Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Author (formatting) guidelines

Download the Philosophy of Science Artwork Guidelines here: Download Instruction for Contributors in PDF. (1 MB)

Download the Philosophy of Science LaTeX Guidelines here: Download Instruction for Contributors in PDF. (263 KB)

Download the Philosophy of Science Math Guidelines here: Download Instruction for Contributors in PDF. (276 KB)

Download the Philosophy of Science Table Guidelines here: Download Instruction for Contributors in PDF. (615 KB)

To view the PDF files linked above, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Manuscripts

Philosophy of Science only publishes original work. The submission should not have been previously published and should not be currently under review elsewhere. Submissions should be double-spaced.

Articles and Discussion Notes should include an abstract of no more than 100 words. Information regarding the word length for each submission type can be found in the Instructions for Contributors under Submission Policies.

Manuscripts must be prepared for anonymous review. Please see the Instructions for Contributors for information on Preparing Your Paper for Anonymous Review.

All figures must be drawn and lettered with a professional appearance. All formulas and equations should be put in such a form as to help minimize the number of printed lines in the journal. See the section below on "figures" for further important information about figures.

The journal follows Chicago Manual of Style guidelines. A bibliographical list of cited references (in alphabetical order) should be headed "References." Within this list, each reference should begin with the author's surname, given name, the year of publication, followed by a period and the rest of the bibliographic information. For examples of how to format your references, please see the subheading "List of References". In the text, simple citations or attributions should be made by supplying the author and year of publication, for example, "Jones (1958) claims ..." or "New evidence overturns this theory (Smith 1974, 46)." Footnotes should not be used for simple citations. Discursive footnotes (consecutively numbered) should be kept to an absolute minimum. Review our formatting guidelines to prepare your paper for publication. When you submit your paper on the Philosophy of Science Editorial Manager website, the paper will be built as an Adobe PDF which you must view and approve. When you view the file, make sure that it has all figures, illustrations, references, footnotes and the bibliography. The submission will only be forwarded to the editor after you have approved the submitted files.


File Format
For information on acceptable submission formats and figures and illustrations, please see the Instructions for Contributors.

FORMATTING GUIDELINES

In order for an accepted paper to be published, the paper must conform to the conventions of the Chicago Manual of Style. Below are additional conventions used by Philosophy of Science. For anything not covered below, consult the Chicago Manual of Style. The instructions below sometimes refer to sections in the 17th edition (abbreviated CMS).

Margins should be ample, approximately 1-1/2" (4 cm) top and bottom, 1-1/4" (3 cm) left and 1" (2.5 cm) right.
Justification: Please left-justify the text. The right margin should be ragged.
Typeface: Times or Times New Roman is best for proofreading and for computer translation.
Typesize: 12 point. Type size should be full size at all times, including in footnotes, references, picture legends, etc.
Spacing: All text should be double-spaced, including the text in footnotes, references, picture legends, etc.
Page numbers: Please include page numbers.

If you are using LaTeX, these formatting settings may be achieved by included the following text in your preamble:

     % specify 12pt font in the settings for your document class
     \documentclass[12pt]{article}
     % set margins
     \usepackage[top=4cm, bottom=4cm, left=3cm, right=2.5cm]{geometry}
     % make entire document double spaced
     \usepackage{setspace}
     \doublespacing
     % ensure footnotes are full sized and double spaced
     \usepackage{footmisc}
     \renewcommand{\footnotelayout}{\doublespacing\normalsize}
     % left justify text
     \makeatletter
     \newcommand\iraggedright{%
     \let\\\@centercr\@rightskip\@flushglue \rightskip\@rightskip
     \leftskip\z@skip}
     \makeatother
     \iraggedright
     % set bibtex bibliography to chicago style
     \bibliographystyle{chicago}

If you are submitting your LaTeX files to EM, please read our Editorial Manager and LaTeX Guide.

STRUCTURE OF PAPER

The final version of the paper should have the following parts, each beginning on a new page:

     ● abstract
     ● main text
     ● appendices [when necessary]
     ● references

Abstract
Place the abstract at the beginning of the document on its own page (i.e., insert a page break after the abstract).

Main Text
The first section is normally numbered and titled "1. Introduction." Use software "styles" to create sections/subsections or put a blank line between each section and subsection. Section titles use headline capitalization, for instance, "Explanation of Anomalies," not "Explanation of anomalies." Uses of "section," like "figure," "table," and so on, are always lowercase.

Italics and Boldface
We do not italicize foreign or technical terms commonly used by philosophers of science. Examples:
"ipso facto," "i.e.," "ad hoc," "a priori"

Unfamiliar terms may be in italics. Examples:

"The now obsolete Japanese term warifu was used to designate the tearing of pieces of material or paper to record an economic transaction.

Indicate italicized words, phrases requiring emphasis, and titles of published books and journals by italic typeface, not underlining. Indicate boldface by bold typeface, not wavy underlining.


Formulas, Equations, and Special Symbols

See Guidelines for Math.

Equations and symbols should be fully legible. Give any variables the style they should display, e.g., italics, bold, or unusual fonts.

Where possible, formulas and equations should be put in a form that helps to minimize the number of printed lines. For example: p = -dx/dy = -dz/dt.

When possible, an alternative symbol or sign should be provided if the symbol required is rare. To avoid confusion between similar symbols such as the letter O and zero, mu and u, subset and less than, clearly identify the symbol to the typesetter, for example, in a note to the typesetter at the beginning of the paper.
Proofs, theorems, propositions, and so on should be entered as block quotes with any heading (e.g., "Theorem 1.”) in bold (but not italic) and followed by a period.

Footnotes

Footnotes should be used, not endnotes. The font should be the same size (12 point) as the main text.

Discursive footnotes should be avoided; incorporate material in the body of the text whenever possible. Remaining footnotes should be numbered consecutively throughout the typescript.


Figures and Tables

Figures and tables require special treatment. Please contact the editors if you have any questions.
See Guidelines for Artwork and Guidelines for Tables.

Digital art should be submitted as high resolution .tiff, .eps, or .jpg files, or as a clean, high resolution PDF file. A figure that looks good on your computer monitor may not look good when printed in high resolution. The minimum resolution for graphics files should be 300 dpi. Please consult with local support if you are unsure how to produce high quality graphical images. The editorial office and Cambridge University Press cannot redraw images for you.

Tables should be typed with a minimum of borders and other features enabled. The journal has a standard style for printing tables, and in general will use this style when printing your table.

Please submit your tables and figures as separate files. They may also be included in the text at the appropriate place. Alternatively, you may indicate their approximate location with a note such as "[Include Figure 1 here]". In either case, labels ("Figure 1.") and any captions should be included. Figures within the text are centered, but captions are left-justified. Captions are punctuated and capitalized as sentences.

References

Authors are responsible for the completeness and accuracy of their bibliography and citations. Please cross-check your citations against your bibliography; the journal’s copyeditors often run across inconsistencies or incompleteness. In this case, you will be asked to fix the problem. This slows down production, and in the end saves you no time. Please go ahead and double-check your references now.

We use the author-date system. See the 17th edition of the Chicago Manual of Style chapter 15, but be sure to follow the specifications below. Be sure that the References include page numbers for all articles in journals and edited volumes. Uses of inclusive numbers (in run of text, article page ranges, etc.) are abridged following CMS 9.61 (e.g., 123–27, not 123–7 or 123–127). Use fully realized (unabridged) numbers in book or article titles only (e.g., “History of Genetics, 1945–1990”). In both the reference list and in-text citations, simply give the numbers, without "page" or "pg."


In-Text Citations
Simple citations or quotation attributions should be made by citation within the text, rather than by footnote. Cite author and year of publication, for example, (Jones 1974) and, when appropriate, page numbers (Jones 1974, 25). Note the comma between year and page but not between author and year. There is no "p." or "page" preceding the page number.

If the context clearly specifies the reference, the year and page number are sufficient:

Jones's theory (1974, 25) contradicts his earlier account (1965).

Regardless of whether the subject of the sentence is the author or the book or article itself, the citation is in parentheses (or in brackets, for discursive text already within parentheses), with a comma between date and page.

Examples with author as subject:

Hegel (1787, 344) argued that ...

Hegel argued that ... philosophy (1787, 344).

Example in which the book or article itself is what is being referred to:

This argument was refuted (see Hegel 1787). [See CMS 15.28 regarding how a locution such as “This argument was refuted in Hegel 1787,” although technically proper, is best avoided and should be worded as in the example shown here.]

Note that within the text, the period comes after the closing parenthesis of the citation.

At the end of a block extract, place the citation after the period.

No more causes of natural things should be admitted than are both true and sufficient to explain their phenomena. ... Therefore, the causes assigned to natural effects of the same kind must be, so far as possible, the same. (Newton 1999, 794–95)

When citing a reprint, give the original year followed by a slash and then the year for the new edition
... as argued by Duhem (1906/1954).

In places where you are referring to multiple texts by a single author, separate years with commas:
(Marx 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986)

For many texts by multiple authors, use semicolons to separate authors:

(Marx 1982; Eliot 1983; Fudd 1992; Duck 1993)

(Marx 1982, 1983; Fudd 1992, 1995; Fudd and Hare 1996; Duck 1999)

See CMS 15.30.

List of References

The bibliographical list of cited references must be headed “References” and placed on a new page after the main text (i.e., insert a page break before the list of references). List references alphabetically by senior author. More than one reference by the same author should be listed in chronological order.

If you know how to format  hanging indents, use them throughout the bibliography. If you do not, please format all references flush left, and leave an extra space after each entry.

Authors: Please use complete first and last names for authors, not just initials and surnames (if you cannot readily ascertain a first name, the initials will suffice). If there are two or more authors, use "and" not "&." Only for the first author does the surname precede the given name. If the reference list has two or more works by the same author(s), please include full citation information, including full author name, in each entry.

For multiple authors, list the surname of the first author, comma, given name of first author, then given name before surname of subsequent authors, separated by commas with the word "and" before the last one. Even if there are only two authors, use a comma before the word "and". Example:

Burian, Richard M., Jean Gayon, and Doris Zallen. 1988. "The Singular Fate of Genetics in the History of French Biology, 1900–1940." Journal of the History of Biology 21:357–402.

Titles

For all titles of English-language works (articles, books, chapters, etc.) use headline ("up") capitalization (CMS 8.159). For foreign book titles, see CMS section 11.6. Book and journal titles are italicized.

Books

Include author or editor, period, publication year, period, title (including subtitle) italicized (if needed: period, volume or edition), period (translator and editor if in addition to author), city of publication (if needed: comma, state), colon, publisher, period. Example:

Harding, Sandra G. 1987. Feminism and Methodology: Social Science Issues. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

Dissertations

Include author, period, publication year, period, open quote, title (including subtitle) nonitalicized, period, closing quote, then "PhD diss.” comma, name of university, period.

Craver, Carl F. 1998. “Neural Mechanisms: On the Structure, Function, and Development of Theories in Neurobiology.” PhD diss., University of Pittsburgh.

Reprints

For a reprinted edition of a book that requires both dates (which is the exception; most need one publication date only), include author, period, original date, slash, new edition date, period, title italicized (if needed: period, volume or edition), period (translator and editor if in addition to author), "Repr." city of publication (if needed: comma, state), colon, publisher, period. Example:

Duhem, Pierre. 1906/1954. The Aim and Structure of Physical Theory. Repr. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

If you cite page numbers in the text, please include both publication dates (as, e.g., Duhem 1906/1954, 24).

Technical Reports, Working Papers, and Similar Publications

Include author, period, year, period, open quote, title (including subtitle) nonitalicized, period, closing quote, name and number of series, general editor(s) if a series, comma, name of department, comma, name of university, period (or, if not a university, then name of institution, comma, city, period). Example:

Titiev, Robert J. 1969. “Some Model- Theoretic Results in Measurement Theory.” Technical Report 146, Institute for Mathematical Studies in the Social Sciences, Stanford University.

Journal Articles

Include author of article, period, publication year, period, open quote, title (including subtitle) nonitalicized, period, closing quote, name of journal italicized (do not abbreviate journal titles), space, volume number (if issue number: space, opening parenthesis, issue number, closing parenthesis), colon, no space (if issue number: space), page numbers. Italicize the journal name, but not the volume and issue number. Example:

Mayo, Deborah G. 1991. "Novel Evidence and Severe Tests." Philosophy of Science 58:523–52.

For book reviews, add the name and author of the reviewed book after the title of the review.

Fodor, Jerry A. 1995. "West Coast Fuzzy: Why We Don't Know How Brains Work." Review of The Engine of Reason, the Seat of the Soul: A Philosophical Journey into the Brain, by Paul M. Churchland. Literary Journal 4821:5–6.

Edited Volumes

For articles in a book-length collection, include author(s) of article, period, publication year, period, nonitalicized title of article in quotation marks, period, followed by “In” title of collection italicized, comma, “ed.” name of book's editor(s) (all surname last), comma, page range, period, city of publication (if needed: comma, state), colon, publisher, period. Example:

Oppenheim, Paul, and Hilary Putnam. 1958. "Unity of Science as a Working Hypothesis.” In Minnesota Studies in the Philosophy of Science, vol. 2, ed. Herbert Feigl, Grover Maxwell, and Michael Scriven, 3–36. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

If you refer to many articles in the same edited volume and cite the book itself in text, give the book its own entry in the reference list and use a short citation in the entries for the articles. Example:

Feigl, Herbert, Grover Maxwell, and Michael Scriven, eds. 1958. Minnesota Studies in the Philosophy of Science. Vol. 2. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press.

Oppenheim, Paul, and Hilary Putnam. 1958. "Unity of Science as a Working Hypothesis." In Feigl et al. 1958, 3–36.

PSA Proceedings

The Proceedings have appeared in several forms, which call for different styles of citation.

Through 1995 (PSA 1994 Symposia), the Proceedings were published as an edited volume and should be listed as such.
1996–2002 (PSA 1996 Contributed Papers through PSA 2000 Symposia), the Proceedings were published as a supplement to the journal Philosophy of Science. Example:

Keeley, Brian L. 2000. "Neuroethology and the Philosophy of Cognitive Science." Philosophy of Science 67 (Proceedings): S404–S417.

Starting in 2003, the Proceedings are no longer a supplement but rather a fifth issue of the journal. They should be cited in the same style as immediately above, except that the page numbers no longer include the letter S.