Swiss Psychology Open (SPO) is the official journal of the Swiss Psychological Society (SPS). The goal of SPS is to advance and support best practice in psychological science and teaching. SPO is a general open access journal in the field of psychology. It accepts submissions from all fields of psychology. Its intention is to serve as a forum for the scientific discussion of all areas of psychology and their applications. One of its most central concerns is the mediating function between different fields of psychology, research and applications, and in culturally different areas.
SPO publishes research articles, meta-analyses, literature reviews, methods papers, opinion papers, commentaries and registered reports. All articles are made openly available as soon as they are ready to guarantee timely communication. Authors of articles published in SPO remain the copyright holders of their work.
Standard review is the typical track in which authors submit a complete manuscript for evaluation. Authors can expect the first round review via this track to take ~4-6 weeks.
Scheduled review (based on the concept introduced in Chambers & Tzavella, 2020) aims to significantly accelerate this process by performing key tasks in parallel. Rather than submitting a full manuscript, authors initially submit a one-page, template-based “snapshot” which is evaluated by an editor. If deemed suitable, the editor then sends the snapshot to potential reviewers and arranges for the review process to take place during a narrow range of dates at least 6 weeks in the future, with the submission date nominated by the authors. During the intervening time the authors then prepare the full manuscript. Although this process can only feasibly expedite the first round review (and not the re-review of a revised submission), the overall time-saving is substantial because the first round of assessment is usually the most onerous.
Authors intending to submit to the scheduled review track must do so using the 1-page snapshot template available here. Submissions that do not use this template will not be considered.
The Standard and Scheduled review tracks are available for both Regular articles and Registered Reports submissions.
Posted on 04 May 2022
Mentorship is a critical predictor of success in academia, and mentors take on different roles than supervisors and colleagues. Most importantly, mentors can share knowledge, skills and access to networks and opportunities to which mentees may not have immediate access.
The Editors of Swiss Psychology Open are offering a new format of formal mentorship to Early Career Researchers (ECRs) with a focus on academic writing and publishing.
The idea: ECRs are paired with SPO Editors to co-develop a formal agreement for a 6month mentorship.
The goal: Successful publication of mentored ECRs' work in Swiss Psychology Open. Waivers to cover the full publication costs (CHF500/£400) are available to Eligible ECRs.
For more information on how to apply - download the PDF here.
Posted on 12 Oct 2021
Authors can now submit a Registered Report to Swiss Psychology Open via the Peer Community In Registered Reports (PCI RR).
PCI RR performs peer review of Stage 1 and Stage 2 preprints and then offers authors the opportunity to publish their approved manuscript without further peer review in a range of journals (including Swiss Psychology Open).
Further guidance concerning PCI RR submissions may be found on our Peer Community In Registered Reports page and details of the PCI RR platform may be found at https://rr.peercommunityin.org/
Posted on 12 Oct 2021