Aims and scope
Multivariate Behavioral Research is the flagship journal of the Society of Multivariate Experimental Psychology (SMEP). It is a journal devoted to the dissemination, evaluation, and application of quantitative methods to the behavioral sciences. It aims to publish articles intended to cater to a wide audience of quantitative methodologists and substantive researchers who wish to use advanced methods in their work. Its goal is to have a long-term transformative effect on research in psychology and the behavioral sciences.
Areas of Coverage
Arts & Humanities
MBR encourages submissions that demonstrate the integration of advanced quantitative methods into the study of human behavior, culture, and creativity. Applications that bring statistical rigor to research in fields such as linguistics, philosophy of mind, education, and other humanistic disciplines are welcomed, provided they contribute to methodological innovation and enhance the interpretive depth of behavioral research.
Experimental & Cognitive Psychology
A central focus of MBR is on methodological advancements that inform the design, analysis, and interpretation of experimental and cognitive research. The journal publishes studies that employ multivariate, longitudinal, or structural modeling approaches to unravel complex psychological processes such as perception, memory, learning, decision-making, and human development.
Medicine
Recognizing the increasing convergence between psychology and health sciences, MBR publishes work that applies quantitative models to medical and health-related behavioral data. Submissions may address topics such as patient-reported outcomes, clinical trials, mental health assessment, and neuropsychological research, particularly where advanced statistical methods provide deeper insights into health-related behaviors and interventions.
Statistics & Probability
MBR is devoted to the advancement of statistical theory and probabilistic modeling as applied to the behavioral sciences. Articles that introduce new statistical frameworks, refine existing methodologies, or explore computational techniques are of particular interest. Contributions that enhance the robustness, reliability, and replicability of behavioral research through innovative quantitative approaches form a core part of the journal’s mission.
MBR is guided by respected academic publishers, including Wolters Kluwer Health and Psychology Press Ltd., and it benefits from international recognition through major research indexing databases. This dual affiliation reflects the journal’s strength in bridging methodological rigor with substantive applications, ensuring that authors’ work is positioned in a venue known both for technical quality and broad scholarly relevance. MBR has built a reputation as a trusted and respected research journal where methodological contributions are treated with the same importance as applied research, offering authors the confidence that their work will reach an audience that values both innovation and precision.
The journal is the result of the joint effort of a team of Associate Editors and seeks four kinds of contributions:
Regular contributions are research articles that advance or evaluate current quantitative methods. They are judged by their accessibility to a wide audience, potential to change the field, and innovativeness. Regardless of content, they are to include a numerical analysis to showcase the relevance of their contribution.
Software contributions provide an outlet for researchers who implement methods in software to disseminate their work and reach a wide audience. Contributions may consist of the dissemination of a new software program or package, or a major addition to existing software to cover a new area. They are judged by their potential to change the field, breadth, and accessibility.
Tutorials are articles suitable to be employed for teaching. Its purpose is not to present new experimental findings but to teach, guide, or clarify methods, concepts, or analytical techniques for readers.
Quantitative applications provide an outlet for research in any area of the behavioral sciences to publish their work, unconstrained by the quantitative nature of its contribution. It seeks articles that otherwise may be difficult to publish in their substantive fields because the contribution is “quantitative” or too technical in nature. These articles showcase how the proper method can provide novel and potential far-reaching insights into a substantive problem.
As we aim to expand the scope of the journal, prospective authors are encouraged to contact the Editor-in-Chief ahead of submission for feedback about the journal’s interest in a particular topic that may seem outside the scope of the journal. Similarly, authors interested in submitting a quantitative application or a software contribution may wish to contact the respective Section Editor ahead of their submission for feedback.
The field of quantitative methods in the behavioral sciences is thriving with new and exciting developments and opportunities, and the editorial team of Multivariate Behavioral Research is excited to actively contributing to its development.