitled \"LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.\" Pieces published in this section include commentaries on published articles, responses to commentaries, letters from action editors that bring out a paper\'s relevance for other disciplines, and so forth. Letters to the editor should have a target length of 1000 words (i.e., 2.5 published pages). The editor and members of the editorial board have the authority to accept or publish a Letter without review, although he or she may solicit reviews if so desired.

In each issue, the table of contents first lists extended articles, then lists regular articles, and then brief reports. Letters to the editor are listed in a final fourth section, unless a particular letter is relevant to an article in the current issue, in which case it follows it immediately. Each group is preceded by a heading for the type of article (i.e., \"Extended Articles,\", \"Regular Articles,\" \"Brief Reports,\" \"Letters to the Editor\"). If an issue contains a thematically-related set of articles, their heading describes the theme.

Currently, Elsevier allots 160 pages per issue. Under the new model, if an issue contains 4 regular articles (4 articles X 30 pages = 120 pages total) and 4 brief reports (4 articles X 10 pages = 40 pages total), it would contain 160 pages. Or if an issue contained 1 extended article (45 pages), 3 regular articles (3 X 30 pages), and 3 brief reports (3 X 10 pages), it would be just a little over 160 pages (i.e., 165 pages). The composition of individual issues may change, depending on future arrangements with Elsevier regarding the number of issues and pages published per year.