Introducing Child Development Perspectives and Welcoming Incoming Editor Nancy Eisenberg

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On July 1, 2006, a new SRCD journal—Child Development Perspectives—will be launched. The journal’s mission is to provide accessible, synthetic reports that summarize emerging trends or conclusions within various domains of developmental research and to encourage multidisciplinary and international dialogue on a variety of topics in the developmental sciences.

The journal is designed to serve multiple audiences. The main audience is expected to be SRCD members and other developmental scientists who try to stay abreast of our field’s progress in areas outside their specialties. A second anticipated audience is consumers of research, including policymakers, instructors, and professionals who work with children in clinical or intervention settings who need access to succinct and accessible scientific summaries of developmental research. In recognition of the multidisciplinary and international scope of SRCD, contributors from a variety of disciplines and countries will be included. In addition, our goal is to include articles reflecting SRCD’s commitment to cultural and contextual diversity and application of science to policy.

Articles in the journal will include reviews, commentary, and groups of papers on a targeted issue. Manuscripts presenting new empirical data are not appropriate for this journal (although a line of published research can be reviewed). Articles will be obtained through two sources: author-initiated submissions and invited articles or commentary. Potential contributors who have ideas about a set of three or four papers written from very different perspectives (e.g., a set of papers on a topic that includes authors from different disciplines and countries) may contact the editor with their ideas for feedback. All manuscripts will undergo a review process, although this process may be more abbreviated for some types of submissions (e.g., commentary) than others (e.g., author-initiated submissions).

Because the goal of the journal is to provide accessible articles that are easily assimilated, articles will be short and, when accepted, will undergo copyediting procedures designed to enhance the degree to which articles communicate to individuals who are not specialists on the targeted topic. Articles should be submitted electronically through the forthcoming Child Development Perspectives Online Submissions and Review Site. Most manuscripts, including author-initiated ones, should be a maximum of 3000 words, not including the cover page, abstract, tables, figures, or references. Although there is no set limit on references, they should not be excessive. On occasion, somewhat longer papers will be invited for submission, with the goal of obtaining short accompanying commentaries. Invited commentary typically will be approximately 1000 words. Commentaries are expected to be stimulating, informative, and to be constructive in their tone.

The typical article is expected to present the most advanced, cutting-edge theory and research. Articles are most likely to be accepted if they convey the main findings on a topic (be they broad or on a more limited line of research), recent advances in the field, their relations to theory, and exciting new directions or advances. Authors should communicate why the findings are interesting and important and, when appropriate, their implications for practice or policy. The typical article should end with thoughts about critical issues in the research and important next steps. Papers on policy should follow a somewhat similar format although authors may focus more on findings related to policy outcomes and critical issues for the application of developmental science to policy.

A feature of this journal will be its flexible format. In addition to the typical type of article described above, papers on topics such as new statistical techniques and history, or the potential effects of a new law on children’s welfare, are welcome. In addition, formats such as interviews and essays are possible avenues for publication. Examples would include an article on how a finding or principle in biology contributes to the effort to understand development (perhaps published with an alternative perspective) or a trial attorney writing about what would help him or her do a better job with child witnesses.

As editor, I am excited about this opportunity for SRCD to contribute to the dissemination of knowledge, to the educational process, and to move our science into the domain of policy through the publication of this new journal. The governing council and publications committee of SRCD have provided a broad and forward-looking vision for this journal that I hope to uphold. I hope members of SRCD and the broader developmental community benefit both as contributors and consumers of the journal.

Nancy Eisenberg