Editorial Policies

Focus and Scope

TEORIE VĚDY / THEORY OF SCIENCE is a peer-reviewed academic journal founded in 1969. It focuses on the inquiry into philosophical and methodological principles of scientific knowledge. It traces the interrelationship of science, technology, and society; the problems of the historical development of science and knowledge; and the interdisciplinary relations across and within Humanities, Social, Natural, and Life Sciences. Public relevance of science is also addressed. The journal publishes original research articles in Czech and English languages. Unsolicited book reviews are typically in Czech. Currently, the journal is listed in databases Scopus, ERIH PLUS, EBSCO, CEJSH.

TEORIE VĚDY / THEORY OF SCIENCE is published by the Insitute of Philosophy of the Czech Academy of Sciences (Centre for Science, Technology, and Society Studies). Since 2017, it is published twice a year.

ISSN 1210-0250 (Print) ISSN 1804-6347 (Online) The journal is registered by the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic under No. E 18677.

 

Section Policies

Classical texts

Reprints of (translated) important scholarly articles in the field. Typically, this section only appears in the Czech edition.

Unchecked Open Submissions Checked Indexed Unchecked Peer Reviewed

Translation

Checked Open Submissions Checked Indexed Checked Peer Reviewed

Thematic articles

Checked Open Submissions Checked Indexed Checked Peer Reviewed

Articles

Original research, essays, and review articles.

Checked Open Submissions Checked Indexed Checked Peer Reviewed

Review articles

Checked Open Submissions Checked Indexed Checked Peer Reviewed

Commentary

Checked Open Submissions Checked Indexed Checked Peer Reviewed

Miscellanea

Checked Open Submissions Checked Indexed Unchecked Peer Reviewed

Essays

Checked Open Submissions Checked Indexed Checked Peer Reviewed

Information

Conference reports, research reports, jubilees, etc.

Checked Open Submissions Checked Indexed Unchecked Peer Reviewed

Diskusní článek

Checked Open Submissions Checked Indexed Checked Peer Reviewed

Questionnaire

Checked Open Submissions Checked Indexed Checked Peer Reviewed

Survey articles

Checked Open Submissions Checked Indexed Checked Peer Reviewed
 

Peer Review Process

Original articles are subject to blind peer-review policy. Each article is reviewed by at least two experts in the relevant field. Based on the reviews, the editorial board issues a final decision about the conditions of (non)acceptance of the submission for publication. The reviews are internal material of the editorial office and are archived.

 

Guidelines for authors

TEORIE VĚDY / THEORY OF SCIENCE accepts manuscripts of original (theoretical, methodological, and empirical) research articles, survey articles, and review articles in the range of 20–35 pages (Times New Roman, size 12, spacing 2). The manuscripts must be accompanied by a title in Czech and English, an abstract (at maximum 150 words, or 1000 characters including spaces), 4–5 keywords in Czech and English, and the authors' contact details (name, institutional address, email, url). Within the limited space and without the use of jargon, the abstract must describe the problem addressed by the article, account for the method and inform about the main conclusions of the article. The journal editors can arrange for the required Czech translations. If the authors wish to include an acknowledgement or indicate a grant support relevant to the article, these should be stated in a footnote associated with the first word of the main text. Original, survey, and review articles are submitted for peer-review. The authors are obliged to take the changes recommended by the reviewers into consideration and, along with the final manuscript, provide a separate document that briefly summarizes the changes made in the text or the reasons why certain objections and suggestions have not been accounted for.  

An original research article presents new research findings. Its text is structured by subheadings and accompanied by references in the footnotes. The article must comply with the usual standards of scientific work.

In a survey article, the author reviews and interprets findings made by other authors. The survey article can have an introductory character and does not need to emphasize a critical assessment of the commented texts.

A review article is an original study based on critical analysis of a work by another author, or of several works by different authors focusing on a similar subject. The review article puts emphasis on an original assessment of the issues raised by the reviewed work(s).

Under the rubric of "Miscellanea", the journal also publishes the following:

Reviews of monographs and edited volumes recently published in Czech or other languages (the recommended range is 5–10 pages). Besides a summary of the contents, a review should situate the publication in the context of related works and include an evaluation by the review's author. The journal editors will typically procure a review copy for the author.

The journal also offers a publication venue for annotations (synopses of a publication's contents and a brief introduction of its author), conference reports, research reports, and other "smaller genres" if their contents is relevant to the journal's aims and scope (in all of these instances, the recommend length is between 2-4 pages).

Authors must submit the manuscripts via the online submission interface on the journal's website. Submissions should not be simultaneously reviewed by another journal, nor should they be already published elsewhere or simply translated from another language. Authors of the manuscripts are responsible for obtaining permissions for reprinting copyrighted illustrations.

The editorial team consults stylistic changes in the submitted articles with the authors; for other types of texts, the editors reserve the right to independently make any changes deemed necessary. Submission process is completed upon receiving a confirmation email. Inquiries should be sent electronically to the editors or to the journal's address teorievedy(at)flu.cas.cz.

Bibliographic citations in text should be listed in numbered footnotes and styled according to the following examples (in 2017 the journal adopted the Chicago citation style. For more, see The Chicago Manual of Style):

Book:
Geoffrey C. Ward and Ken Burns, The War: An Intimate History, 1941–1945 (New York: Knopf, 2007).

Edited book/Anthology:
David S. Barnes, “Confronting Sensory Crisis in the Great Stinks of London and Paris,” in Filth: Dirt, Disgust, and Modern Life, ed. William A. Cohen and Ryan Johnson (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2005), 115.

Journal article:
Walter Blair, “Americanized Comic Braggarts,” Critical Inquiry 4, no. 2 (1977): 331–32. 

WWW:
Douglas Kellner, “Jean Baudrillard,” in Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, accessed January 13, 2017, https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/baudrillard/.

Repeated reference to the same item:
Surname, Short Title, #.
Or: Surname, “(Short) article title,” #.
When referring to the same work as in the citation immediately preceding, use the abbreviation Ibid. for the second reference: Ibid., #.

Bibliographic references in footnotes:
List the reference according to the above-mentioned examples as a self-standing sentence after the citation. Alternatively, according to the context, parenthesis may be used, as well as introduction of the reference by the word “see” or the abbreviation “cf.”.
In book reviews, the relevant work may be cited using the page numbers in parenthesis. If other items than a reviewed book are referenced, comply with the instructions above.

Bibliography at the end of the journal article:
As of 2017 all manuscripts should also have a separate bibliography containing references to all cited works. Examples:

Book in a bibliography:
Ward, Geoffrey C., and Ken Burns. The War: An Intimate History, 1941–1945. New York: Knopf, 2007.

Edited book/Anthology in a bibliography:
Barnes, David S. “Confronting Sensory Crisis in the Great Stinks of London and Paris.” In Filth: Dirt, Disgust, and Modern Life, ed. William A. Cohen and Ryan Johnson, 103–29. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2005.

Journal article in a bibliography:
Blair, Walter. “Americanized Comic Braggarts.” Critical Inquiry 4, no. 2 (1977): 331–49.

WWW in a bibliography:
Kellner, Douglas. “Jean Baudrillard.” In Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Stanford University, 1997–. Article published April 22, 2005. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/baudrillard/.

Download the sample manuscript format.

 

Guidelines for reviewers

TEORIE VĚDY / THEORY OF SCIENCE is a peer-reviewed academic journal founded in 1969. Currently, the journal is listed in several prestigious databases (Scopus, ERIH PLUS, EBSCO, CEJSH). The journal publishes original research articles in Czech and English. Unsolicited book reviews are typically in Czech.Original articles are subject to blind peer-review policy. Each article is reviewed by at least two experts in the relevant field. Based on the reviews, the editorial board issues a final decision about the conditions of (non)acceptance of the submission for publication. The reviews are internal material of the editorial office and are archived. The editors kindly ask the reviewers to focus primarily on the following aspects in their reports:

Expertise

The article is an original scholarly contribution in accordance with journal's aims and scope. The research problem is clearly stated and important in the relevant field. Methodology and argumentation are adequate to the addressed problem. Empirical data are correctly treated. 

Structure

The text is lucid and logically coherent. Individual sections - introduction, literature review, discussion, method, conlusions - are mutually balanced. The title and abstract are congruent with the text. The abstract intelligibly conveys the problem, method and main conclusions of the article. Tables and illustrations facilitate comprehension and are well-placed.

Language and style

The grammar is correct and the style is intelligible and concise. The choice and application of terminology is justified and correct.

Format

The submission adheres to the guidelines for authors issued by the editors. Namely, the citation style of the journal is consistently used. The article includes a title, an abstract, and a list of keywords.

Ethics

The manuscript is not a case of plagiarism or an impostrous submission. All sources are properly cited. The article does not unfoundedly raise other ethical concerns.

The review report must include by the way of conclusion a final evaluation on the following scale:

  1. recommendation of unconditional acceptance for publication (or only minor editing is needed),
  2. recommendation of conditional acceptance for publication (the article requires more editing or improvements), 
  3. recommendation of acceptance upon substantial revision (a worthy topic is treated in a way unsuitable for publication), 
  4. recommendation of rejection (give an explicit reason).
The editors kindly asks the reviewers to submit their reports of at least one standard page in lenght no later than 4 weeks since the reception of the text. If the reviewers cannot accept a text for review, they should notify the editors promptly. Inquiries should be send electronically to the editors or to the journal's address teorievedy(at)flu.cas.cz.

 

Ethical Statement and guidelines

Theory of Science - Statement of publication ethics

Articles published in Theory of Science must be in accord with the generally accepted principles of publication ethics in scientific, peer-reviewed journals. This statement binds all parties involved in the publication and peer-review processes: authors, reviewers and editors.

Guidelines for Theory of Science's Statement of Publication Ethics

The main responsibilities of authors include:

  • Listing all authors of the submission and only those.
  • Submitting original work in line with the journal's aims and scope.
  • Avoiding plagiarism and duplicate submissions.
  • Citing properly all relevant references and crediting previous research.
  • Avoiding defamatory and libelous statements.
  • Evidencing ethical conduct of research upon which the submission is based.
  • Obtaining publication permissions for copyrighted material.
  • Disclosing all potential conflicts of interests and sources of funding.

The main responsibilities of reviewers include:

  • Evaluating submissions based on content and merit.
  • Disregarding personal identity and/or affiliation of authors.
  • Avoiding defamatory and libelous statements.
  • Submitting the review in timely manner.
  • Providing evidence for objections and offering constructive criticism.
  • Keeping the review process and the submission confidential.
  • Alerting editors to any potential breaches of publication ethics.

The main responsibilities of editors include:

  • Accepting submissions for review on the basis of aims and scope of the journal.
  • Screening submissions based on content and merit.
  • Disregarding personal identity and/or affiliation of authors.
  • Facilitating the review process and ensuring its confidentiality.
  • Delegating review process for their own submissions to editorial board.
  • Rejecting submissions and retracting articles recognized as instances of ethical malpractice.
  • Maintaining high publication standard of the journal.