CFP SPQ methods and methodology

Call for Papers

Special Issue of Social Psychology Quarterly

“Methodological Advances and Applications in Social Psychology”

As social psychologists work to advance theory, they often are limited by their methodological toolbox. In response, researchers search for or develop new methodological approaches. Importantly, social psychologists have addressed this issue from both quantitative and qualitative orientations. Many theoretical questions also have motivated the growing use of mixed-methods. There has not been a “focused” outlet for these methodological developments within social psychology.

This special issue provides an outlet for showcasing new methodological approaches, share how methodologies commonly used in other disciplines can be adapted to social psychological investigations, and provide empirical examples of the application of new methods for social psychologists. The special issue will primarily include manuscripts that focus on the link between social psychological theory and methodological developments. As the focus is on methodological issues, the manuscripts would not include a lengthy theoretical development, but rather outline the theoretical issues at stake and why the methodological approach advances our empirical understanding of the theory. The special issue will also provide an outlet for research notes that demonstrate the use of a methodological technique to address a social psychological research question and would be shorter.

The special issue calls for papers that advance our understanding and application of quantitative applications and formulations, qualitative strategies and developments, and the use of mixed approaches to address theoretically driven social psychological questions in new ways. We envision papers that:

·         Demonstrate the application of a method to a theoretical question in social psychology. The relationship between theory and method could focus on how the method advances our theoretical understanding, or how the theoretical question has pushed the methodological advancement.

·         New methodological approaches in social psychology.

·         Application of a method from another field to address a social psychological issue.

·         Advancement and refinements in methodological applications currently used in social psychology.

Examples of topics might include:

·         Use of media, including visual, electronic and social media to measure social phenomena

·         Reflexive narratives, advances in conversation analysis, grounded theory, ethnography, or discourse analysis

·         Network applications

·         Experimental advancements and extensions, including field experiments and online experiments

·         Online survey techniques

·         Neuroscience applications

·         Methodological problems/issues/debates as they relate to social psychological theory and empirical data, including their limitations

·         New statistical approaches, e.g. Bayesian models, Response Surface Analysis, etc.

·         Digital science applications

·         Big data

The deadline for submitting papers is December 15, 2015. The usual ASA requirements for submission apply (see “Notice for Contributors”). Papers may be submitted at http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/spq.  Please indicate in a cover letter that you would like your submission to be considered for the special issue. Prospective authors should feel free to communicate with the coeditors (rserpe@kent.edu or jan.stets@ucr.edu) or special issue qualitative and quantitative editors Kathy Charmaz (charmaz@sonoma.edu) and Jane Sell (j-sell@tamu.edu) about the appropriateness of their papers.