New SIOP Journal: Industrial and Organizational Psychology: An Exchange of Perspectives on Science and Practice July 2007

Financial Officer Ken Pearlman signs the SIOP journal contract with Blackwell while President Lois Tetrick, Blackwell Representative Karlei Mitchell, and Editor Paul Sackett look on.

Last year SIOP announced the creation of a new journal; I was asked to serve as editor. In moving into this new venture, we determined that we did not want to compete with existing journals and publish manuscripts that would otherwise be published in those journals. Rather, we sought to identify a novel form that would create a unique place for this journal.

As the journal’s title indicates, the journal will focus on interactive exchanges on topics of importance to science and practice in our field. The journal will take a focal article–peer commentary–response format. A focal article is a position paper on an important issue for the field (or potentially a pair of papers taking opposite sides in a debate). Such a focal article might summarize evidence on an issue and take a position as to implications for science, for practice, or for public policy. The paper might focus on a basic science issue, an applied science issue, a practice issue, or a public policy issue; many would be a blend. The focal article will be followed by a series of peer commentaries. These could challenge or critique the original article, expand on issues not addressed in the focal article, or draw out implications not developed in the focal article. The goal is to include commentaries from various perspectives, including science, practice, and international perspectives. These commentaries will be followed by a response from the original author of the focal paper.

We were gratified at the positive reaction we received from potential journal publishers; many were eager to publish the new journal. At the SIOP conference in New York, we announced that Blackwell Publishing had been selected as the publisher of the journal; we signed a contract at the conference. This means full speed ahead. We will begin publishing quarterly in 2008. The journal will join TIP as a benefit that goes to Members, Associate Members, and International and Student Affiliates. Members will have access to both paper and electronic versions.

We have what promises to be outstanding content for the initial issues. We’ve identified focal articles for the initial issues. These include a paper by John Campbell, based on his recent address upon receiving APA’s Distinguished Scientific Contributions Award, titled “Competency, Adaptability, Performance, Productivity: Scientific Constructs or Words to Exploit”; a paper by Bill Macey and Ben Schneider, titled “The Meaning of Employee Engagement”; a paper by Chuck Lance, titled “Why Traditional Explanations for Assessment Center Validity Are Wrong”; and a paper by a large number of international contributors titled “The Legal Context for Personnel Selection: An International Comparison.”

Members will receive e-mail notification from SIOP when each paper is made available, inviting interested parties to submit a commentary for consideration for publication. We’re eager to get as broad a range of perspectives and reactions as possible. Commentary submissions will be peer reviewed.

This is an exciting new venture for SIOP. It’s our first foray into journal publishing, and we’re experimenting with a novel journal format. I welcome suggestions as to potential topics and authors for focal articles or about other issues related to the journal. Please feel free to contact me at psackett@umn.edu.