What is OECS? 

OECS is the Open Encyclopedia of Cognitive Science, an online, open, and authoritative resource about the nature of minds—what they are, how they grow, how they interact, and how they differ from one another. You can find more information in our About page. 

Is OECS free to use?

Yes, OECS is free to use for everyone. You can access all the content without subscription or payment. OECS content is licensed CC BY-NC 4.0 (see Legal).

Is OECS complete? What about [topic]?

OECS is a dynamic resource and we continually add articles. If you are interested in suggesting a topic to be added, please send us a note at oecs@mit.edu.  

Who can use OECS?

OECS is designed for students, researchers, and anyone else who is looking for authoritative and reliable information about the mind in order to study, research, or just address their curiosity.

How do I find information on a specific topic?

You can browse topics via the semantic network on the Home page or via the Articles page. Because cognitive science is inherently interdisciplinary, we don’t organize articles into specific disciplinary topics such as psychology or linguistics.

Who writes the articles in the Open Encyclopedia of Cognitive Science ?

Articles are written by invitation only. Authors are world-leading experts in cognitive science, selected by the Section Editors and Editors-in-Chief. 

What is the status of articles in OECS?

Our content is written by authorities in the field, and undergoes peer review by experts. 

How do you decide which topics to include? 

The Editors-in-Chief initially worked with the Editorial Advisory Board, Section Editors, and other stakeholders to select a range of topics from timely to classic, and that covered a variety of disciplinary areas, topics and perspectives. There are many more articles in the pipeline that will be added to OECS over the next months and years.

Is there a way to cite articles from the Open Encyclopedia of Cognitive Science in my work?

Yes, articles in OECS have DOIs and are certainly citable. Please see the “cite” button on each article. Here’s an example citation: 

Griffiths, T. L. (2024). Bayesian models of cognition. In M. C. Frank & A. Majid (Eds.), Open Encyclopedia of Cognitive Science. MIT Press. https://doi.org/10.21428/e2759450.7b420317

Can I contribute an article to the Open Encyclopedia of Cognitive Science?

We do not accept unsolicited articles, but we encourage experts to contact us if they are interested in contributing. You can write to oecs@mit.edu.