Ambix – Guidelines for Contributors
Ambix welcomes original contributions on the history of alchemy, chemistry and the chemical industry that match the aims and scope of the journal (see below) on the understanding that their contents have not previously been published or are currently submitted for publication elsewhere. All submissions will be sent to independent referees. It is a condition of publication that papers become the copyright of the Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry and an assignment form will be circulated with proofs. All editorial correspondence should be sent, via email where possible, to:
Ambix Editor:
Prof. Bruce Moran
Email: editor[AT]ambix.org
Authors may wish to consider consulting the Editor prior to submission.
Aims and Scope
Ambix is an internationally recognized, peer-reviewed quarterly journal devoted to publishing high-quality, original research and book reviews in the intellectual, social and cultural history of alchemy and chemistry. It publishes studies, discussions, and primary sources relevant to the historical experience of all areas related to alchemy and chemistry covering all periods (ancient to modern) and geographical regions. Ambix publishes individual papers, focused thematic sections and larger special issues (either single or double and usually guest-edited). Topics covered by Ambix include, but are not limited to, interactions between alchemy and chemistry and other disciplines; chemical medicine and pharmacy; molecular sciences; practices allied to material, instrumental, institutional and visual cultures; environmental chemistry; the chemical industry; the appearance of alchemy and chemistry within popular culture; biographical and historiographical studies; and the study of issues related to gender, race, and colonial experience within the context of chemistry.
The Editor also welcomes proposals for themed issues. Up to two special issues will be published per year, which may be based on invited papers or conference proceedings. Special issues may address a specific historical period, a significant theme in the history of alchemy and chemistry, or historiographical and methodological approaches. Recent special issues have focused on Alchemy and the Mendicant Orders of Late Medieval and Early Modern Europe, Paper Tools from the 1780s to 1960s, and New Studies on Humphry Davy. Over the course of each annual volume, the Editor aims to provide balanced coverage of the history of alchemy and chemistry, insofar as this is possible on the basis of submitted articles.
Ambix publishes reviews in English of books dealing with any aspect of the history of alchemy and chemistry, and the Reviews Editor is happy to consider books for review that have been published in any of the languages which fall within the bounds of scholarship in its fields.
Ambix is published by the Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry. The Society was founded in November 1935 and its journal launched in May 1937.
Submissions to Ambix are managed via an online submission system: http://edmgr.com/amb
Publishing Open Access in Ambix
Your research funder or your institution may require you to publish your article Open Access. Visit Taylor and Francis’ Author Services website to find out more about Open Access policies and how you can comply with these. Please contact info [AT] ambix.org if you require more guidance on your Open Access options.
Presentation and Style.
Contributions should follow the house-style of the journal as set out on the Taylor & Francis website (http://www.tandfonline.com/action/authorSubmission?journalCode=yamb20&page=instructions#.V3DqyDH6tPY). Words should not be hyphenated at the end of a line. Use double inverted commas for short quotations (single for quotations within quotations), but quotations over 50 words should be indented and single spaced without inverted commas.
In preparing the Word document, there is no need to format articles: please include italics or bold type where necessary, but not style or endnote codes. In the main text, numbering of notes should be indicated by superscript numbers. References and captions should be placed at the end of the file. Please use hard returns only at the end of paragraphs; switch auto-hyphenation off; do not justify text; and do not use automatic numbering routines. Consistency in spacing, punctuation, and spelling will be of help. Although Ambix follows Chicago style, all papers should use British English.
Notes and References. Contributors should adhere to the journal’s house-style in the presentation of numbered references. Within the text, notes should be indicated by a superscript Arabic numeral. Ambix follows the conventions of The Chicago Manual of Style. The following examples cover the most common formats:
Margaret Gowing, Independence and Deterrence: Britain and Atomic Energy, 1945-1952 (London: Macmillan, 1974), vol. 2, 431-41. Subsequent references should use Gowing, Independence and Deterrence, vol. 2, 352. Do not use op. cit. and ibid.
Noel G. Coley, “Forensic Chemistry in 19th Century Britain,” Endeavor 22 (1998): 143-47, on 144. Standard journal abbreviations (JCS, BJHS) should be used, and use DNB, DSB (etc.) for standard reference works. Subsequent references should use Coley, “Forensic Chemistry,” 145.
Mary Jo Nye, “At the Boundaries: Michael Polanyi’s Work on Surfaces and the Solid State,” in Chemical Sciences in the 20th Century: Bridging Boundaries, ed. Carsten Reinhardt (Weinheim: Wiley-VCH, 2001), 246-57, on 250. Subsequent references should use Nye, “At the Boundaries,” 253.
Tables and Illustrations. Small tables should be incorporated into the document and large tables and figures should be supplied separately with a separate list of captions, including credit for reproduction. In the text there should be a reference for each figure (see figure 1, etc.). The Society has no facility for producing artwork, so all illustrations must be provided at the final stage, to a publishable standard at the author’s cost, either in the form of glossy prints or high quality scanned images. Half tones should be scanned at 350/400 dpi; simple line drawings at 800 dpi; and fine line drawings at 1200dpi. All scanned images should be accompanied by a hard copy print out for reference. Avoid inserting artwork or diagrams into the text file, but for equations, chemical structures or formulae it is acceptable to use packages such as Chemdraw. Permission to reproduce illustrations should be obtained by the author before including the illustrations in the work.
Proofs. Proofs will be sent to the author nominated for correspondence by email. Proofs are supplied for checking and making essential typographical corrections, not for general revision, alteration, or changes to illustrations, which will not be allowed. Proofs must be returned to the editor within 7 days of receipt, preferably by email.
Eprints. Authors of papers in Ambix receive a screen-resolution PDF file of the published version. Orders for digital reprints may be made at the time proofs are distributed.
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