Introducing a new IOP Practice Forum
Forum Editor: Mark L. Poteet
The purpose of the IOP Practice Forum is to advance the understanding of effective practice of industrial-organizational (I-O) psychology through the publication of original manuscripts focusing on I-O practice issues. The Forum provides practitioners with an outlet for communicating and/or learning about current trends, lessons-learned, best practices, effective practice principles, relevant issues, different points of view, and implementation challenges, associated with practice in I-O psychology. The Forum will consider articles that focus on I-O practice areas including, but not limited to: training and development, job analysis and competency modeling, recruitment and selection, performance management, career development, organization development, attitude/engagement surveys, change management, legal issues, testing and assessment, succession planning, health and well-being, and work-life balance.
What will the new section cover?
The Practice Forum will accommodate a range of different types of articles. These formats may include:
- A case study highlighting an effective use of a I-O psychology tool or technology (e.g., in-depth description of a client engagement that highlights the innovative use of an I-O product or service, outlining the situation, actions taken, results achieved, and lessons-learned; specific requests for additional recommendations or research could be offered as well).
- Traditional articles on an important I-O psychology practice issue (e.g., description of a critical practice topic in the I-O field and discussion of practice-oriented implications, toward the goal of helping practitioners understand the topic, how it can be utilized, and the risks and benefits of doing so).
- Critiques, debates, and/or commentaries on cutting edge practice-oriented topics (e.g., description of a new I-O practice, compared and contrasted with traditional practice methods, outlining the benefits and risks and discussing best practice recommendations; could be supplemented with authors debating/commenting on different aspects of the topic, such as theoretical underpinnings, relative effectiveness to organizations and individuals, and illustrations of impact).
- Discussion of challenging or emerging practice issues accompanied with specific calls for assistance and research from the academic field (e.g., description of one or more emerging trends, such as requests for new services or products, or new regulations that impact I-O work, or discussion of specific practice-oriented challenges being faced in the workplace; specific recommendations could be developed with input from other authors, and/or specific research questions or hypotheses could be outlined).
- Dilemmas faced when practicing I-O psychology and how those might be overcome (e.g., description of various types of “real world” obstacles, barriers, or challenging situations faced when implementing an I-O service or product, the impact of the situation on one’s ability to deliver effective consulting, and steps taken to overcome the challenges and deliver quality services to the client).
- Summaries of key takeaways from the Leading Edge Consortium (LEC) (e.g., detailed description of the topic, summaries of select presentations, and key points and tips for practitioners to apply the lessons-learned in their work; input from LEC participants could be used to provide content for the article).
- Review of practitioner forum takeaways from the SIOP Annual Conference (e.g., listing of popular practice-oriented sessions and themes from the annual conference, including descriptions of the content, takeaways and lessons-learned that practitioners can apply to their work, and ideas for further research or investigation; input from conference participants could be used to provide content for the article).
How will the content be formatted?
The Practice Forum will also consider publishing articles in a variety of formats. These formats may include:
- A traditional written article, following guidelines set forth in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th edition. Written article submissions should not exceed 15 double-spaced pages, not including references, figures, and/or tables.
- A shorter written article accompanied by video content to be hosted on the Cambridge University Press website that can supplement the written content or serve as the main content of a submission. Written article submissions should not exceed 15 double-spaced pages, not including references, figures, and/or tables.
- A detailed PowerPoint deck/presentation that serves as a standalone contribution. Submissions using this format should not exceed a total of 20 presentation slides.
Prospective authors are encouraged to contact Mark Poteet at mlpoteet@verizon.net to discuss these or ideas for alternative presentation methods.
Submission guidelines:
- All author correspondence, ideas for a submission, and questions should be directed to Mark Poteet at mlpoteet@verizon.net.
- Submissions should be made in the form of a Word or Powerpoint document (as appropriate) via https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/iopsych
- Submissions are accepted from both SIOP and non-SIOP members
- Submissions should meet the page limit requirements noted in the above section.
- Written articles should be written according to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 6th edition.
- Submissions are accepted on a continual basis. The Forum Editor reserves the right to determine the specific issue in which to publish an accepted submission. All items published in the IOP will be copyrighted by SIOP.
- Submissions should be written in a manner that is consistent in all ways with SIOP’s Statement and Guidelines on Professional Behavior (http://www.siop.org/professional_behavior.aspx).
- Submission of any original and editorial work to IOP comes with the implied confirmation that all listed authors have approved the manuscript (at all stages of review and revision) and that the work has not been published and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere.
Review Guidelines
- Each submission will be reviewed and evaluated by a minimum of two reviewers, and if it is deemed the submission is within the scope of the Practice Forum and makes a contribution, revisions may be requested.
- Reviews and publication decisions will be made based on the clarity and quality of the submission, contribution to I-O practice, relevancy and appropriateness for the forum, originality/creativity of the submission/practice intervention, and effective integration of science with practice.
- Publication decisions will be that of the Forum Editor and it will be at his/her discretion that all submissions will be considered for publication.