- Journal of Memory
- Open access · CC BY
Aims and Scope
The Journal of Memory publishes basic, experimental, cognitive, behavioral, neuroscientific and clinical research on memory.
What the journal sets out to do
- To publish rigorous research on how memories are encoded, consolidated, stored, retrieved and forgotten, and on the cognitive and neural mechanisms involved.
- To support sound methods in memory science, including measurement, replication, preregistration and transparent reporting.
- To report clinical and applied research on memory, including memory impairment and its assessment, where it advances understanding of memory itself.
- To make this research openly available, so that researchers, clinicians and educators can read and reuse it freely.
Research areas
JM considers basic, experimental, cognitive, behavioral, neuroscientific and clinical research on memory. Cognitive psychology is a core area, and the journal welcomes work from the neighboring disciplines that study memory. The areas below are illustrative and form part of a wider field, including:
- Working memory and short-term memory
- Episodic, semantic and procedural memory
- Encoding, attention and depth of processing
- Consolidation, reconsolidation and sleep
- Retrieval, cues, context and source monitoring
- Forgetting, interference and decay
- False memory, misinformation and eyewitness testimony
- Autobiographical memory and reminiscence
- Prospective memory
- Memory development and aging
- Social, collective and cultural memory
- Neural correlates of memory and neuroimaging
- Hippocampal function and cortical networks
- Synaptic and molecular mechanisms of memory
- Memory in neurological and psychiatric conditions
- Clinical assessment of memory and memory interventions
- Emotion, stress and trauma in memory
- Memory measurement and psychometrics
- Computational and theoretical models of memory
- Learning, education and memory strategies
Contributions from psychology, neuroscience, medicine, linguistics, education, computer science and related fields are welcome when they address a question about memory. A topic that is not named above is within scope when it meets that test.
Designs and approaches welcomed
JM considers quantitative, qualitative and mixed-methods research. Study designs are reported within the article types listed below; experimental and cohort studies, for example, are submitted as Original Research.
- Behavioral experiments
- Laboratory and online experiments on encoding, retention and retrieval, with adequate power and a clear account of materials and procedures.
- Neuroscience and imaging
- Neuroimaging, electrophysiology, brain stimulation and lesion studies, and work on synaptic and molecular mechanisms.
- Clinical studies
- Studies of memory in patient and community samples, including assessment, trials and interventions.
- Developmental and lifespan research
- Longitudinal and cross-sectional studies of memory in childhood, adulthood and aging.
- Field and applied studies
- Research on eyewitness memory, education and everyday remembering in naturalistic settings.
- Qualitative and mixed methods
- Interview, narrative and participatory research on remembering, alone or combined with quantitative data.
- Computational modeling
- Formal and computational models of memory processes and their fit to data.
- Evidence synthesis
- Systematic reviews and meta-analyses.
- Methodological research
- New, adapted or validated measures, tasks and analysis methods, including replications and registered reports.
What makes a manuscript a fit
Manuscripts are assessed for their relevance to memory, the soundness of their methods and whether their conclusions are proportionate to the evidence. Single-sample and single-setting studies are considered when the question they address is of general interest to memory research.
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Commentaries and perspectives
Commentaries and Theoretical Perspectives are accepted when they make an evidence-grounded argument, supported by cited sources, on a question in memory research or on work published in JM.
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Replications and registered reports
Replication Studies and Registered Reports are accepted on the same terms as other research, with the protocol, deviations and analysis plan reported transparently.
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Clinical research
Clinical studies are accepted when they advance understanding of memory, for example in the assessment, mechanisms or treatment of memory impairment.
Unsupported opinion, meaning assertion without evidence or reasoned argument, is outside the journal's scope.
Article types
The journal publishes the article types below. Guidance on the structure, abstract and reporting standard for each type is given in the Instructions for Authors.
- Original ResearchEmpirical studies of memory using quantitative, qualitative or mixed methods.
- Systematic Review and Meta-AnalysisSystematic syntheses of evidence on a defined question in memory research, with or without meta-analysis.
- MethodsNew, adapted or validated tasks, measures, analysis methods or study designs for memory research.
- Registered ReportStudies whose question, methods and analysis plan are reviewed before data collection.
- Replication StudyDirect or conceptual replications of published findings on memory.
- Short CommunicationConcise reports of a focused or preliminary finding of importance to memory research.
- Data NoteDescriptions of datasets of value to memory research, their collection, quality and access.
- Theoretical PerspectiveEvidence-grounded theoretical analysis or synthesis that advances thinking about memory.
- CommentaryEvidence-based argument on a current question in memory research or on published work.
- Letter to the EditorBrief responses to articles published in JM, or short observations of relevance to memory research.
Where a manuscript sits between types, authors choose the closest type and explain the choice in the cover letter, and the editors confirm the classification. A study protocol is submitted as Methods, and a scoping review as a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Scope questions
Is my topic within scope?
A manuscript is within scope when it addresses a question about memory, whatever its discipline or setting. If you are unsure, send the title and abstract to the editorial office at info@openaccesspub.org before submitting.
Does JM consider clinical research?
Yes. Clinical research on memory is within scope, for example studies of memory assessment, memory in neurological or psychiatric conditions, and interventions for memory impairment.
Does JM accept commentaries and perspectives?
Yes. Evidence-grounded Commentaries and Theoretical Perspectives are considered under the same editorial process as other article types.
Can I submit work that has been posted as a preprint?
Yes. Posting a preprint is compatible with submission to JM. Cite the preprint in the cover letter.
Preparing a submission
Read the Instructions for Authors and the Editorial Policies before submitting.