Getting published in a psychological journal is a competitive process and can be challenging and lengthy. However, authors who are attentive to several factors will ease the process and increase the likelihood of receiving a positive review, and possibly an acceptance of their manuscript for publication. The process of getting published in the Journal of Black Psychology (JBP) isno different than most psychological journals. There are key factors authors need to pay attention to increase their manuscript in obtaining a positive review. Five of these factors are summarized below. These are (a) fit of the research, (b) contribution to the psychological literature, (c) quality of the manuscript, (d) quality of APA style and writing, and (e) responsiveness to editorial feedback.
The topic of the manuscript should fit with the mission of the journal. The mission of JBP is to publish manuscripts on the psychological experiences of Black/ African populations. Thus, manuscripts in which the population is not Black or of African descent are not reviewed. Most manuscripts in which the focus is a cross-cultural comparison, comparing a Black sample to non-Black samples, are also not reviewed. Historically, a Black sample was compared to a White sample, which was treated as the normative group. This comparative approach was used to establish that Blacks were psychological deficient or pathological (Guthrie, 2004). There is nothing wrong with a comparative research when the purpose is designed to describe the difference and understand the meaningfulness of the difference (Azibo, 1988). This is the primary approach of cross-cultural psychology when samples from different countries, cultural populations, or ethnicities are compared (Matsumoto & Juang, 2012). What is disconcerting is when comparative research is based on a small sample of Blacks in comparison to a larger sample of Whites. Thus, it is important to use an intracultural approach within a racial/ethnic population before using a comparative approach. An intracultural approach allows for understanding the specific processes within a population, so what is normative is established within the population instead of using another population’s normative standards (Ponterotto & Casas, 1991). Not all Blacks are alike. Thus, understanding the cultural differences within the broader nomenclature of African or Black is vital to advance the field of Black and African psychology.
Contribution to the Literature
Another crucial issue to address for a positive editorial review at JBP is whether the content of the manuscript provides a contribution to the psychological literature on Black/African populations. To fulfill this step means that the authors need to conduct a thorough literature search on the specific topic and identify a gap within the pertinent literature. In recent years, replicating established studies have been encouraged, as new techniques, electronic equipment, and measures have changed the course of research and the findings (Bohannon, 2015). Thus, it is important to establish in the introduction/literature why the specific research is important by indicating how it closes the gap in the literature, replicates, or advances the research. In essence, a case must be made that this manuscript is timely and will made a contribution to the psychological literature on Black/African populations.
Quality and Structure of the Content
Each section of the manuscript is reviewed for its quality. For an empirical manuscript, the required sections are introduction/literature review, method, results, discussion, references, and tables/figures. The authors of conceptual or systematic literature review manuscripts create the necessary sections, but the focus is on definitions, systematic reviews, critical analyses, and synthesis of the pertinent literature. Because the bulk of JBP’s submissions are empirical in nature and due to limited space for this article, I will briefly summarize what the editor and reviewers of JBP are looking for in the primary sections of an empirical paper.
Introduction/literature review. Reviewers will evaluate whether the introduction/literature has covered the relevant research on the specific psychological concepts.
Reviewers look to see whether seminal articles or studies are reviewed or cited. And reviewers will check whether the literature is dated and accurate. Other areas that will be reviewed include the quality of the flow and structure of the literature review, the level of critical analysis, and the extent of the case made for the importance of the research. The literature review needs to end with the purpose of the study, which includes the goals, research questions, or hypotheses of the study. It is important that the goals, research questions, or hypotheses parallel the literature reviewed. At times intuitive leaps are made from the literature that has not been established and the focus of the research is based on these leaps, not what has actually been established.
Method section. The purpose of the method section is to describe the methodological steps clearly so other researchers are able to replicate the research.
The information may also provide evidence for the generalizability of the findings. For the participant section, the sample needs to be described well, such as age range, race/ethnicity, gender, social class, occupation or academic status, income level, marital status, and any other pertinent demographic variables. For the measures section, sufficient information needs to be provided about each scale or variable used as measures. Describing a scale requires defining the construct and reporting its rating format, scoring, and interpretation. Evidence that it is a viable scale is required: prior, not current, reliability estimates and validity of the scores. For qualitative research, it is important to describe the coding and interpretive process.
Finally, procedures of how the data were collected need to be described. If an experimental design is used, the design needs to be described clearly, including the manipulations, materials, equipment, or stimuli used.
Results section. The sequence of the findings is vital to a well written and understandable results section. The focus of the first paragraphs of the results section should be on descriptive statistics (e.g., means, standard deviations, correlations, reliability estimates). If there are more than two to three variables, then reporting this information in a table is best. It is important to indicate how missing data and outliers were treated and whether the assumptions of the statistics have been met. Preliminary analyses need to be addressed, such as whether the scores of a scale differ based on some demographic or other specific properties. For qualitative research, a set up of the themes that emerged is necessary.
Reporting primary analyses require that specific information be provided in a specific sequence. Any set-up information before the analyses were run must be reported (e.g., coding of categorical variables or creating interaction terms). The type of analysis needs to be noted, and then the variables used, the level of probability, and the specific statistics or omnibus test. Effect sizes must always be reported. Any findings of post-hoc tests need to follow the same sequence. The findings need to be interpreted in the context of the problem, so that the findings are understandable to the readers. Any extensive findings need to be reported in tables and figures. Above all, the type of analyses used should be appropriate for the hypotheses posed and the level of measurement of the variables. For qualitative manuscripts, the themes need to be delineated and evidence needs to be provided to support the themes.
Discussion. The purpose of the research should be restated. It should be noted whether the findings supported the goals, research questions, or hypotheses of the research. Then subsequent paragraphs are devoted to providing possible explanations for the findings based on prior research. It is critical to highlight how this findings advance the relevant research. Limitations of the research need to be reported. No research is without limitations. At least two to three limitations need to be noted. Finally, recommendations for future research and practice are presented.
Two to three recommendations of each are sufficient.
Quality of APA Style and Writing
For the social sciences, the American Psychological Association (APA; 2009) style manual is the established standard for the United States. Some standard is necessary for all papers to follow in order to make it easier for social scientists to communicate information. JBP follows the sixth edition style. Details matter. Sloppy presentations of research may signal to an editor or reviewers that the research may not have been done with care. To assist in this process, I recommend using the APA Style Blog, http://blog.apastyle.org/. There is a Google search engine within the website so searches for specific topics can be found easily. Examples are provided for setting up manuscripts, citing specific references, and setting up the references. The manual is now available as an E-book and the manual has examples of every aspect of putting together a manuscript, including the mechanics of writing.
Writing well is crucial. The manuscript may represent a contribution to the literature, but such fact may be overlooked if the reviewers cannot understand the content. If the reviewers cannot, then the manuscript is likely to be rejected. What is excellent writing? Foremost, obvious mistakes in writing should be minimal (e.g., spelling errors). The sentence structure is straightforward: subject (noun)-predicate (verb), with limited elaborations. Frequently, writing is difficult to follow because there are too many phrases between the subject-predicate or too much at the beginning or at the end of sentences. Keeping the sentences simple is more effective in getting points across. Punctuation is vital to understanding what is written. The most problematic punctuation problem right now is the overuse of commas to join two complete sentences. This error is called a comma splice or run-on sentence. Due to the limited focus of this article, I am unable to elaborate on both, but I do recommend for readers to look them up. If writing is not a strength of the author, I recommend asking someone else who is considered an excellent writer or editor to review the manuscript. Finally, check to make sure that what is written makes sense. Is the writing coherent? Is it clear?
Responsiveness to Editorial Feedback
It is rare for a manuscript to be accepted on first review. It can happen, but the most frequent decision about a manuscript is “revise and resubmit.” Receiving this decision should be taken as great news. The decision indicates that the reviewers and editor see promise in the content of the manuscript and are now asking for revisions to clearly establish its contribution to the psychological literature. Thus, it is important to pay attention to all recommendations made by the reviewers and editor. To pick and choose which recommendations to respond to may jeopardize the subsequent decision made. Even recommendations that the author disagrees with me must be given a response, an explanation that clarifies the stance of the author.
Final Thoughts
The Journal of Black Psychology welcomes a variety of manuscripts about various psychological experiences of Black/African populations. We review and publish empirical, quantitative and qualitative, manuscripts, but we also consider conceptual and systematic literature reviews, as well as relevant media reviews (e.g., books). I hope that this brief summary of what factors increase the likelihood of a positive editorial review has been helpful. If anyone has questions about the content of a manuscript and the review process, feel free to contact me by email (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).
References
American Psychological Association (2009). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.
Azibo, D. A. Y. (1988). Understanding the proper and improper usage of the comparative research framework. Journal of Black Psychology, 15, 81-91. https://doi.or/10.1177/00957984880151010
Bohannon, J. (2015). Many psychology papers fail replication test. Science, 349, 910-911. doi:10.1126/science.349.6251.910
Guthrie, R. V. (2004). Even the rat was White: A historical view of psychology (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Pearson.
Matsumoto, D., & Juang, L. (2012). Culture and psychology (5th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning.
Ponterotto, J. G., & Casas, J. M. (1991). Handbook of racial/ethnic minority counseling
research. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas.
Beverly J. Vandiver, PhD
Editor-in-Chief, Journal of Black Psychology This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Professor of Counseling Psychology
Department of Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology
Western Michigan University Kalamazoo, MI
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