Science is a weekly
peer-reviewed scientific journal which appeals
to a cross-disciplinary audience. It is published by the
American
Association for the Advancement of Science, and is based in
Washington,
DC. It was first published by a member of the AAAS from 1880-81 (funded,
interestingly enough by
Thomas Edison), ceased publication for one year,
and started again in 1883. It suffered some hardships, financially, until
1894 when it came under the ownership of James McKeen Cattell in 1894. The
psychology professor brought the journal under the auspices of the
AAAS officially that year, and edited the journal for the next fifty
years.
The papers published in Science are generally shorter than those in
normal scientific publications. There are several categories of papers
that are published in Science. The principal papers in the journal are
called Research Articles. Research articles are roughly 4500 words
long, and are expected to present a major advance in the scientific field
in question. These articles may have up to six figures or tables, and may
cite up to 40 references. In recent years, authors have been permitted to
supplement the material in research articles with information kept online.
Reports are more numerous than research articles, and can be up to
2500 words in length. These papers normally present important new
information with broad significance. They may have up to 4 figures and
tables, and may cite up to 30 references. Again, online information may
supplement the publication.
They also publish even shorter reports, called Brevia (~800 words)
and Technical Comments. Brevia may have one illustration, and are
intended to summarize recent research results, and a more thorough
publication likely occurs in another journal. Interdisciplinary research
is favoured in the selection of brevia. Technical comments are only
published online, and discuss papers previously published in Science. They
are normally accompanied by a reply from the authors of the paper being
discussed.
Other sections in the journal include Editorials, Book
Reviews, Essays, Perspectives and Reviews.
The journal has a very high impact factor, and is one of the two
best-known interdisciplinary scientific journals (it is second, in IF, to
Nature). Given its interdisciplinary and prestigious nature, the journal
gets numerous submissions and rejects upwards of 90 percent of the papers
it receives.
The journal, along with its articles, can be found online at
http://www.sciencemag.org. (Beware www.sciencemag.com, which takes you to
what can only be called a domain name squatter).