Inside Behavior Analysis
Volume 2 | 2010 | Number 2
Behavior Analysis in Practice
By Gregory P. Hanley
This annual report covers the activities of Behavior Analysis in Practice (BAP) in 2009 and in the first quarter of 2010.
Journal Mission
Behavior Analysis in Practice is a peer-reviewed translational publication designed to provide science-based information on best practices in behavior analysis. The target audience includes practicing behavior analysts, educators and related personnel, staff in settings where behavior-analytic services are provided, and scientist-practitioners. Types of articles published in BAP include empirical reports describing the application and evaluation of behavior-analytic procedures; discussion papers on professional and practice issues; reviews of the empirical literature that provide best practice guidelines, technical articles on methods, data analysis, or instrumentation in the practice of behavior analysis; tutorials on terms, procedures, and theories relevant to best practice in behavior analysis; and critical reviews of books and products that are aimed at practitioners or consumers of behavior analysis.
Editorial Board Activity
The past journal Editor, Dorothea Lerman, ended her term in October of 2009 and the current Editor began service in the same month. The initial Editorial Board members completed their service in January, 2010. Three of the original Associate Editors—Timothy Vollmer, Dennis Reid, and Stephanie Peterson—agreed to serve for one more year. Six new Associate Editors agreed to serve for 2-year terms. Five were all exceptional members of the original Editorial Board (Jennifer Austin, James Carr, Michael Himle, Matthew Normand, and Henry Roane) and one was recruited based on a solid reputation and stellar performance as a Guest Associate Editor. Three of these six will be asked to serve a third year; in this way, we will always have six veteran and three new Associate Editors each year. The Editorial Board will be developed in a similar manner; 15 members (about one-third) from the original board were asked and 14 members agreed to remain on the board. Nominations for new board members were recruited from the Associate Editors; the nominations were then ranked by Associate Editors. The top 30 people were asked to serve on the board, and 26 agreed to do so. Currently, the board has 40 members. The current Editorial Board is as follows:
Editor
Gregory P. Hanley, Western New England College
Associate Editors
Jennifer L. Austin, University of Glamorgan
John C. Borrero, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
James E. Carr, Auburn University
Michael B. Himle, University of Utah
Matthew P. Normand, The University of the Pacific
Stephanie M. Peterson, Western Michigan University
Dennis H. Reid, Carolina Behavior Analysis and Support Center
Hank Roane, State University of New York, Upstate Medical University
Timothy R. Vollmer, University of Florida
Editorial Board
Scott Ardoin, The University of Georgia
Judah B. Axe, Simmons College
Carrie S. W. Borrero, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Nathan A. Call, The Marcus Autism Center
Vincent J. Carbone, The Carbone Clinic
Stephanie Contrucci Kuhn, Westchester Institute for Human Development
Linda Cooper-Brown, University of Iowa
Florence D. DiGennaro Reed, Melmark New England
Simon Dymond, Swansea University
Wayne W. Fisher, Munroe-Meyer Institute
Patrick Friman, Boys Town
Peter F. Gerhardt, Organization for Autism Research
Gina Green, Association of Professional Behavior Analysts
Hannah Hoch, Rethink Autism
Rob H. Horner, University of Oregon
J. Carl Hughes, Bangor University
Einar Ingvarsson, Jane Justin Child Study Center
Brian A. Iwata, University of Florida
Kent Johnson, Morningside Academy
Amanda M. Karsten, Western New England College
Jonathan W. Kimball, Woodfords Family Services
Susan Langer, New England Center for Children
Linda A. LeBlanc, Auburn University
Dorothea Lerman, University of Houston, Clear Lake
Suzanne Letso, Connecticut Center for Child Development
Stephen C. Luce
Kristen Maglieri, University of Dublin, Trinity College
Erik A. Mayville, Institute for Educational Planning
Paige McKerchar, Jacksonville State University
Pamela L. Neidert, University of Kansas
Anna Ingeborg Petursdottir, Texas Christian University
Jorge R. Reyes, Westfield State College
Joseph Ricciardi, Seven Hills Clinical Associates
Joel E. Ringdahl, University of Iowa
Tina M. Sidener, Caldwell College
Sigurdur Oli Sigurdsson, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Jonathan Tarbox, Center for Autism and Related Disorders
Bridget Taylor, Alpine Learning Group
Jeffrey H. Tiger, Louisiana State University
Susan M. Wilczynski, National Autism Center
Processing of Manuscripts Submitted in 2009
Between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2009, 34 new manuscripts were submitted, up from 29 in 2008. In the first quarter of 2010, 13 manuscripts have been submitted; if this quarterly pace continues, we will be on track to receive the highest number of submissions to date in 2010.
The percentage of papers accepted in 2009 was 27%, which is somewhat lower than that reported last year (2008; 41%) and the year prior (2007; 31%). There is a 40% acceptance rate thus far in 2010.
As shown in Table 1, the mean processing time for articles in 2009 was 2.5 months (up from 2.3 months in 2008). Mean processing time (Receipt-Decision) is defined here as the number of days/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.
|
|
|
Rcpt-Decis (days) |
||
Year |
#MSs |
% Accpt |
M |
Med |
Range |
2008 |
29 |
41% |
69 |
60 |
45-135 |
| 2009 | 34 | 27% | 75 | 67 | 27-150 |
| 2010 | 8 | 40% | 35 | 39 | 1-68 |
Table 1. Mean processing times for BAP.
Page Totals and Types of Papers Published
The data regarding journal content is below in Table 2. "The Skeptics Corner" has continued since its inception in 2008. Diversity in article type, as categorized below, has increased from 2008 to 2009. The overall number of published articles has also increased between 2008 and 2009. The number of publishable articles is down for the first issue of 2010. In order to fill the second issue in 2010 with quality articles (i.e., have a 72 page journal), the Editor has recruited and received commitments from over 20 authors for papers (mainly review/discussion papers); several are currently under review.
Year (vol.) |
Pages |
Empirical Reports |
Discussion/ |
Book/ |
Technical Articles/ |
Commentaries/ |
Total Articles |
2008 (1.1) |
120 |
2 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
6 |
| 2008 (1.2) | 72 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 |
| 2009 (2.1) | 72 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 10 |
| 2009 (2.2) | 72 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 2010 (3.1) | 56 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| 2010 (3.2) | 72 | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
Table 2. BAP publication totals by category.
Miscellaneous
PsycINFO has accepted the journal for indexing into their database. Thanks are due to ABAI's staff for assistance with this process. Once the journal data appear on PsycINFO, we will make this information available on the ABAI journal webpage and in the introduction to volume 3, issue 2. We also will be looking into ensuring the journal is acknowledged in other social science databases in the near future.
Additional Acknowledgements
BKeith Van Norman continues to serve effectively as the Managing Editor. The journal has no Copy Editor yet and until one is found, the Editor is serving in that role. Dorothy Lerman, in addition to agreeing to remain on the Editorial Board, has provided assistance and support during and after her transition.