This issue completes the first volume of JABA during my term as Editor. I elected to wait to write an inaugural editorial because I wanted to encounter the contingencies that would shape my behavior as Editor before attempting to describe the directions that I planned to pursue. Only a few new directions have emerged because of the remarkable foresight of the original Board of Editors and the solid stewardship of the editors who have preceded me. The precise, comprehensive set of directions included in the Editor's manual is, indeed, a task analysis of how to be a well-organized editor. With every step I have taken with jaba, from submitting author to serving as Editor, I have learned much about applied behavior analysis.
I cannot imagine how the transition from Nancy Neef to me could have been smoother, thanks in large part to the materials available to guide my behavior, but also due to the ongoing availability of Nancy to answer endless questions and to provide guidance as needed. It is an honor to follow in her footsteps. I also gratefully acknowledge the senior Associate Editors - Brian Martens, Pat Friman, and Wayne Fisher - who lent their experience and increased their workloads to ease the transition, and to the new Associate Editors - Jim Halle and Joe Spradlin - who functioned as senior Associate Editors. I have followed Nancy's lead in soliciting the services of a large number of Guest Associate Editors. It is a credit to these individuals that not one manuscript has been declined by them for review. We have each attempted to uphold the rigorous standards of JABA and to further the knowledge base of applied behavior analysis.
The two most discriminable changes are the addition of study questions and the change in format of reports. The study questions, written by Brian Iwata and his graduate students, are intended to make JABA more user-friendly for those of us who incorporate JABA into our educational and training activities. I hope that more instructors will use JABA in their university courses, and I am available to discuss its use with anyone who is interested. The study questions are the best that I have seen because they provide both factual and provocative questions about each Research Article. I thank Brian deeply for taking on yet another task for JABA and hope that you are as pleased with the questions as I am. We need to continue to train highly qualified applied behavior analysts to conduct the analyses and treatments that appear regularly in JABA. the best source for teaching our students about the state of our science is through JABA, and the study questions should facilitate that task.
The Reports continue to function as an excellent vehicle for disseminating both novel applications and tightly controlled replications. We have continued Nancy's excellent policy of providing very quick editorial feedback, and the acceptance rate for Reports has been higher than for Research Articles. Even if the editorial decision is negative, it is rare for a journal to provide the set of comprehensive reviews that is routine for JABA. Reports provide a means for students, trainees, and others who are new to our field to directly experience the contingencies associated with JABA. The number of lines (approximately 100) remains the same, but Reports are now published in the same format as Research Articles. In addition, the number of data displays is flexible, depending on the purposes and scope of the investigation.
Another change is that more Discussion Articles will appear in JABA. Relatedly, the "Developments in Basic Research" series will continue, but those articles will function more as Discussion Articles. Our goal is to provide JABA readers with comprehensive reviews and discussions of current topics in applied behavior analysis. The discussions will have a broad range of topics, from procedural issues (i.e., Lerman & Iwata, Vol. 29, No. 3) to challenging conceptual issues (i.e., Nevin, Vol. 29, No. 4). Pat Friman and I plan to initiate a similar series of "Recent Developments" articles on behavior therapy, to begin in the next volume.
Agnes Deraad is my Editorial Assistant for JABA and, as I think all contributing authors will agree, is a superior editor. It is an honor for us to serve JABA, and we hope that you have found us to be responsive to your requests. Please do not hesitate to contact us, and, of most importance, to submit your manuscripts for review. We are interested in receiving your comments (see the two "Comments from JABA Readers" in this issue) as well as your research articles, reports, and discussions. As Nancy pointed out in her initial inaugural editorial (1993), editors cannot write or submit manuscripts. Thus, if there are topics or populations of interest to you, please submit your work. We will provide you, at the very least, with a set of comprehensive and timely reviews whose quality is unparalleled by any other journal.
David P. Wacker
July, 1996.