The Psychology of Men and Masculinities (PMM), invites manuscripts for a special issue entitled, “Advancements in Research Methods in the Psychology of Men and Masculinities.” The science of men and masculinities is only as rigorous as the quality of research methods researchers employ. Indeed, the types of research questions formulated by a researcher are constrained by the researcher’s knowledge of research methods. Likewise, limited knowledge of advanced research methods might limit the scope of how researchers conceptualize masculinities. For instance, a quantitative researcher, unfamiliar with multilevel modeling, might only conceive of masculinities as individual-level variables rather than as macro-level variables existing in groups, organizations, neighborhoods, and societies (McCready et al., 2022; Wong & Wang, 2022). As Abraham Maslow (1966) once observed, people tend to treat everything as nails if the only tool they have is a hammer. Hence, it is imperative for researchers who study the psychology of men and masculinities to stay abreast of advancements in research methods. To this end, the editors of this special issue, comprising the editor and associate editors of PMM, are interested in papers that showcase advancements in research methods applicable to the psychology of men and masculinities. Such papers may address qualitative methods, quantitative methods, or mixed methods. We envision that manuscripts submitted to this special issue will adopt one of two approaches: (a) spotlight an innovative research method underutilized in PMM, or (b) critique a commonly used research method in PMM research and provide recommendations for improvement and new directions.
Details
Because this special issue focuses on research methods, manuscripts that merely report the findings of an empirical study will not be a good fit. Likewise, manuscripts that include excessively technical details, comprehensible only to methodological experts but not applied researchers, do not align with the objectives of this special issue. The explication of a research method in a manuscript for this special issue should not only contribute substantively to the psychology of men and masculinities but also be relevant to applied researchers in various fields of psychology.
Authors are expected to address the following in their manuscripts:
- Write in a style accessible to applied researchers and not just methodological experts.
- Provide multiple examples of how a research method can be applied to substantive issues in the psychology of men and masculinities.
- Elucidate best practices and common mistakes (if applicable) in using a research method.
- If applicable, provide a step-by-step, user-friendly tutorial on using a research method.
To this extent, we encourage applied researchers and methodological experts to collaborate on writing manuscripts for this special issue. For two examples of manuscripts on research methods published in other applied journals, see Fine et al. (2021) and Lorah and Wong (2018).
The following is a non-exhaustive list of possible topics for the special issue:
- Ethnography
- Visually informed qualitative methods (e.g., analyzing pictures and videos)
- Conducting interviews with boys and men
- Longitudinal qualitative research
- Life history research
- Participatory action research
- Decolonizing research methodologies in qualitative research
- Researchers’ positionality in qualitative research
- Analyzing media data on men and masculinities
- Conducting intervention research on men and masculinities
- Addressing external validity in quantitative research
- Implicit measures of masculinities
- Item response theory
- Multilevel modeling
- Dyadic data analysis
- Latent growth curve modeling
- Meta-analyses
Submission
Authors should adhere to the journal’s submission guidelines and guidelines on equity, diversity, and inclusion. Authors are also strongly encouraged, although not required, to submit an abstract (maximum of 250 words) to the editor for preliminary feedback before submitting their manuscript.
Manuscripts should be submitted through the journal’s website by January 15, 2025. In their cover letter, authors should provide the names, institutions, and email addresses of at least two methodological experts who can serve as reviewers for their manuscripts.
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