Each year, PS editorial staff provides a report of activities to the APSA Publications Committee and the APSA Council. Usually we include a few items in that report to our readers here in PS. We provide details on submissions, demographics of authors, acceptance/rejection rates, most-read articles, and other details. Finally because all articles in PS are blind peer- reviewed, we take this opportunity to acknowledge the work of the reviewers who offered their time and service to PS and the profession. Their names and affiliations are listed at the end of this report.
The current PS editorial team, Phillip Ardoin and Paul Gronke, took over on an interim basis starting in fall 2014 after a call for applications conducted by the association. Robert Hauck, who served as editor in chief of PS for 25 years, and Barbara Walthall, who served as managing editor of PS for four years, assured a smooth transition to the new editorial team.
As interim editors, we were primarily concerned with maintaining the editorial quality established by Rob and the tight production schedule adhered to by Barbara. At the same time, we were cognizant of two APSA reports pertaining to PS: “Report on the Future of PS,” issued by the Publications Committee, and the “Report on Public Engagement,” issued by the Ad Hoc Committee on Public Engagement in the Profession. In response to these reports, and in consultation with association staff and Cambridge University Press, we have developed a few new sections in the journal, consolidated some existing sections, and increased the journal’s engagement with social media in order to publicize the content of PS. In addition, we surveyed a subsample of the APSA membership to gain a better sense of how our readership consumes PS content today, how they may wish to consume content in the future, and whether there are substantial sources of variation in how our readers view PS (e.g., by age, type of institution, subfield specialty) that we would want to be aware of as PS moves forward.
MISSION AND EDITORIAL STATEMENT
PS: Political Science and Politics features peer-reviewed articles on contemporary politics written for the informed general reader and commentary and debate on major issues in the political science profession. Incorporated into PS is “The Teacher,” a dedicated forum for teaching, providing resources for college faculty, high school teachers, and students. PS, founded in 1968, also serves as the association’s journal of record.
SUBMISSION AND DECISION
Unsolicited manuscripts to PS (in Features, The Profession, and The Teacher sections) have decreased over the past two years (table 1). This is perhaps due to the increase in the number of alternative outlets for discussing major issues in the political science profession and other content traditionally submitted for publication in PS. As editors, we recognize these changes in the profession and are working to assure the continued relevance of PS.
Table 1 New Submissions to PS
The distribution of submissions over the last few years has remained relatively stable. As in previous years, submissions to the Features section is the most common with the fewest manuscripts being submitted to the Profession section (table 2). However, we find the articles in the Profession section continue to garner the most attention and downloads.
Table 2 PS Submission by Category
Symposia remain a central feature of PS (table 3). The editors receive proposals for consideration and review. If accepted, the “guest editor” serves as the the coordinator of the copy editing and review process. The editorial team is also working to streamline the symposia submission process by encouraging all symposia to be managed and processed through Editorial Manager, our manuscript tracking system.
Table 3 Symposia Published in PS
Table 4 shows the editorial outcome of articles submitted to PS has remained roughly stable over the past five years, indicating that while submissions have declined slightly, the quality of submissions has remained stable. It is important to note when considering these rates that this applies only to unsolicited manuscript; symposia and spotlights have come to play a large role in PS content.
Table 4 Editorial Outcomes
AUTHOR DEMOGRAPHICS
The demographic distribution of PS authors are reported in tables 5 and 6. The data show that PS publishes articles from a diverse set of authors. Less than one-third of our authors are full professors, and 66% (assistant professors, students, and others) are untenured (table 5). We are very encouraged that nearly half of our authors in the January 2015 and July 2015 issues are women (table 6), a rate that substantially exceeds the percentage of women in the profession.
Table 5 Distribution of PS Authors by Rank (n=160)
Table 6 Gender (n=160)
MOST DOWNLOADED ARTICLES
The Cambridge Journals Online (CJO) webpage provides monthly updates to the most frequently downloaded articles as well as most cited articles. Be sure to check out the journal’s pages, via your MyAPSA account, to view the most up-to-date information. As of July 21, 2015, the 10 most downloaded PS articles of 2014–2015 are the following:
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1. Giles, Michael W., and James C. Garand. 2007. “Ranking Political Science Journals: Reputational and Citational Approaches.” PS 40 (4): 741–51.
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2. Sherrill, Kenneth, and Ruxandra Paul. 2015. “The Politics and Policy of Ebola.” PS 48 (1): 3–18.
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3. Leech, Beth L. 2002. “Asking Questions: Techniques for Semistructured Interviews.” PS 35 (4): 665–68
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4. Collier, David. 2011. “Understanding Process Tracing.” PS 44 (4): 823–30.
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5. Miller, Beth, Jon Pevehouse, Ron Rogowski, Dustin Tingley, and Rick Wilson. 2013. “How to Be a Peer Reviewer: A Guide for Recent and Soon-to-be PhDs.” PS 46 (1): 120–23.
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6. Costello, Matthew J., and Kent Worcester. 2014. “The Politics of the Superhero: Introduction.” PS 27 (1): 85–89.
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7. King, Gary. 2014. “Restructuring the Social Science: Reflections from Harvard’s Institute for Quantitative Social Science.” PS 47 (1): 165–72.
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8. Campbell, James E. 2014. “The 2014 Midterm Election Forecasts.” PS 47 (4): 769–71.
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9. Cavdar, Gamze, and Sue Doe. 2012. “Learning through Writing: Teaching Critical Thinking Skills in Writing Assignments.” PS 45 (2): 298–306.
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10. Lupia, Arthur. 2014. “What is the Value of Social Science? Challenges of Research and Government Funders” PS 47 (1): 1–7.
It is interesting to reflect on the most downloaded articles as an indicator of reader interest in PS. Clearly, PS has an important role to play as an outlet for research and commentary about our discipline and about political science research and training. It is also clear that timely articles (the Ebola spotlight) and lighthearted articles are of great interest to our readership (one of the most cited set of articles in the past decade were the series about the political values of pet ownership).
PS REVIEWERS 2014 – JULY 15, 2015
For the past year and a half, PS: Political Science and Politics published articles covering a range of topics. The professionalism and integrity of the journal’s content relies on anonymous peer reviewers. The PS editorial team thanks the following reviewers for PS between January 1, 2014 through July 15, 2015.
A
Viniana Abreu-Hernandez, Excelencia in Education; Brian Adams, San Diego State University; James Adams, University of California, Davis; Scott Ainsworth, University of Georgia; Susan Alberts, Duke University; Barbara Allen, Carleton College; Richard Almeida, Francis Marion University; John Altman, York College of Pennsylvania; Micah Altman, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Bruno Amable, Paris School of Economics; Robert Amyot, Hastings College; J. Theodore Anagnoson, University of California, Santa Barbara; Sarah Anderson, University of California, Santa Barbara; David Armstrong, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee; Christine Arnold, Maastricht University; Victor Asal, SUNY, Albany; Lonna Atkeson, University of New Mexico; Arthur Auerbach, University of Southern California; James Avery, Stockton University
B
Michael Barber, Brigham Young University; Barbara Bordes, University of Cincinnati; Charles Barrilleaux, Florida State University; Emily Beaulieu, University of Kentucky; Philip Benesch, Lebanon Valley College; Elizabeth Bennion, Indiana University, South Bend; Kenneth Benoit, London School of Economics; Stanley Berard, Lock Haven University; John Berg, Suffolk University; Jeffrey Berry, Tufts University; Natasha Bingham, Loyola University of New Orleans; Sarah Birch, University of Glasgow; Amanda Blair, University of Chicago; Taylor Boas, Boston University; Keith Boeckelman, Western Illinois University; Carolyn Bourdeaux, Georgia State University; Mark Bradbury, Appalachian State University; Mark Brewer, University of Maine; Thomas Brogan, Albright College; David Broockman, University of California, Berkeley; Michelle Brophy-Baermann, Rhode Island College; Anthony Brunello, Eckerd College; Barry Burden, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Susan Burgess, Ohio University; Michael Burton, Ohio University
C
Mauro Calise, University of Naples, Federico II; David Campbell, University of Notre Dame; James Campbell, SUNY, Buffalo; Steven Campbell, University of South Carolina, Lancaster, Mary Caputi, California State University, Long Beach; Susan Carroll, Rutgers University; Daniel Cassino, Fairleigh Dickinson University; Rachel Caufield, Drake University; Carl Cavalli, University of North Georgia; Miguel Centellas, Jackson State University; Richard Chadwick, University of Hawaii; Adam Chamberlain, Coastal Carolina University; Sarah Chartock, The College of New Jersey; Matthew Childers, University of North Florida; Pan-Gill Choi, Independent Scholar; Maqsood Choudary, Northeast Lakeview College; Chi Chung, Independent Scholar; Vicki Claypool, University of Iowa; Rachael Cobb, Suffolk University; Charles Conyers, Howard University; Gary Copland, University of Oklahoma; Skyler Covich, University of California, Santa Barbara; Nyron Crawford, Temple University; Michael Crespin, University of Oklahoma
D
Courtney Daum, Colorado State University; Kenneth Dautrich, University of Connecticut; Todd Davies, Stanford University; Janet Day, SUNY, Oneonta; Jonathan Day, Western Illinois University; Mario De Cristofaro, University of Milan; Iva Deutchman, Hobart and William Smith Colleges; Michelle Dion, McMaster University; David Doherty, Loyola University of Chicago; Gary Donato, Boston University; Ian Down, University of Tennessee, Knoxville; Alan Draper, St. Lawrence University; Daniel Drezner, Tufts University; Katya Drozdova, Seattle Pacific University; James Druckman, Northwestern University; Mary Durfee, Michigan Technological University
E, F, G
Kent Eaton, University of California, Santa Cruz; Marie Eisenstein, Indiana University Northwest; Ryan Emenaker, College of the Redwoods, James Endersby, University of Missouri; Howard Ernst, United States Naval Academy; Kevin Esterling, University of California, Riverside; Nicholas Eubank, Stanford University; Heather Evans, Sam Houston State University; Alec Ewald, University of Vermont; Michaele Ferguson, University of Colorado, Boulder; Jeffrey Fine, Clemson University; Richard Flanagan, CUNY, College of Staten Island; Ole Forsberg, Oklahoma State University; Justin Fox, Washington University in St. Louis; Brian Frederking, McKendree University; James Garand, Louisiana State University; Andrew Gelman, Columbia University; Clark Gibson, University of California, San Diego; Julie Gilbert, Gustavus Adolphus College; J. Gillespie, Duke University; Rebecca Glazier, University of Arkansas, Little Rock; Howard Gold, Smith College; Jane Gordon, University of Connecticut; Matthew Greene, Catholic University of America; Baogang Guo, Dalton State College
H, I, J, K
Michael Hagen, Temple University; Richard Hall, University of Michigan; Todd Hartman, University of Sheffield; Vernon Hayes, independent scholar; Michael Heaney, University of Michigan; Charles Helm, Western Illinois University; William Hicks, Appalachian State University; Donna Hoffman, University of Northern Iowa; Robert Holahan, SUNY, Binghamton; Richard Holtzman, Bryant University; Liesbet Hooghe, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; Margaret Hrezo, Radford University; Juan Huerta, Texas A&M, Corpus Christi; Lisa Hultman, Uppsala University; Dena Hutto, Reed College; Nicole Janz, Cambridge University; Shannon Jenkins, University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth; Bruce Jentleson, Duke University; John Johannes, Villanova University; Mark Johnson, Minnesota State Community and Technical College; Jason Jolley, Ohio University; Peter Josephson, St. Anselm College; Joseph Kahne, Mills College; David Karpf, George Washington University; Lael Keiser, Univeristy of Missouri; Kate Kenski, University of Arizona; Robert Keohane, Princeton University; Ellen Key, Appalachian State University; Whitt Kilburn, Grand Valley State University; Abby Kinchy, Rensselaer Polytechnic University; Gary King, Harvard University; John Klemanksi, Oakland University; Benjamin Knoll, Centre College; Ari Kohen, University of Nebraska, Lincoln; Kyle Kopka, Elizabethtown College; Jonas Kraft, Aarhus University; Michael Kraft, University of Wisconsin, Green Bay; Mona Krook, Rutgers University; Martha Kropf, University of North Carolina, Charlotte; Yanna Krupnikov, Northwestern University
L, M, N
Edward Lascher, California State University, Sacramento; Mika LaVaque-Manty, University of Michigan; Kathryn Lavelle, Case Western Reserve University; Christopher Lawrence, Middle Georgia State University; J. Wesley Leckrone, Widener University; Howard Lehman, University of Utah; Nanette Levinson, American University; Michael Lewis-Beck, University of Iowa; Tracy Lightcap, LaGrange College; Arthur Lupia, University of Michigan; Alexander Lust, Appalachian State University; Neil Malhorta, Stanford University; Maurice Mangum, Texas Southern University; Christopher Mann, Louisiana State University; Robert Maranto, University of Arkansas; Andrew March, Yale University; Cathy Marcum, Appalachian State University; Andrei Markovits, University of Michigan; Dale Marshall, Wheaton College; Lilliana Mason, University of Maryland, College Park; Angie Maxwell, University of Arkansas; Christopher May, Lancaster University; Ian McAllister, Australian National University; Scott McClurg, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale; Timothy McKeown, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; Scott McLean, Quinnipiac University; Kenneth Meier, Texas A&M University; Marc Meredith, University of Pennsylvania; Tamara Metz, Reed College; Mary Meyer McAleese, Eckerd College; Melissa Michelson, Menlo College; Edward Miller, University of Massachusetts, Boston; Sara Mitchell, University of Iowa; James Monogan III, University of Georgia; Kristen Monroe, University of California, Irvine; Matthew Moore, California Polytechnic State University; Irwin Morris, University of Maryland, College Park; Layna Mosley, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; Gary Mucciaroni, Temple University; Gerardo Munck, University of Southern California; Michael Munger, Duke University; Craig Murphy, Wellesley College; Gregory Neddenriep, Northern Illinois University; Adam Newmark, Appalachian State University; Daniel Nexon, Georgetown University; Richard Niemi, University of Rochester
O, P, Q, R
Kevin Pallister, University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth; Bryna Parson, University of Tennessee at Martin; Saadia Pekkanen, University of Washington; Andrew Pennock, Brown University; Arie Perliger Combating Terrorism Center; Peter Petrakis, Southeastern Louisiana University; Delia Popescu, Le Moyne College, Michael Potter, Appalachian State University; Charles Prysby, University of North Carolina, Greensboro; John Rausch, West Texas A&M University; Dan Reiter, Emory University; Sara Rinfret, University of Montana; Joseph Roberts, Roger Williams University; Robbie Robichau, Georgia Southern University; John Rothgeb, Miami University; Charles Rubin, Duquesne University; Tatyana Ruseva, Appalachian State University; Josh Ryan, Bradley University
S
Mark Sachleben, Shippensburg University; Robert Sahr, Oregon State University; Stephen Sanchez-Urribarri, Tulane University; Raul Sanchez-Urribarri, Tulane University; Charles Santiago, University of Connecticut; Renee Scherlen, Appalachian State University; Jennifer Schiff, Western Carolina University; Ronald Schmidt, California State University, South Beach; Monica Schneider, University of Miami; Ronald Schurin, University of Connecticut; Peregrine Schwartz-Shea, UNiversity of Utah; James Seroka, Auburn University; Megan Shannon, University of Colorado, Boulder; Mach Shelley, Iowa State University; Kenneth Sherrill, Hunter College; Brian Shoup, Mississippi State University; John Sislin, University of Maryland; Brian Smentkowski, Appalachian State UNiversity; Andrew Smith, University of New Hampshire; Charles Smith, Ohio State UNiversity; Robbin Smith, Central Connecticut State University; Anand Sokhey, University of Colorado, Boulder; Ty Solomon, University of Glasgow; Priscilla Southwell, University of Oregon; Mark Souva, Florida State University; Alison Staudinger, University of Wisconsin, Green Bay; Mary Stegmaier, University of Missouri; William Stodden, Southern Illinois University; Jonathan Strand, University of Nevada, Las Vegas; Dara Strolovitch, Princeton University
T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z
A.Thrall, University of Michigan; Rebecca Tiessen, University of Ottawa; Sue Tolleson-Rinehart, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Sean Trende, Real Clear Politics; Don Van Atta, University of Illinois; Sherri Wallace, University of Louisville; Denise Walsh, Tufts University; Jamie Warner, Marshall University; Kenneth Warren, St. Louis University; Catherine Warrick, Villanova University; David Weimer, University of Wisconsin, Madison; Kurt Weyland, University of Texas, Austin; Juliet Williams, University of California, Los Angeles; Leonard Williams, Manchester University; Vanessa Williamson, Harvard University; Bruce Wilson, University of Central Florida; Rick Wilson, Rice University; Pete Woodcock, University of Huddersfield; Peter Yacobucci, SUNY, Buffalo State; Antoine Yoshinaka, American University; Lawrence Zelenak, Duke University; Lawrence Zigerell, Illinois State University.
