Call for Papers: “Innovations in Exploring Sequential Process Data”

Focus of the Topical Issue, Aims, and Scope

Process data refer to log files generated by human-computer interactive items. They document the entire process, including keystrokes, mouse clicks as well as the associated time stamps, performed by a test-taker to complete a task. Due to their vast potential for providing in-depth insights into how test-takers approached the administered tasks, process data from educational assessments have gained increasing attention in the psychometric, psychological, and educational science literature. However, data that support detailed documentation of test-takers’ cognitive and behavioral processes above and beyond the mere time required for solving the task are commonly complex and versatile, and leveraging their potential is therefore not straightforward. Examples for such data are keystroke data, clickstream data, navigation behaviors, video stream, or eye-tracking, just to name a few.

In this topical issue, we are seeking both full original empirical or methodological studies and thematic/conceptual review articles that focus on innovations for process data exploration in educational assessments. Herein, our goal is to collect papers that further the discussion on how to tame and leverage this rich but unstructured source of data. Contributions should be focused on explorations of process data beyond timing data only.

How to Submit

Interested authors should submit a letter of intent including: (1) a working title for the manuscript, (2) names, affiliations, and contact information for all authors, and (3) an abstract of no more than 500 words detailing the content of the proposed manuscript to the guest editors Esther Ulitzsch (ulitzsch@ipn.uni-kiel.de), Qiwei He (qhe@ets.org), and Steffi Pohl (steffi.pohl@fu-berlin.de).

There is a two-stage submission process. Initially, interested authors are requested to submit only abstracts of their proposed papers via the online submission system of the journal, Editorial Manager. Authors of the selected abstracts will then be invited to submit full papers. Please note that the invitation to submit does not guarantee acceptance/publication in the topical issue. Invited manuscripts will be subject to the Zeitschrift für Psychologie’s usual review standards, including a rigorous peer review process.

The journal seeks to maintain a short turnaround time, with the final version of the accepted papers being due by August 31, 2023. The topical issue will be published in Issue 2 (2024). First online publication is available when the paper is ready.

For additional information, please contact: Esther Ulitzsch (ulitzsch@ipn.uni-kiel.de), Qiwei He (qhe@ets.org), and Steffi Pohl (steffi.pohl@fu-berlin.de).

Guidelines for Article Preparation

Only English-language submissions can be considered.

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  Contributions must be original (not published previously or currently under review for publication elsewhere).
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  Review and original articles should not exceed 45,000 characters and spaces in length, including references, figures, and tables (allowances for figures and tables should be deducted on the basis of size – approximately 1,250 characters for a quarter-page figure/table).
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  Reference citations in the text and in the reference list should be in accordance with the principles set out in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.) – see also any recent issue of the journal.
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  For detailed author guidelines, please see the journal’s website at https://www.hogrefe.com/us/journal/zeitschriftfuer-psychologie. Note also the Ethics and Research Transparency Form that all authors are expected to complete and submit with their manuscript: https://www.hogrefe.com/us/journal/zeitschrift-fuer-psychologie
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  The contributors to this topical issue may apply for ZPID’s free-of-charge data collection services, which also covers the opportunity to collect eye-tracking data. For more information, please see the ZPID website at https://leibniz-psychology.org/en/services/data-collection/

Timeline

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  Call for papers starts from December 1, 2021
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  Deadline for submission of abstracts is February 15, 2022
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  Invitation to submit full papers is sent by March 15, 2022
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  Deadline for submission of full papers is November 1, 2022
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  Final versions of the accepted papers are to be sent to the publisher’s office by August 31, 2023
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  The topical issue will be published in Issue 2 (2024)

About the Journal

The Zeitschrift für Psychologie, founded in 1890, is the oldest psychology journal in Europe and the second oldest in the world. One of the founding editors was Hermann Ebbinghaus. Since 2007 it is published in English and devoted to publishing topical issues that provide state-of-the-art reviews of current research in psychology.