Instructions to Authors
You can download the MIND Stylesheet.
Articles : Papers on all aspects of philosophy will be considered. Authors are encouraged to present their arguments in a way that makes them accessible to a broad readership among philosophers; where technical material is included it should be accompanied by informal exposition of the argument. Submissions should be no longer than around 8,000 words in total. Papers accepted for publication may grow in the review process, but only in exceptional circumstances, for example where very extensive quotations from original texts are required, will submissions be considered if they are significantly over 8,000 words. (We recognize that there are difficulties in assigning word length to submissions that contain a large amount of symbolism. In these cases submissions should be of a such a length that their pagination, if published, would be about that of an 8,000-word article involving no symbolism.)
No more than one article may be submitted by any corresponding author during any twelve-month period.
MIND is committed to equality and diversity and welcomes submissions from all groups in Philosophy.
Discussions : Brief comments on work published in MIND (but not elsewhere) are welcome.
Submissions: Papers, including resubmissions, should be submitted via our ScholarOne website. Papers should be submitted in either a Word or pdf document format, and all necessary high-resolution image files should be sent at the same time. Authors should facilitate the review process by numbering the lines in their document. To add line numbers in Word, you can follow the instructions at Add or remove line numbers. For LaTeX submissions, we recommend the package lineno, which is contained in most distributions and available from: CTAN Comprehensive TEX Archive Network. It can be invoked by adding \usepackage[pagewise]{lineno} to the preamble, and then line numbering can be switched on with \linenumbers at the beginning of the document. An abstract of between 50-200 words will be required for publication. An abstract is also required with submissions, in order to facilitate the review process: this abstract may, but need not, be longer (max 250 words) and should outline the contribution the paper makes. On submission authors will be required to select one area, from a drop down menu, that best matches the subject area in which their submission falls. We realise that a paper will often fall within more than one area, and that the divisions are relatively crude, but a choice is needed to initiate the review process.
Note that review at MIND is 'triple-anonymous' — the identity of authors is not revealed to Editors or referees unless and until a paper is accepted for publication. Papers must be prepared for anonymous review, with revealing acknowledgements and self-identifying references removed. Papers not prepared for anonymous refereeing will not be read. Submissions must not have been published in part or whole, or be under consideration elsewhere. Resubmissions must be declared as such.
New submissions are sent by the Managing Editor to a member of the editorial team who makes an initial assessment about suitability. To reduce the time that authors wait for decisions, many submissions will be rejected at this stage without comments. Even highly creditable submissions will be rejected at this stage. Other submissions are sent for review by specialist referees. We ask referees to return reports and recommendations to us within eight weeks, and we aim to provide authors with a decision within four months. Unfortunately in some cases this is not possible. The main reason is the time it takes to find suitable referees and receive reports from them. Most delays are caused when referees agree to provide a report, but then fail to do so. If there are serious delays in the review process, we will endeavour to keep authors informed.
Once we receive reports, a member of the editorial team will make a decision regarding the submission, taking into account the advice that we have received from referees. Where the advice is straightforwardly negative the submission will be rejected. When the advice is uniformly strongly positive, the paper will be considered by the Editors for a final decision. In many cases the advice that we receive from referees is mixed. In such cases it is MIND's policy carefully to consider submissions in light of the referees' comments and, occasionally, authors are given a verdict of 'Revise and Resubmit'. They are asked to mark all changes in their resubmitted papers. These are then sent out for review again, usually to the same referees, but sometimes also to a new referee (e.g. where the original referees do not want to report again, or it is determined that a further opinion is needed). If the resubmitted paper receives support from referees it is then transferred to the Editors for final decision. Again, we aim to complete this process within four months.
In the interests of transparency, all referees' comments will be sent to authors, unless they are deemed offensive or are confidential advice for the Editors. Editorial decisions are made with reference to the advice that we receive from referees; however the editorial team should not be taken to endorse the content of referees' reports, and reserve the right to give a different verdict from that recommended by the referees.
Correspondence : All correspondence concerning submissions and other editorial matters should be conducted within ScholarOne, or sent to [email protected].
All mail for MIND will go to the Managing Editor. Please note that, because of MIND's 'triple-anonymous' review policy, authors should not contact the Editors directly.
The Editors' verdict will be conveyed to the author by the Managing Editor, so that complete anonymity can be preserved at all stages of the process. Submissions are judged exclusively on their philosophical merits. The decision of the Editors on the acceptability of any submitted article is final, and correspondence will not be entered into in relation to any submission that is not accepted for publication.
Accepted papers : Authors of accepted submissions will be asked to prepare a version of the article using the MIND house style and submit final copy via ScholarOne in a suitably formatted and encoded electronic version. A PDF of the final version is also required.
Authors will be required to sign the standard OUP copyright licence agreement.
Authors will receive one set of proofs, which will require immediate attention. Author corrections will be accepted at proof stage, but material changes to the paper will not be.
Please note that by submitting an article for publication you confirm that you are the corresponding/submitting author and that Oxford University Press ("OUP") may retain your email address for the purpose of communicating with you about the article. You agree to notify OUP immediately if your details change. If your article is accepted for publication OUP will contact you using the email address you have used in the registration process. Please note that OUP does not retain copies of rejected articles.
Figure accessibility and alt text
Incorporating alt text (alternative text) when submitting your paper helps to foster inclusivity and accessibility. Good alt text ensures that individuals with visual impairments or those using screen readers can comprehend the content and context of your figures. The aim of alt text is to provide concise and informative descriptions of your figure so that all readers have access to the same level of information and understanding, and that all can engage with and benefit from the visual elements integral to scholarly content. Including alt text demonstrates a commitment to accessibility and enhances the overall impact and reach of your work.
Alt text is applicable to all images, figures, illustrations, and photographs.
Alt text is only accessible via e-reader and so it won’t appear as part of the typeset article.
Detailed guidance on how to draft and submit alt text.
Open Access
MIND offers the option of publishing under either a standard licence or an open access licence. Please note that some funders require open access publication as a condition of funding. If you are unsure whether you are required to publish open access, please do clarify any such requirements with your funder or institution.
Should you wish to publish your article open access, you should select your choice of open access licence in our online system after your article has been accepted for publication. You will need to pay an open access charge to publish under an open access licence.
Details of the open access licences and open access charges.
OUP has a growing number of Read and Publish agreements with institutions and consortia which provide funding for open access publishing. This means authors from participating institutions can publish open access, and the institution may pay the charge. Find out if your institution is participating.
CrossRef Funding Data Registry
In order to meet your funding requirements authors are required to name their funding sources, or state if there are none, during the submission process. For further information on this process or to find out more about CHORUS, visit the CHORUS initiative.
