Neuropsychology mentored reviewer program for historically excluded groups

Neuropsychology^®, in concert with APA Publishing, is offering a mentorship program specifically geared to promote and support participation by graduate students and postdoctoral fellows from historically excluded, equity-deserving groups, including women, 2SLGBTQ+ individuals, people of color, Indigenous people, and scholars with disabilities.

To encourage equity, diversity, and inclusiveness, we have partnered with a variety of representative organizations to establish and develop the program: the Asian Neuropsychological Association, Hispanic Neuropsychological Society, Society for Black Neuropsychology, Queer Neuropsychological Society, Society for Clinical Neuropsychology/Division 40 Early Career Neuropsychologist Committee.

The mentorship program has several goals:

• to enhance students’ and trainees’ paper reviewing skills through mentorship;
• to enhance students’ and trainees’ professional development and knowledge of the review process;
• to create a pathway to train the next generation of researchers in neuropsychology to assume editorial board positions;
• to increase involvement of students from historically excluded, equity-deserving groups in science and the peer review process.

Neuropsychology publishes original, empirical research; systematic reviews and meta-analyses; and theoretical articles on the relation between brain and human cognitive, emotional, and behavioral function.

The journal publishes articles that increase understanding of neuropsychological functions in both healthy and disordered states and across the lifespan. The journal also encourages articles that adopt an interdisciplinary and cross-cultural approach that reflects the multiple levels of analysis needed to understand brain-behavior relationships.

Neuropsychology focuses both on basic research and on applied, clinical research, to stimulate systematic investigation into brain-behavior relationships and to improve clinical practice.

Neuropsychology seeks to communicate the best research and ideas in the field from throughout the world.

• Reviewers are encouraged to identify a senior graduate student or postdoctoral fellow from a historically excluded, equity-deserving group to involve in the review process.
• The mentor and graduate student or fellow produce one integrated review.
• Many different models are acceptable to produce the review: (1) student/trainee and mentor produce independent reviews, which they synthesize into one review; (2) student/trainee takes the lead in independently producing the review and the mentor provides comments and edits; or (3) student/trainee and mentor discuss the paper together and the student/trainee takes the lead in writing the review, which the mentor critiques and edits. Regardless of the model, the mentor is ultimately responsible for mentoring the student and ensuring the quality of the review submitted.
• The mentor enters the review into the system, naming the student/trainee in the designated co-reviewer field as a predoctoral student or postdoctoral fellow.
• Mentor emails all decision letters to student/trainee co-reviewer.
• Graduate student and postdoctoral fellow reviewers, like all reviewers, will be listed on our yearly ad hoc reviewer thank you list.
• Students/trainees can list this activity on their CV as follows: Ad-hoc mentored reviewer with (mentor’s name) for Neuropsychology (dates).
• All general expectations for the review process remain (e.g., confidentiality, conflict of interest, timely completion).
• Mentors are responsible for discussing the review process with students/trainees they engage on the review process.

We also plan to create a student/trainee editorial board from among our mentored reviewers, for those who seek a more intensive training experience and who will commit to 4–6 reviews over 12 months. Trainees participating in this program can list themselves as mentored consulting editors on their CV.

Graduate students and postdoctoral fellows from underrepresented groups may not have an onsite mentor who reviews for Neuropsychology. Students without an onsite mentor can request to be matched with a mentor by emailing the editor.opens in new window

Please include information about any previous experience with reviewing and areas of interest/expertise, as well as a current CV.

We will ask for volunteers among our editorial board who are interested in mentoring to pair potential mentees with appropriate mentors.

All mentors and students/trainees will receive training in equity, diversity, and inclusion issues as they pertain to academia and the scientific publication process. The training will be conducted with the assistance of our partnering organizations (Asian Neuropsychological Association, Hispanic Neuropsychological Society, Society for Black Neuropsychology, Queer Neuropsychological Society, Society for Clinical Neuropsychology/Division 40 Early Career Neuropsychologist Committee).

Feedback from mentors and students/trainees will be sought to ensure this process works well.

• APA Journals Reviewer Resource Center
• APA's online tutorials for how to review a manuscript
• Hyman, R. (1995). How to critique a published article. Psychological Bulletin, 118, 178–182.
• Drotar, D. (2000). Reviewing and editing manuscripts for scientific journals. In Drotar, D. (Ed.). Handbook of research methods in clinical child and pediatric psychology (pp. 409–425). New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.
• Drotar, D. (2011). Editorial: How to write more effective, user-friendly reviews for the Journal of Pediatric Psychology. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 36, 1–3.
• Duff, K., et al. (2009). On becoming a peer reviewer for a neuropsychology journal. Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 24, 201-207.
• Step by step guide to reviewing a manuscriptopens in new window
• How to review a paperopens in new window
• How to conduct a reviewopens in new window

For more information about the program contact Steven Woods, editoropens in new window.