Inside Behavior Analysis
Volume 1 | 2009 | Number 1
The Behavior Analyst
By Michael Dougher
The Behavior Analyst (TBA) contains general interest articles on theoretical, experimental, and applied topics in behavior analysis. Articles on the past, present, and future of behavior analysis, as well as its relation to other fields, are particularly appropriate for the journal. The Behavior Analyst also publishes literature reviews, discussions of previously published work, reinterpretations of published data, and articles on behaviorism as a philosophy that are suitable to the general readership of the journal.
This report covers activities of The Behavior Analyst for the calendar year 2008. The current journal editor (Michael Dougher) and associate editors (Kate Saunders and Hank Schlinger) began service in August, 2007, replacing editor, Marc Branch, and associate editors, Michael Dougher and Greg Hanley. All terms will end July 31, 2010.
Papers published during 2008
Volume 31 of TBA contained 14 papers (compared to 18 in 2007). Eight were featured articles (compared to 14 in 2007), four were special articles (compared to 0 in 2007), one was an introduction to the special section on the state of the science, and one was “On Books” (compared to 1 in 2007). Volume 31 contained 201 content pages. Table 1 shows that the total number of pages and number of featured articles were less than previous years. The 2008 Spring issue contained five featured articles and no other types of papers. As a result, greater efforts were made since the last issue to recruit papers for the journal. These efforts paid off in Spring 2009 issue. Given the decreasing trend in numbers of submissions, there is no need to consider increasing the number of issues per year at this time.
Year |
Pages |
Featured Articles |
On Terms |
In Response |
On Books |
On Media |
Special Papers |
2001 |
281 |
14 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
|
0 |
2002 |
259 |
15 |
0 |
4 |
5 |
|
0 |
2003 |
310 |
16 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
|
5 |
2004 |
289 |
17 |
2 |
4 |
1 |
|
0 |
2005 |
257 |
9 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
|
1 |
2006 |
287 |
10 |
0 |
10 |
2 |
|
3 |
2007 |
227 |
14 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
2008 |
201 |
8 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
5 |
Table 1. Number of pages and content breakdown for The Behavior Analyst.
Processing of Manuscripts Submitted in 2008
Between January 1, 2008, and December 31, 2008, 31 new manuscripts were submitted (versus 22 for 2007). An additional four manuscripts were invited for a special “State of the Science” series guest edited by Tim Hackenberg. At the time this report was prepared (mid-April, 2009), six manuscripts had been received in 2009. This is in contrast to 14 submissions between January 1 and mid-April 2008.
The percentage of papers accepted in 2008 (23) was lower than the previous five years. Assuming similar reviewing and editorial standards, it appears that the number of high-quality submissions is declining as well. As shown in Table 2, the mean processing time for articles in 2008 was two months, which was in the range of the past several years. Mean processing time (Rcpt- Decis) is defined here as the number of months between the date a paper was received by the editor and the date the editor or associate editor informed the author of the initial decision. The longest time was four months. Action-editor time, the time from the receipt of the last review to when a decision letter went out, decreased by 42% relative to 2007, and was well within the range of the previous five years. Relative to past years, processing times have continued to be reasonable, and are within the range of most major journals. Rapid turn-around for authors remains an important goal for TBA, and timely processing by reviewers and AEs will be emphasized again in 2009.
|
|
|
Rcpt-Decis (mo*) |
AE Decis (days*) |
|||
Year |
#MSs |
% Accpt |
M |
Med |
Range |
M2 |
Range |
2003 |
36 |
56 |
1.9 |
2 |
1.0-4 |
19 |
0-38 |
2004 |
43 |
58 |
2 |
2 |
0.25-5 |
9 |
0-35 |
2005 |
39 |
54 |
1.1 |
2 |
0-4 |
19 |
0-60 |
2006 |
37 |
54 |
2.2 |
2.5 |
0-4 |
19 |
0-61 |
2007 |
22 |
46 |
2 |
1.25 |
.1-4 |
24 |
1-90 |
2008 |
31 |
23 |
1.85 |
1.75 |
.25-4 |
14 |
1-35 |
Table 2. Mean processing times.
Board of Editors
The Board of Editors at the time of this report is shown in Table 3. Board members listed for 2006-2009 rotated off in May, 2009. The members listed for 2008-2011 began their term with the spring issue of Volume 31 and will serve through May, 2011. In addition, 29 individuals served as ad hoc or guest reviewers for one or more manuscripts during 2008.
2006-2009 |
2007-2010 |
2008-2011 |
Alyce Dickinson |
Yvonne Barnes-Holmes |
Marc Branch |
Patrick Friman |
Timothy Hackenberg |
M. Carmen Luciano |
Jonathan Kanter |
Gregory Hanley |
Deisy G. de Souza |
Edward Morris |
Eric Jacobs |
Matthew Normand |
Oliver Mudford |
Sam Leigland |
Jonathan Pinkston |
Bryan Roche |
Maria Ruiz |
|
Alexandra Rutherford |
Timothy Shahan |
|
Kathryn Saunders |
David Wacker |
|
Richard Shull |
Diana Walker |
|
Dean Williams |
|
|
Douglas Woods |
|
|
Table 3. TBA’s Board of Editors.
Other Accomplishments
Kate Saunders and Hank Schlinger are to be commended for their service as associate editors. Kathy Hill continues her invaluable contribution as managing editor.
The conversion to electronic submission is complete. The last adjustment was to change the instructions for authors that are printed in the journal. Now both the print version and the Web site indicate that electronic submissions are preferred. All papers for the 2008 year were handled electronically, thus eliminating the need for, cost of, and delay caused by, standard mailing. Both issues of Volume 31 were processed on schedule.
Through the energies and hard work of the ABA office, TBA continues to enjoy a sophisticated Web presence.
Additional Projects
Increasing the number of quality TBA submissions remains an important goal. I continue to invite manuscripts on a range of topics, and have had some success in this regard. The annual convention continues to be a good source of possibilities.
Volume 30 of TBA was the first volume to be listed on PubMed Central. This will allow TBA articles to be listed in various citation indices and should increase their accessibility and impact. The full archive of TBA should be available on the PubMed database some time in late August.