Welcome to the first electronic issue of the Experimental Analysis of Human Behavior Bulletin. Have a look around; we think you will be pleased with what you find.
A little background for those of you not acquainted with the Bulletin or the Experimental Analysis of Human Behavior Special Interest Group (EAHB SIG): The EAHB SIG is a special interest group of the Association for Behavior Analysis (ABA). The SIG was founded formally in 1983 for the purpose of promoting and supporting basic behavior analytic research with humans. William Buskist was the first chair of the SIG and editor of the concomitantly founded Bulletin, with support from Don Hake and Jim Johnston. Since its inception, the Bulletin has been published twice annually. A peer-reviewed Brief Reports section was added in 1991 by co-Editors Kate Saunders and Bill McIlvane. Publication of the printed version of the Bulletin continued until 1998. At the 1999 EAHB SIG meeting at ABA in Chicago, we were elected as co-chairs of the SIG and co-editors of the Bulletin. Since then, we have worked hard to bring you the electronic issue of the Bulletin you will find here.
One of our primary editorial goals for the electronic Bulletin is to carry on the tradition of the printed version: to publish high quality, but relatively brief, descriptions of research either completed or being conducted by EAHB SIG members. We emphasize "brief" (see length restrictions) because this is an important characteristic of the Bulletin we do not feel should be changed. The most important reason for keeping the length of papers short is that this format does not compete with that of other journals, such as the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior or The Psychological Record. Instead, we believe that the Bulletin compliments those journals by offering a format they do not. Further, as we understand, the brief format for papers in the Bulletin was always meant to allow rapid publication, and thus rapid scientific communication. As we describe next, that aim will be enhanced with electronic publication.
Our second editorial goal for the electronic Bulletin is to fully exploit the capabilities of the Internet. We do not see the electronic Bulletin as merely a web-accessible version of the printed one. Instead, we want the electronic Bulletin to provide as much as information to scientists as possible, and as rapidly as possible, in ways not available with a printed version. Several features of both the Bulletin web site and the editorial process will allow this. One such feature is that an "issue" of the Bulletin is now ongoing throughout a calendar year. That is, each paper will be made available for viewing and downloading as it is accepted. In addition, within the electronic versions of the papers, authors are encouraged to add Internet links to sites with more information, their own institutional homepages, email address, and so on (many examples can be found in the 1999 ongoing issue). Moreover, authors can include photographs, movies, and figures with color in their papers, if such information enhances the presentation of the science.
The initial work has been completed on the site, and from here on, all steps in the review process can be completed electronically. For example, authors now submit their papers as email attachments (see Author Instructions), and papers are sent to and received by reviewers the same day. As soon as the editor receives the reviews, authors are notified by email of the editorial decision (see Editorial Policy). After revisions to accepted papers are submitted to the editor, the paper is posted, in both online and downloadable .pdf versions, in a private "electronic galley proofs" section of the site within hours. Finally, given the author's approval, the paper is immediately posted on the site for public viewing. As a result, the editorial process, from submission to publication of papers, will move very rapidly -- in as little two to three weeks. In addition, all EAHB SIG members who have signed on via the Update List will receive same-day notification by email that a new paper has been posted. This kind of rapid information exchange should help the EAHB SIG to meet its goals.
A quick reminder on the implications of electronically posted papers for scholarly publication: Brief Reports published in the electronic Bulletin continue to have the same status as those in the printed version. They can be listed and/or cited as peer-reviewed publications in the same way as papers that appear in print-only journals. Take a look at one of the downloadable .pdf-version papers in the 1999 Ongoing Issue. You will note that the first page header contains volume and page number information specific to that paper, and that the paper appears in the same format as those in the former printed version of Bulletin. Thus, it could be used as a hardcopy reprint.
In closing, we invite you once again to look around this first electronic issue of the Bulletin. We hope you find the online site easy to navigate and relatively pleasing to look at (you will see that we tried to keep the site's appearance clean and simple). Note that we view this site and the Bulletin's present format as a work in progress. Because this is our first foray into cyberspace as publishers, and we are web-page-construction novices, we strongly encourage you to provide us with critical feedback on the site. Write to us:
Richard W. Serna, rserna@shriver.org or DrSIG@eahb.org
Jennifer O'Donnell, odonnell@parsons.lsi.ukans.edu