Call for Journal Editors

Public Opinion Quarterly

Letter of Intent Deadline: November 1, 2023
Application Submission Deadline: December 15, 2023

The American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) and publisher Oxford University Press invite applications and nominations for the position of Editor(s) of Public Opinion Quarterly (POQ). We seek an editor or editorial team with the expertise and enthusiasm to lead the journal. In addition to the typical editorial responsibilities, the editor or editorial team should be leaders who can think creatively about special issues, identify and engage qualified reviewers, secure timely reviews, develop innovative ways to disseminate the journal’s content, and craft strategies to increase POQ’s scholarly impact.

Published since 1937, Public Opinion Quarterly is the leading interdisciplinary journal that publishes both theoretical and empirical contributions in the field of public opinion and related fields including communication research, survey research, and methodology. POQ selectively publishes important theoretical contributions including analyses of current public opinion, and investigations of methodological issues involved in survey validity—including questionnaire construction, interviewing and interviewers, sampling strategy, and mode of administration. The theoretical and methodological advances detailed in the pages of POQ ensure its importance as a research resource.

The journal receives more than 400 manuscript submissions per year, publishes four issues plus one special issue per year, and has a five-year impact factor of 6.2. In 2021, POQ ranked 13 out of 111 interdisciplinary social science journals.  For more information on POQ’s aims and scope, please see https://POQ.oxfordjournals.org.

POQ and its editors are accountable to AAPOR’s Executive Council through AAPOR’s Advisory Committee (POQ-AC) to the journal.

The term of the current co-Editors-in-Chief (EIC), Allyson Holbrook (University of Illinois  Chicago) and Eric Plutzer (Pennsylvania State University), will end with Volume 88 (2024). The new editorial team will be responsible for articles to appear in Volumes 89-92 (published January 1, 2025 through December 31, 2028), with the editorial transition beginning July 1, 2024. The term is renewable for an additional four-year term.

In light of the prestige and commitment of editing a journal such as POQ, it is typical for the home institution to provide some support for the Editor(s). Forms of support have included course releases, editorial assistantships for students, flexible funding, and other resources that allow the Editor(s) the time and resources to accomplish their editorial duties. AAPOR may provide additional financial support that is commensurate with the details of the proposal. The search committee is willing to discuss with the candidate(s) the exact nature of that additional support.

Position Description

The overarching charge to the Editor(s) is to sustain and build POQ’s stature as the preeminent journal of public opinion research and related fields, maintaining the highest scientific standards for the articles it publishes. By its nature, research in POQ will be relevant to a variety of traditional academic disciplines.

In addition, the Editor(s) are expected to:

• Ensure that POQ is open to and includes submissions from all areas within the study of public opinion, survey methodology, and related fields, including evaluations of current theories and methods, and development of new theories and methods needed for the future as well as interdisciplinary work that crosses these fields
• Manage and oversee the review process and adjudicate publication decisions in a discerning, fair, timely, equitable, and accountable manner
• Manage fiscal and operational aspects of the editorial office
• Recruit an editorial and review team whose members bring the depth of experience and expertise required for a high-quality review process
• Innovate and improve the review process to ensure timely, informative, and relevant reviews
• Work with the POQ-AC to
  • develop appropriate metrics to monitor the health of the journal and the speed and quality of the review process
  • pursue consistency, where relevant, across AAPOR’s journals in editorial policies and practices
  • provide annual and, if requested, interim reports to AAPOR Council
  • communicate with AAPOR Council through the Councilors-at-Large who serve on the journal’s advisory committee about needs or problems that emerge, and suggestions for major changes in editorial policies and practices
• Work with the AAPOR Communications Chair and publisher to increase the impact of the articles that POQ publishes
• Monitor changes in the publishing environment, and work with the POQ-AC to meet external challenges including increasing Open Access
• Meet at least annually with the POQ-AC and members of the Editorial Board, possibly during the annual AAPOR conference
• In conjunction with that annual meeting, provide a written report to AAPOR Council that describes the state of the journal, including an accounting of expenses and support for those expenses
• Give a brief report on the “state of the journal” at AAPOR’s annual conference
• Join AAPOR and continue membership while serving as Editor(s)

Search Committee

The search for the Editor(s) will be conducted by the POQ-AC, comprising Fred Conrad, Alisù Shoua-Glusberg, Jennifer Dykema and David Wilson, appointed by AAPOR’s Council.

Nominations

If you know someone who would be right for the editorship of POQ, including yourself, please nominate that person by sending their name, email address, and a brief description of their qualifications to journals@aapor.org. Please describe whether you have discussed the nomination with the possible candidate. Because the search committee will need time to confirm the person’s interest, please make such nominations as soon as possible. The search committee will review nominees, contact them to discuss applying, and encourage their applications if they are interested. Self-nominations are also welcomed and encouraged in the form of applications as described below.

Applications

To apply, send a letter of intent by November 1, 2023, to journals@aapor.org. Then submit the application materials described below. Submissions completed by Monday, December 15, 2023, will receive full consideration.

If an applicant requires additional time to complete all parts of the application, please contact the search committee at journals@aapor.org.

Include:

• Curriculum vitae for each applicant
• Statement of support from the institutional unit that will be housing the editor(s)
• Statement of vision, values, and planned changes
• Proposed editorial team or plan for selecting an editorial team
• Process for reviewing manuscripts and making editorial decisions

Develop and include a proposal that includes:

• A description of the vision for the journal, including its topical focus and editorial policies
• Members of the editorial team and how the applicant would structure their work
• Process for evaluating, refreshing, and maintaining the current pools of reviewers, information about their expertise, and methods for matching reviewers and submissions
• A process for reviewing manuscripts, including procedures and criteria for “desk rejections” if these will be an editorial option
• Ideas about providing incentives to reviewers to provide timely returns
• How decisions about submissions will be made
• Plans for regular review and updating of policies about data accessibility and transparency, including disclosure practices that are consistent with AAPOR’s Code of Ethics
• Plans to work with the AAPOR Communications Chair and Oxford University Press to increase the impact of the articles that POQ’s publishes
• Proposed benchmarks or metrics for evaluating the state of the journal and the editor’s/editors’ success over the term

Journal of Survey Statistics and Methodology

Application Submission Deadline EXTENDED: November 1, 2023