Abstract
As the incoming editors of Social Psychology Quarterly, we look forward to the next few years of publishing leading research in our premier journal. We have assembled a first-rate team of deputy editors Linda George (Duke University), Will Kalkhoff (Kent State University), and Donileen Loseke (University of South Florida); managing editor Ryan Trettevik (University of California, Riverside); editorial assistants Phoenicia Fares (University of California, Riverside) and Elena Fox (Kent State University); and copy editor Gianna Mosser (Northwestern University) to help us continue to make the journal a success. We also welcome new editorial board members Jody Clay-Warner, Christina Falci, Michael Flaherty, Matthew Hunt, Jill Kiecolt, Neil MacKinnon, David Melamed, Scott Schieman, Verta Taylor, Lisa Troyer, and Murray Webster. We are fortunate to have additional social psychologists at our home institutions who will be able to help us when we need it, such as Peter Burke, Scott Savage, and Jonathan Turner at University of California, Riverside, and Carla Goar, Kristin Marcussen, and Timothy Owens at Kent State University.
Our goal is to maintain the high caliber of work that Karen Hegtvedt published during her four-year term and that her coeditor, Cathryn Johnson, also fostered during her three-year term with Karen. We are indebted to them for their tireless efforts, their close attention to each manuscript, and their unwavering commitment to theoretical advancement, empirical work, and the scientific enterprise. We hope to continue this legacy.
The transition of the journal from Emory to the University of California, Riverside, has been relatively seamless. Given technologically mediated computer advances, we are now using all of the platforms available to manage manuscripts in a timely manner and communicate weekly with each other, daily with our staff, and monthly with our deputy editors. The new journal cover design reflects the blue and gold university colors shared by UCR and Kent State. We will continue to list upcoming articles on the back cover of each issue.
We’d like to share some of our plans for the journal. First, we are committed to a short turnaround on manuscripts: about 70 days from manuscript submission to a decision. The prior editors had this as their goal, and it is our goal as well. We also want to publish shorter articles (about 35 pages inclusive of text, references, tables, endnotes, and appendices in Microsoft Word) so that we can publish a greater number of pieces in a volume year. Further, we are returning to the practice of having a “Research Notes” section (about 15 pages inclusive in Microsoft Word). Research Notes often reflect a strong empirical contribution to existing theory.
We are working to attract a broad base of researchers from across the discipline who use social psychological theory in their research and who will make a valuable contribution to the journal. Additionally, we want to encourage social psychological theory and research that focuses on current events and social problems as well as the newest trends in research. These strategies may entice more contributors and readers to the journal.
We hope to strengthen the review process by encouraging reviewers to prepare constructive and professional reviews that evaluate the theoretical, methodological, and analytical approach of the research as well as its contribution in advancing science. We also want to increase the presence of SPQ by using current technology and engaging accessible media. We will work to make the journal more visible on such platforms as Facebook and Twitter. We will continue the practice of using one article per issue as a good teaching and learning device in the classroom by offering an abbreviated Snap version of the chosen article to be maintained as open access on the journal’s website.
Following what many other editors have done, we plan to publish at least one special issue. Potential topics were discussed with the deputy editors and editorial board members in early 2015. A call for papers in the special issue will be out sometime in the spring of 2015, with an anticipated submission deadline by the end of 2015. The goal is to publish the special issue at the end of 2016 or in early 2017.
We welcome theoretical work and quantitative as well as qualitative research. We look forward to working with the social psychological community to maintain high quality work in SPQ. We will do our best to make this journal the best it can be for you.