Prior to submission, please carefully read and follow the submission guidelines detailed below. Manuscripts that do not conform to the submission guidelines may be returned without review.
Submission
Neuropsychology® is now using a software system to screen submitted content for similarity with other published content. The system compares each submitted manuscript against a database of 25+ million scholarly publications, as well as content appearing on the open web.
This allows APA to check submissions for potential overlap with material previously published in scholarly journals (e.g., lifted or republished material). A similarity report will be generated by the system and provided to the Neuropsychology Editorial office for review immediately upon submission.
Starting in 2012, the completion of the Author(s) Agreement Checklist (PDF, 40KB) that signifies that authors have read this material and agree to adhere to the guidelines is now required. For new submissions, please be sure to include the submission checklist on the first page of your manuscript. Revisions do not need the checklist.
All new and revised manuscripts must be submitted electronically in Rich Text Format (.rtf) or Microsoft Word Format (.doc) via the Manuscript Submission Portal. Portable Document Format (.pdf) is not an acceptable submission format.
The file must exactly copy, in all respects and in a single file, the complete APA-style printed version of the manuscript.
Authors with questions concerning manuscript submission should address these directly to the Neuropsychology Editorial Office.
In addition to addresses and phone numbers, please supply email addresses and fax numbers, if available, for potential use by the Editorial Office and later by the Production Office.
Keep a copy of the manuscript to guard against loss.
Neuropsychology is a bimonthly, peer-reviewed journal that typically publishes original research as full-length regular articles. A detailed description of the editorial coverage policy appears on the inside of the front cover of each issue.
Other article formats — such as brief reports, meta-analyses, theoretical reviews, and case studies — will also be considered for publication.
Brief Reports
Manuscripts submitted as brief reports should not exceed 3,400 words, exclusive of references and figure captions. There should be no more than two figures or tables and no more than 30 references.
Meta-Analyses and Theoretical Reviews
Manuscripts that present or discuss theoretical formulations of neuropsychology related topics, or that evaluate competing theoretical perspectives on the basis of published data, may also be accepted. Comprehensive reviews of the empirical literature in an area of study are acceptable if they contain a meta-analysis and/or present novel theoretical or methodological perspectives. Please see the journal's Policy on Meta-Analyses (PDF, 14KB).
Case Studies
Case studies will be considered if they raise or illustrate important questions that go beyond the single case and have heuristic value.
Language
The official language of APA journals is English. Neuropsychology frequently publishes manuscripts submitted by authors from non-English speaking countries. It is strongly recommended that authors not fluent in English have their manuscript edited for English usage prior to submission. If this is not possible, a notation to this effect should be included in the cover letter to the editor.
Although time constraints prevent the editor and associate editors from assisting authors with their written English, several organizations have extended offers to the journal to provide this service for authors; contact the editor for more information.
Abstract and Keywords
Starting in 2010, all manuscripts published in Neuropsychology will include a structured abstract of up to 250 words. The Abstract, presented in paragraph form, should be typed on a separate page (page 2 of the manuscript), and must include each of the following sections:
- Objective: A brief statement of the purpose of the study
- Method: A detailed summary of the participants as well as descriptions of the study design, measures, and procedures
- Results: A detailed summary of the primary findings that include effect sizes or confidence intervals with significance testing
- Conclusions: A summary of the research and implications of the findings
After the abstract, please supply three to five keywords.
Abbreviations and Metrics
Nonstandard abbreviations should be introduced by placing the abbreviation in parentheses after the first occurrence of the term being abbreviated in both the abstract and the text. The metric system should be followed for all volumes, lengths, weights, and so on. Temperatures should be expressed in degrees Celsius (centigrade). Units should conform to the International System of Units (SI; see the Publication Manual).
Statistical Considerations
Whenever appropriate, statistical analyses should include effect sizes and confidence intervals and figures should include error bars. Authors are strongly encouraged to read the APA guidelines for statistical methods and reporting, L. Wilkinson and the Task Force on Statistical Inference, 1999, "Statistical Methods in Psychology Journals: Guidelines and Explanations," American Psychologist, 54, 594–604 (PDF, 1171KB).
Randomized Clinical Trials: Use of CONSORT Reporting Standards
Neuropsychology requires the use of the CONSORT reporting standards (i.e., a checklist and flow diagram) for any study identified as a randomized clinical trial, consistent with the policy established by the Publications and Communications Board of the American Psychological Association. CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials) offers a standard way to improve the quality of such reports and to ensure that readers have the information necessary to evaluate the quality of a clinical trial.
Manuscripts that are identified/classified as randomized clinical trials are required to include a flow diagram of the progress through the phases of the trial and a checklist that identifies where in the manuscript the various criteria are addressed. (The checklist should be placed in an Appendix of the manuscript for review purposes.) When a study is not fully consistent with the CONSORT statement, the limitations should be acknowledged and discussed in the text of the manuscript.
For follow-up studies of previously published clinical trials, authors should submit a flow diagram of the progress through the phases of the trial and follow-up. The above checklist information should be completed to the extent possible, especially for the Results and Discussion sections of the manuscript.
Visit the CONSORT Statement Web site for more details and resources.
Tables
Each table should be submitted with the manuscript file. Each should start on a separate page and must be numbered and labeled with an appropriate title. All tables must be self-explanatory.
Masked Review
Masked reviews are required.
Each copy of a manuscript should include a separate title page with authors' names and affiliations, and these should not appear anywhere else on the manuscript. Footnotes that identify the authors should be typed on a separate page.
It is the authors' responsibility to see that the manuscript itself contains no clues to their identities.
Please ensure that the final version of your manuscript for production includes a byline and full author note for typesetting.
Submission Letter
Include the following in your submission letter:
- a statement of compliance with APA ethical standards
- a statement that the manuscript or data have not been published previously and that they are not under consideration for publication elsewhere
- a statement to reflect that all listed authors have contributed significantly to the manuscript and consent to their names on the manuscript
- a brief statement of how the article content is relevant to the domain of Neuropsychology as described in the journal inside cover
Failure to include any of the requirements above may result in a delay of the review process. On an optional basis, authors may provide the names and email addresses of up to three qualified potential reviewers for the manuscript.
Manuscript Acceptance
Upon acceptance of their manuscript for publication, authors are expected to provide permissions, signed and dated copyright release and disclosure of interest forms, and a statement of compliance with APA ethical standards.
Proofs
All proofs must be corrected and returned within 48 hours of receipt. Any extensive nonessential changes and extensive changes due to author error may incur charges.
With the proofs will be a form providing the author with the opportunity to order reprints. Direct inquiries to the APA Journals Office can be made at 202-336-5540; fax 202-336-5549.
Manuscript Preparation
Prepare manuscripts according to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th edition). Manuscripts may be copyedited for bias-free language (see Chapter 3 of the Publication Manual).
Double-space all copy. Other formatting instructions, as well as instructions on preparing tables, figures, references, metrics, and abstracts, appear in the Manual.
Below are additional instructions regarding the preparation of display equations, computer code, and tables.
Display Equations
We strongly encourage you to use MathType (third-party software) or Equation Editor 3.0 (built into pre-2007 versions of Word) to construct your equations, rather than the equation support that is built into Word 2007 and Word 2010. Equations composed with the built-in Word 2007/Word 2010 equation support are converted to low-resolution graphics when they enter the production process and must be rekeyed by the typesetter, which may introduce errors.
To construct your equations with MathType or Equation Editor 3.0:
- Go to the Text section of the Insert tab and select Object.
- Select MathType or Equation Editor 3.0 in the drop-down menu.
If you have an equation that has already been produced using Microsoft Word 2007 or 2010 and you have access to the full version of MathType 6.5 or later, you can convert this equation to MathType by clicking on MathType Insert Equation. Copy the equation from Microsoft Word and paste it into the MathType box. Verify that your equation is correct, click File, and then click Update. Your equation has now been inserted into your Word file as a MathType Equation.
Use Equation Editor 3.0 or MathType only for equations or for formulas that cannot be produced as Word text using the Times or Symbol font.
Computer Code
Because altering computer code in any way (e.g., indents, line spacing, line breaks, page breaks) during the typesetting process could alter its meaning, we treat computer code differently from the rest of your article in our production process. To that end, we request separate files for computer code.
In Online Supplemental Material
We request that runnable source code be included as supplemental material to the article. For more information, visit Supplementing Your Article With Online Material.
In the Text of the Article
If you would like to include code in the text of your published manuscript, please submit a separate file with your code exactly as you want it to appear, using Courier New font with a type size of 8 points. We will make an image of each segment of code in your article that exceeds 40 characters in length. (Shorter snippets of code that appear in text will be typeset in Courier New and run in with the rest of the text.) If an appendix contains a mix of code and explanatory text, please submit a file that contains the entire appendix, with the code keyed in 8-point Courier New.
Tables
Use Word's Insert Table function when you create tables. Using spaces or tabs in your table will create problems when the table is typeset and may result in errors.
Review APA's Checklist for Manuscript Submission before submitting your article.
Submitting Supplemental Materials
APA can place supplemental materials online, available via the published article in the PsycARTICLES® database. Please see Supplementing Your Article With Online Material for more details.
References
List references in alphabetical order. Each listed reference should be cited in text, and each text citation should be listed in the References section.
Examples of basic reference formats:
- Journal Article:
Hughes, G., Desantis, A., & Waszak, F. (2013). Mechanisms of intentional binding and sensory attenuation: The role of temporal prediction, temporal control, identity prediction, and motor prediction. Psychological Bulletin, 139, 133–151. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0028566
- Authored Book:
Rogers, T. T., & McClelland, J. L. (2004). Semantic cognition: A parallel distributed processing approach. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
- Chapter in an Edited Book:
Gill, M. J., & Sypher, B. D. (2009). Workplace incivility and organizational trust. In P. Lutgen-Sandvik & B. D. Sypher (Eds.), Destructive organizational communication: Processes, consequences, and constructive ways of organizing (pp. 53–73). New York, NY: Taylor & Francis.
Figures
Graphics files are welcome if supplied as Tiff or EPS files. Multipanel figures (i.e., figures with parts labeled a, b, c, d, etc.) should be assembled into one file.
The minimum line weight for line art is 0.5 point for optimal printing.
For more information about acceptable resolutions, fonts, sizing, and other figure issues, please see the general guidelines.
When possible, please place symbol legends below the figure instead of to the side.
APA offers authors the option to publish their figures online in color without the costs associated with print publication of color figures.
For authors who prefer their figures to be published in color both in print and online, original color figures can be printed in color at the editor's and publisher's discretion provided the author agrees to pay:
- $900 for one figure
- An additional $600 for the second figure
- An additional $450 for each subsequent figure
Permissions
Authors of accepted papers must obtain and provide to the editor on final acceptance all necessary permissions to reproduce in print and electronic form any copyrighted work, including test materials (or portions thereof), photographs, and other graphic images (including those used as stimuli in experiments).
On advice of counsel, APA may decline to publish any image whose copyright status is unknown.
Publication Policies
APA policy prohibits an author from submitting the same manuscript for concurrent consideration by two or more publications.
See also APA Journals® Internet Posting Guidelines.
APA requires authors to reveal any possible conflict of interest in the conduct and reporting of research (e.g., financial interests in a test or procedure, funding by pharmaceutical companies for drug research).
Authors of accepted manuscripts are required to transfer the copyright to APA.
Ethical Principles
It is a violation of APA Ethical Principles to publish "as original data, data that have been previously published" (Standard 8.13).
In addition, APA Ethical Principles specify that "after research results are published, psychologists do not withhold the data on which their conclusions are based from other competent professionals who seek to verify the substantive claims through reanalysis and who intend to use such data only for that purpose, provided that the confidentiality of the participants can be protected and unless legal rights concerning proprietary data preclude their release" (Standard 8.14).
APA expects authors to adhere to these standards. Specifically, APA expects authors to have their data available throughout the editorial review process and for at least 5 years after the date of publication.
Authors are required to state in writing that they have complied with APA ethical standards in the treatment of their sample, human or animal, or to describe the details of treatment.
The APA Ethics Office provides the full Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct electronically on its website in HTML, PDF, and Word format. You may also request a copy by emailing or calling the APA Ethics Office (202-336-5930). You may also read "Ethical Principles," December 1992, American Psychologist, Vol. 47, pp. 1597–1611.
Other Information
