Psychology, Public Policy, and Law

Top Research Topics at Psychology, Public Policy and Law?

The journal facilitates discussions on Social psychology, Criminology, Adjudication, Criminal justice and Psychiatry. It holds forums on Social psychology that merges themes from other disciplines such as Legal Decisions, Credibility, Perception, Developmental psychology and Interview. The journal focuses on Criminology research which is adjacent to topics in Sex offense.

Sex offense research featured in it incorporates concerns from various other topics such as Sex offender and Recidivism. Recidivism and Risk assessment are closely related fields of research discussed in the journal. It investigates Adjudication research which frequently intersects with Mental health.

Topics in Psychiatry were tackled in line with various other fields like Sexual abuse, Clinical psychology and Child abuse.

• Social psychology (30.79%)
• Criminology (18.60%)
• Adjudication (15.52%)

What are the most cited papers published in the journal?

• Thirty years of investigating the own-race bias in memory for faces: A meta-analytic review (1150 citations)
• Comparative efficiency of informal (subjective, impressionistic) and formal (mechanical, algorithmic) prediction procedures: The clinical–statistical controversy. (1046 citations)
• Rehabilitating criminal justice policy and practice. (749 citations)

Research areas of the most cited articles at Psychology, Public Policy and Law:

The most cited publications investigate areas of study like Social psychology, Criminology, Adjudication, Sex offense and Criminal justice. The journal papers explore topics in Social psychology which can be helpful for research in disciplines like Inter-rater reliability, Credibility, Cross-race effect, Witness and Peer review. The journal publications address concerns in Sex offense which are intertwined with other disciplines, such as Sex offender and Recidivism.

What topics the last edition of the journal is best known for?

• Social psychology
• Social science
• Cognition

The previous edition focused in particular on these issues:

The main points discussed in Psychology, Public Policy and Law deals with Criminology, PsycINFO, Clinical psychology, Policy making and Adjudication. Criminology research presented in the journal encompasses a variety of subjects, including Procedural justice, Legislation and Suicide prevention, Child abuse. The tackled Procedural justice research is interrelated with Legal evidence which concerns subjects like Social psychology.

The journal links adjacent topics like Social psychology with Power (social and political). The subject of Risk assessment, which is connected to the field of Predictive validity, Personality, Self report, Recidivism and Affect (psychology), serves as the foundation of the Clinical psychology research featured in it. Some problems in Adjudication that were presented in Psychology, Public Policy and Law overlapped with concepts under Well-being, Plea, Parental alienation, Alienation and Decision theory.

The most cited articles from the last journal are:

• Forensic e-mental health: Review, research priorities, and policy directions (6 citations)
• Making the case for videoconferencing and remote child custody evaluations (RCCEs): The empirical, ethical, and evidentiary arguments for accepting new technology (5 citations)
• Intimate partner violence (IPV) and family dispute resolution: A randomized controlled trial comparing shuttle mediation, videoconferencing mediation, and litigation. (4 citations)

Papers citation over time

A key indicator for each journal is its effectiveness in reaching other researchers with the papers published at that venue.

The chart below presents the interquartile range (first quartile 25%, median 50% and third quartile 75%) of the number of citations of articles over time.

Top authors and change over time

The top authors publishing in Psychology, Public Policy and Law (based on the number of publications) are:

• Bruce J. Winick (14 papers) absent at the last edition,
• Allison D. Redlich (14 papers) published 1 paper at the last edition the same number as at the previous edition,
• Elizabeth Cauffman (13 papers) published 2 papers at the last edition, 1 more than at the previous edition,
• Bruce D. Sales (12 papers) absent at the last edition,
• Daniel C. Murrie (12 papers) published 2 papers at the last edition, 1 less than at the previous edition.

The overall trend for top authors publishing in this journal is outlined below. The chart shows the number of publications at each edition of the journal for top authors.

Top affiliations and change over time

Only papers with recognized affiliations are considered

The top affiliations publishing in Psychology, Public Policy and Law (based on the number of publications) are:

• University of California, Irvine (26 papers) published 2 papers at the last edition, 1 less than at the previous edition,
• Arizona State University (26 papers) published 2 papers at the last edition, 1 more than at the previous edition,
• John Jay College of Criminal Justice (26 papers) published 2 papers at the last edition the same number as at the previous edition,
• Simon Fraser University (19 papers) published 2 papers at the last edition the same number as at the previous edition,
• University of Nebraska–Lincoln (19 papers) absent at the last edition.

The overall trend for top affiliations publishing in this journal is outlined below. The chart shows the number of publications at each edition of the journal for top affiliations.

Publication chance based on affiliation

The publication chance index shows the ratio of articles published by the best research institutions in the journal edition to all articles published within that journal. The best research institutions were selected based on the largest number of articles published during all editions of the journal.

The chart below presents the percentage ratio of articles from top institutions (based on their ranking of total papers).Top affiliations were grouped by their rank into the following tiers: top 1-10, top 11-20, top 21-50, and top 51+. Only articles with a recognized affiliation are considered.

During the most recent 2021 edition, 29.17% of publications had an unrecognized affiliation. Out of the publications with recognized affiliations, 26.47% were posted by at least one author from the top 10 institutions publishing in the journal. Another 17.65% included authors affiliated with research institutions from the top 11-20 affiliations. Institutions from the 21-50 range included 17.65% of all publications and 38.24% were from other institutions.

Returning Authors Index

A very common phenomenon observed among researchers publishing scientific articles is the intentional selection of journals they have already attended in the past. In particular, it is worth analyzing the case when the authors participate in the same journal from year to year.

The Returning Authors Index presented below illustrates the ratio of authors who participated in both a given as well as the previous edition of the journal in relation to all participants in a given year.

Returning Institution Index

The graph below shows the Returning Institution Index, illustrating the ratio of institutions that participated in both a given and the previous edition of the conference in relation to all affiliations present in a given year.

The experience to innovation index

Our experience to innovation index was created to show a cross-section of the experience level of authors publishing in a journal. The index includes the authors publishing at the last edition of a journal, grouped by total number of publications throughout their academic career (P) and the total number of citations of these publications ever received (C).

The group intervals were selected empirically to best show the diversity of the authors' experiences, their labels were selected as a convenience, not as judgment. The authors were divided into the following groups:

• Novice - P < 5 or C < 25 (the number of publications less than 5 or the number of citations less than 25),
• Competent - P < 10 or C < 100 (the number of publications less than 10 or the number of citations less than 100),
• Experienced - P < 25 or C < 625 (the number of publications less than 25 or the number of citations less than 625),
• Master - P < 50 or C < 2500 (the number of publications less than 50 or the number of citations less than 2500),
• Star - P ≥ 50 and C ≥ 2500 (both the number of publications greater than 50 and the number of citations greater than 2500).

The chart below illustrates experience levels of first authors in cases of publications with multiple authors.

Career prospects in the field of Criminal Psychology

As the conversations around issues of crime, justice, and mental health grow stronger, we are seeing an increased interest in the field of criminal psychology. Prospective career paths might include working within the criminal justice system, conducting research, or providing psychological services to crime victims and offenders. Working as a criminal psychologist provides you with the opportunity to use your skills to positively influence public policy and law. Potential roles range vastly, from contributing to legal decisions to aiding in the damage control post-sex offenses.

While the personal reward and societal impact in such a career are lucrative, potential students might also be interested in the financial aspects of a career in criminal psychology. While salary expectation can vary depending on the specific role, experience, and location, an understanding of a common pay scale can assist in making an informed decision. For instance, in the case of Delaware, further investigation into criminal psychologist salary Delaware gives an insight into the monetary prospects of a career in this field.

As with any career, embarking on a journey in criminal psychology will require dedication and the pursuit of appropriate educational opportunities. No doubt, the rewards - both financial and personal - can be great for those who choose this path.