Abstract
Recent reviews of behavior analytic journals suggest that participant demographics are inadequately described. These reviews have been limited to brief periods across several journals, emphasized specific variables (e.g., socioeconomic status), or only included specific populations. The current sco** review included all published articles in The Analysis of Verbal Behavior from 1982–2020. Six demographic variables were coded for 1888 participants across 226 articles. Despite small sample sizes (i.e., fewer than six participants in 62.3% of studies), only age (85.4%) and gender identity (71.6%) were reported for the majority of participants. Socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity, and primary language were reported for fewer than 20% of participants. Over time, the number of demographic variables reported showed a slight increasing trend, although considerable variability was observed across years. These findings suggest that editors and reviewers must consider what constitutes acceptable participant characterization. Researchers might also be emboldened to extend their work to populations currently underrepresented in the journal.
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The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Paige Ellington declares that she has no conflict of interest. Tom Cariveau currently serves on the editorial board for The Analysis of Verbal Behavior.
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Ellington, P., Cariveau, T. The Analysis of Whose Verbal Behavior?. Analysis Verbal Behav 40, 13–27 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40616-023-00200-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40616-023-00200-4