There are several things that distinguish AMD from many other empirical journals:
- AMD is a premier journal for the empirical exploration of data describing or investigating compelling phenomena. AMD is not a journal for deductive theorizing or hypothesis testing. Authors are encouraged to present findings without
the need to “reverse engineer” any theoretical framework or hypotheses (HARKing). AMD publishes discoveries resulting from the data mining of both quantitative and qualitative data sources.
- AMD articles are phenomenon-forward rather than theory-forward. This means that AMD papers look quite different than articles sent to other empirical journals. The goal of the front end of an AMD paper should
primarily be to demonstrate the novelty/interestingness of the phenomenon and why current theory fails to explain such phenomenon. It is in the discussion of an AMD paper where a plausible theoretical explanation (the theoretical contribution)
is provided.
- AMD strongly supports creativity in writing and presentation. While such creativity is encouraged in every AMD submission, AMD “Discoveries-in-Brief” are
designed to promote this objective, specifically. Our goal is to work with authors to use their own voice to turn stylized facts into compelling stories for any audience. The AMD team collaborates with authors to determine which submissions are
most appropriate for full-length manuscripts and which are best suited for “Discoveries-in-Brief”. Information on how to craft a Discoveries-in-Brief submission can be found here.
- AMD welcomes Registered Reports. Submitting a study idea as a registered report promotes transparency
in scientific research by making a clear distinction between a priori and post hoc procedures or analyses. For AMD, registered reports are particularly beneficial for research questions where the presence of a non-finding would
be particularly compelling or challenging to the field. Information on how to submit a registered report to AMD can be found here.
For additional information about AMD, see the following resources:
Frequently Asked Questions: On this page many questions about AMD and the types of papers published in AMD
are answered.
Submitting to AMD: On this page you will see a template for an AMD article and other information to help
you prepare your manuscript.
Reviewing for AMD: At AMD we use a Reviewer Template to facilitate reviews. Whether submitting to AMD or reviewing for AMD, we suggest you familiarize yourself with this document.