Board of Scientific Affairs (BSA): 2014 Annual Report

Leah L. Light, PhD, Chair 

The Board of Scientific Affairs held two meetings in 2014, on March 21-23 and Oct. 31-Nov. 2. The fall meeting was preceded by a full-day retreat. The following report summarizes the major work topics, accomplishments, and other issues of concern to the board over the past year.

BSA and the Committee on Human Research (CHR) agreed that an Ad Hoc Committee on Data Sharing be convened to explore ethical and practical issues related to data sharing so as to position APA to guide the discipline on this rapidly developing topic. The Ad Hoc Committee is composed of representatives from BSA, CHR, the Publications and Communications (P&C) Board and the Committee on Animal Research (CARE).

A retreat meeting was held Oct. 30, 2014, on “Data Sharing: From Mandates to Best Practices.” The participants were the members of the Ad Hoc Committee, all of BSA and CHR, and representatives from CARE and the P&C Board. The retreat’s discussion yielded several possible initiatives, two of which are close to completion. The document, “Data Sharing Principles,” is a set of considerations and aspirational statements related to data sharing. In addition, representatives from the Ad Hoc Committee contacted the editor of American Psychologist to propose that a special issue be published aimed at advancing data sharing among psychologists.

This BSA-developed document was finalized in 2014. Research-oriented psychologists who are not in traditional psychology departments and some psychologists who are in traditional psychology departments will find this document useful. The resource document was posted on the Science Directorate website, publicized in Psychological Science Agenda, sent to chairs of psychology departments and to COGDOP for it to distribute.

Instead of holding Science Leadership Conferences in 2013 and 2014, BSA and the Science Directorate decided to use resources to conduct science advocacy events in the home districts of key members of Congress who oversee federal research funding and to develop web-based advocacy training materials for scientists. The APA Stand for Science District Campaign, managed by the directorate’s Government Relations Office, began in late 2013 and grew in 2014. Thus far, more than 40 psychological scientists have met with their members of Congress (or their staff), with many meetings taking place in the scientists’ labs. The campaign also includes a video series, available on YouTube, that educates researchers about the importance of advocacy and how to be a successful advocate. Companion materials for the videos are under development.

ATIs provide training in cutting-edge methods and technologies to psychological scientists. Four ATIs took place in 2014.

• Structural Equation Modeling in Longitudinal Research, at the University of California, Davis, May 27-31, 2014. John McArdle, a University of Southern California faculty member, and Kevin Grimm, a University of California, Davis, faculty member, led this course, which featured a series of lectures and hands-on computer workshops on longitudinal methods, modeling, and measurement in contemporary psychological research using SEM.
• Exploratory Data Mining in Behavioral Research, at the University of California, Davis, June 2-6, 2014. John McArdle led this course, which provided an overview of recent methodological advances in the topic. The ATI covered the conceptual bases and strategies of exploratory data mining, and reviewed current techniques and software. Participants also gained hands-on experience with the techniques and were invited to bring their own data and research problems to work on in consultation with the course instructors.
• Research Methods with Diverse Racial & Ethnic Groups, at Michigan State University June 2-6, 2014. Frederick Leong led this ATI, which included sessions on methods for investigating treatment outcomes in diverse populations, quantitative and qualitative methods, measurement equivalence and invariance across diverse groups, and methods in areas ranging from genomics to aging research to community research.
• Non-Linear Methods for Psychological Science, at the University of Cincinnati, June 16-20, 2014. Organized by John Holden, this ATI provided a thorough introduction to a variety of non-linear and dynamical methods.  Such methods are becoming increasingly prominent within psychology and related disciplines.  Specific topics included time series analysis, recurrence quantification analysis, fractal analysis, and dispersion analysis. 

The SSF program is the current version of the Summer Science Institute, a program initiated by BSA. Twelve upper-level undergraduates were selected to take part in this 6-week intensive research experience. Faculty members from George Mason University agreed to mentor the SSF students over the summer. Some students proposed research studies, obtained approval from the university IRB, and completed the research over the summer. Others made substantive contributions to ongoing research projects in faculty labs. The SSF students also spent a number of days at the APA headquarters building, learning about careers in psychological science, the importance of science advocacy, and how to gain admission to graduate school.

BSA established these awards to recognize individuals who have made outstanding contributions to psychological science through their commitment to a culture of service as well as departments of psychology that instill a culture of service in their education of students and mentoring of faculty. The individual Award for Distinguished Service to Psychological Science was presented to Paul Thayer of North Carolina State University (Emeritus). The Departmental Award for Culture of Service in the Psychological Sciences was presented to Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, Department of Psychology.

BSA developed the Meritorious Research Service Commendation to recognize outstanding psychologists in the federal government and nonprofit organizations who help foster psychological science through their work in planning, promoting, and managing funding programs for research and research training. 2014 was the 13th year in which the citation was given. BSA selected William Klein (National Cancer Institute) and LeShawndra Price (National Institute of Mental Health) to receive commendations for 2014.

Science programs at the 2014 convention sponsored by BSA included the Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award addresses, the Neal Miller Lecture, the Master Lectures, and BSA, CPTA, CARE, CHR, and Science Student Council programs. BSA also sponsored a breakfast meeting at which recent recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Science and Engineering (PECASE) spoke to division representatives, other early career scientists, and federal officials about strategies for pursuing a research program and obtaining funding.

Master Lecture Program: BSA selected the following speakers to participate in the 2015 Master Lecture Program at the 2015 convention: Fritz Drasgow (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign) in the applied psychology area, Kathleen Grant (Oregon Health & Sciences University) in the biopsychology areas, Arthur Shimamura (University of California, Berkeley) in the cognition and perception area, Jeannette Ickovics (Yale School of Public Health) in the health and behavioral medicine area, and Dan McAdams (Northwestern University) in the personality and individual differences area.

In addition, due to anticipated changes in future APA convention programming that would adversely affect continuation of the Master Lecture Program, BSA requested and received approval from the Board of Convention Affairs to maintain the Master Lecture Program in its current successful format. BSA discussed and is monitoring the broader impact of changes in convention programming in order to maintain and enhance cutting edge scientific sessions at the annual convention.

Distinguished Scientist Lecturer Program: BSA selected the following speakers to deliver Distinguished Lectures at regional psychology conferences: Marilyn Carroll (University of Minnesota), Norbert Schwarz (University of Southern California), Roberta Golinkoff (University of Delaware), and Kathy Hirsch-Pasek (Temple University).

Neal Miller Lecture: BSA selected Terry Robinson (University of Michigan) as the Neal Miller Lecturer at the 2015 APA convention.

The work of the committees constitutes a large part of science governance activities, as summarized below:

The Committee on Scientific Awards continues to recognize important scientific achievement in psychology through its selection of psychological scientists for prestigious APA awards. It selected recipients for the Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award, the Distinguished Scientific Award for the Applications of Psychology, and the Distinguished Scientific Awards for Early Career Contributions to Psychology. The Committee also recommends psychologists that APA can nominate for other scientific awards not conferred by APA.

The Committee on Animal Research and Ethics worked on projects that focused on educating the public about the nature of nonhuman animal research, in general, and in psychology in particular.

The Committee on Human Research developed a plan for disseminating information on current issues in the responsible conduct of research, including human research participant protections.

The Committee on Psychological Tests and Assessment began work on the revision of the Guidelines for Test User Qualifications. The Committee completed its work on the revision of the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing.

The Science Student Council advises BSA and the Science Directorate on issues of concern to graduate students. It also selected recipients of graduate student awards and developed programming for the APA Convention.

BSA members elected Dr. Frank C. Worrell as Chair for 2015.

The 2014 membership of BSA included seven white/Caucasian members, one African American member, and one Asian member. There were four women and five men. BSA did not have board specific diversity training during 2014.

2014 BSA members: Leah L. Light, PhD, Chair, Geraldine Downey, PhD, Martin Y. Iguchi, PhD, Robert W. Proctor, PhD, Saul Shiffman, PhD, Linda P. Spear, PhD, Bonnie J. Spring, PhD, Frank C. Worrell, PhD, and Sheldon Zedeck, PhD.