Behavior Research Methods
Messages From the Editor

(last updated January 5, 2010)

Editorial, Behavior Research Methods 42(1) (posted 1/5/2010)
Deadline for SCiP Special Issue: November 12, 2009 (posted 10/12/2009)
Behavior Research Methods Goes Online Only (posted 7/30/2009)

Editorial, Behavior Research Methods 42(1)

I am very pleased to begin my term as the editor of Behavior Research Methods. As I write this editorial, I am looking at the table of contents for volume 41, number 4, which includes articles on lexical databases, design issues for fMRI studies, calculations of statistical power, and the development of MATLAB toolboxes for various purposes. If you want to get a good idea of the status of experimental psychology (broadly defined), you would be well served by looking through the past year of articles in Behavior Research Methods.

The previous editors have provided a good foundation for continued growth of the journal. Submissions are high, the impact factor is respectable, and the editorial board is strong. I am grateful for being able to step into the position of editor for a journal that is in such good condition. These characteristics mean the journal is in good shape for the changes that a journal of this type will face.

The most obvious change is one you have already noticed. There is no longer a printed version of the journal. Shortly before I accepted the position as editor, the Psychonomic Society Publications Committee decided that Behavior Research Methods would be published in an electronic format only. Although I was not part of the decision-making process, I heartily endorse the conclusion. Like many researchers, I now retrieve almost all of my articles in electronic form. It is not clear what impact this decision will have on the dynamics of publication and the archiving of academic research, but I think it is a change that has to be made. One immediate advantage is that color figures are essentially free. Authors need to be careful about utilizing colors for maximum benefit, but they need not worry about the expense.

There are other factors that are likely to have an even bigger impact on the content of the journal. I started subscribing to what was then Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers in 1998. The first issue of that year contained 179 pages, and that was pretty typical. Starting in 2007, the size of the issues increased dramatically. The last issue of 2009 contained 302 pages, and the current issue is close to 400. The increases reflect the number of submissions and the quality of the manuscripts, but these sizes are unsustainable over the long term because there is not enough manpower to edit and typeset all of the articles with the quality that is appropriate for an archival journal. The issue is time rather than space (although the two are largely interchangeable in the electronic format). I would like to see the journal get closer to 200 pages per issue.

This challenge is actually a great opportunity for the journal to remake itself. We will become more selective over the next few years, which should increase the overall quality of the journal. We will also likely be limiting the types of manuscripts that will be published in Behavior Research Methods. For example, search engines on the Internet have largely replaced the need for software announcements in Behavior Research Methods. A solid manuscript that describes software as part of an advancement in research methods will always be welcome, but a report that essentially tells readers to download “software that does X” at a Web site will likely not be accepted.

I doubt that many people sit down and read Behavior Research Methods from cover to cover. Rather, the journal is a lasting resource about the methods and techniques that fundamentally define the field, and a reader tends to seek out each individual article as a need arises. The strongest articles for Behavior Research Methods need to clearly define a need and then identify a solution that addresses that need.

Finally, I would like to thank Ira Bernstein of the University of Texas Southwest Medical Center and Mark Greenlee of the University of Regensburg for agreeing to act as associate editors. They both have diverse backgrounds that help us cover the wide range of topics submitted to the journal. We have been handling new submissions for the past year, and we look forward to your submissions in the future.

Deadline for SCiP Special Issue: November 12, 2009

Every year Behavior Research Methods publishes a special issue for submissions related to presentations at the annual meeting of the Society for Computers in Psychology. To ensure full consideration for publication in the 2010 special issue, manuscripts must be submitted through Manuscript Central by November 12, 2009. Please be sure to select "SCiP Paper" as manuscript type when making your submission.

Behavior Research Methods Goes Online Only

In February 2010, in its 42nd year of publication, Behavior Research Methods will enter a new phase. With Issue 42(1), BRM will become an online journal only. Prices for 2010 have been posted. The journal will continue to maintain its high standard of quality; it will keep the same look and will continue to receive the same formatting and copy editing as before. Authors will be able to include color figures at no extra charge. We hope that this will facilitate the distribution of BRM among the members of the scientific community.

Return to Journal Home Page