The APA Publications & Communications (P&C) Board acknowledges the value of the diversity of journals and books sponsored by the APA divisions and encourages divisions to pursue publication activities.
The APA Bylaws make divisions a constituent part of APA. Divisions that wish to create a new journal (or take over an existing journal) must obtain formal approval from the Council of Representatives (APA Bylaws, Article VI, Section 9). The APA Publishing Program, represented in this area by the head of business development, will provide the division with information on procedures and required background materials (PDF, 284KB) for proposing the creation of, or acquiring, a new journal. Upon submission of the required material, including the Journal Proposal Form: APA Divisions, [please post the attached form and link to it here], the P&C Board reviews the proposal and subsequently formulates a recommendation for the APA Board of Directors and then the Council's final determination. Contact your Division Engagement liaison for help with the process.
Once the journal proposal is approved by the Council, the division leadership can proceed with publisher selection, which may involve reviewing proposals from APA Journals and other publishers. APA publishes the majority of division journals, but some divisions choose to partner with commercial publishers. For journal publishing arrangements that involve a contract with a non-APA publisher, divisions should provide a draft version of the contract to the APA Office of General Counsel following approval from the APA Council of Representatives and prior to signing. APA’s general counsel will provide suggestions regarding the contract, including a legal analysis if such is found necessary.
Management and editing of a division journal are the responsibilities of the division. The P&C Board vests responsibility for the journal in the executive committee of that division. The executive committee should maintain and manage its journals in a manner comparable to the way that APA maintains and manages its primary journals, with attention to maintaining high quality and producing clear and transparent publication policies. Each division operating a journal is required to submit an annual report to the P&C Board on its editorial operations, comparable to the statements prepared by APA journal editors. This report is requested early in the year by APA Publishing.
Division journals and newsletters are technically APA publications. All APA journals and division journals are required by the council to participate in the APA liability insurance program. Under P&C Board policy, and in line with Association Rule 100-1.6, the divisions, the editor of the publication, and APA are covered for judgments concerning libel, or the infringement of rights pertaining to or arising out of privacy, plagiarism, piracy, or copyright.
The P&C Board affirms the importance of editorial freedom of division journal editors. Divisions with journals should review the APA Council of Representatives Freedom of Scientific Inquiry and Publication (2000). Divisions should also consult their partnering publisher to determine if they will be included in part of any publishing ethics communities by virtue of working with that publisher, such as the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
APA’s equity, diversity, and inclusion framework calls on the field of psychology to work toward deconstructing inequalities and inequities that exist within psychological science, including how science is conducted, reported, reviewed, and distributed. To this end, divisions and division journal editors are welcome to use or adapt APA Publishing’s EDI Toolkit for Journal Editors to promote inclusive publishing practices in their journals.
All APA resources and expertise are fully available to the divisions that publish with APA Journals. APA Publishing offers a wide range of benefits to our publishing partners, including tailored customer service and unrivaled global reach. We invite you to consider publishing with APA (PDF, 440KBB).