jf-internet-appendix

name	jf-internet-appendix
description	Use when deciding what belongs in the Internet Appendix vs. the main text of a The Journal of Finance (JF) manuscript. Allocates content and structures the appendix per JF's actual policy; it does not generate the results.

Internet Appendix (jf-internet-appendix)

When to trigger

• The main text is bloated with proofs, secondary robustness tables, or data-construction detail
• A referee will ask for more checks but the article is near the 60-page limit
• You are unsure how JF wants the Internet Appendix submitted and hosted
• The main result is buried on page 40 behind diagnostics

JF's actual Internet Appendix policy

The "Internet Appendix" is a JF convention. JF's specifics differ from generic "online appendices":

• At submission, the Internet Appendix is placed at the END of the same PDF as the manuscript — NOT uploaded as a separate file. Put the title "Internet Appendix" at the top of its first page so it is not mistaken for a regular appendix.
• The Internet Appendix does not count toward JF's 60-page manuscript limit (manuscript: ≤60 pp, ≥1.5 spacing, 12-pt font).
• The paper must be self-contained: a reader must understand the study in full without consulting the Internet Appendix.
• On acceptance, the appendix is published as the Internet Appendix with the online article on the publisher's (Wiley) site.

Source: afajof.org/submissions and the JF Submission Guidelines (Rev. March 12, 2024), accessed 2026-05-30.

What goes where

Content	Main text	Internet Appendix
The question, design, headline result, economic magnitude	X
The 3–6 decisive robustness checks	X
Full proofs / derivations of propositions		X
Secondary / exhaustive robustness tables		X
Detailed variable construction, data filters, sample steps	brief	full detail
Alternative measures / extra subsamples / extra factor models		X
Monte Carlo / simulation evidence		X
Additional figures, summary-stat breakdowns		X

Structuring the Internet Appendix

• Mirror the main-text section order; label tables IA.I, IA.II, … and figures IA.1, IA.2, ….
• Every appendix item must be referenced from the main text ("see Internet Appendix Table IA.IV") — orphan tables read as padding.
• Keep each appendix table self-contained, same note conventions as the main exhibits (jf-tables-figures).
• Note: replication code is handled separately under JF's Data and Code Sharing Policy (Supplementary Information at acceptance), not via the Internet Appendix — see jf-submission.

Worked vignette — sizing an Internet Appendix for an anomaly paper

Illustrative. An anomaly paper keeps four decisive exhibits in the body — the headline spread table, one factor-adjusted alpha table, the GRS test, and a placebo. The Internet Appendix absorbs the other candidate signals, alternative factor models, equal-weighted and alternative-breakpoint versions, transaction-cost nets, the data-construction appendix, and any Monte Carlo. The IA might run 30+ pages while the body stays well under 60 — exactly the flagship's intended shape: a self-contained body over a backstop a skeptical referee can drill into.

Referee-pushback patterns and the JF-specific fix

Pushback you will hear	JF-specific fix
"I can't follow the paper without the appendix"	Make the body self-contained; the IA is optional reading
"Your appendix is a junk drawer of uncited tables"	Cite every IA item from the body; cut anything orphaned
"You submitted the IA as a separate file"	Re-bundle at the end of the same PDF, titled "Internet Appendix"

Calibration anchors for the IA culture

• The Internet Appendix is a JF hallmark; an extensive one signals seriousness, while a thin IA at a top-3 finance journal reads as under-stress-tested.
• Self-containment means the question, design, headline, and magnitude land without the IA — the IA deepens, never completes, the argument.
• Bundled-in-PDF placement and the no-page-count rule are JF specifics; confirm against current author guidelines, since submission mechanics change.

Checklist

• Internet Appendix is at the END of the same PDF, titled "Internet Appendix"
• Main text is self-contained and ≤60 pages on its own
• All proofs/derivations are in the Internet Appendix, not interleaved in the body
• Every Internet Appendix item is cited from the main text
• IA numbering and note conventions match the main exhibits
• No genuinely new headline finding appears only in the appendix

Anti-patterns

• Uploading the Internet Appendix as a separate file (JF wants it bundled in the same PDF at submission)
• Writing a body that cannot be understood without the appendix (JF requires self-containment)
• Treating the Internet Appendix as a junk drawer of uncited tables
• Padding the body past 60 pages and pushing core results into the appendix to dodge the limit

Output format

【IA bundled at end of same PDF + titled?】yes / no
【Body self-contained and ≤60 pp?】yes / no
【Proofs relocated?】yes / no
【All IA items cited from body?】yes / no
【New result hidden in appendix?】yes / no
【Next step】jf-writing-style