Special Issue of Personnel Psychology
Research with Reach: Translating Evidence into Action for People and Work
Special Issue Editors
Tara S. Behrend (Michigan State U.), Michael T. Braun (DePaul U.), Nick Turner (U. of Calgary, Canada), and Chia-Huei Wu (King's College London, UK)
Overview
Personnel Psychology invites submissions for a special issue on Research with Reach: Translating Evidence into Action for People and Work. This issue seeks studies that go beyond demonstrating that a phenomenon matters at work to show how evidence can inform better practice, policy, and outcomes for individuals, organizations, and society. We welcome manuscripts that exemplify rigorous, use-inspired empirical research that demonstrates direct impacts in addressing pressing problems, advancing both science and practice. Whereas all submissions to Personnel Psychology must demonstrate practical and societal relevance, this special issue explicitly prioritizes work that makes the pathway from research to practice visible, evidenced, and actionable.
What Makes This Special Issue Unique
This issue differs from general submissions to Personnel Psychology in its explicit focus on translation and application. Papers should not only identify important questions about people and work but also demonstrate how the research findings can be used to improve practice, policy, or organizational outcomes. In short, evidence of implementation or actionable impact is required.
Distinctive features of this issue include:
- Strong justification for the importance of the challenge or problem. Manuscripts must provide a strong justification for the importance of the identified challenge or problem and specify the challenge or problem with contextualized information. This should include a detailed description of the nature and scope of the challenge, the underlying causes, and the affected populations or key stakeholders, such as individuals, organizations, or communities directly impacted by the issue.
- Use-inspired and co-developed research. Preference will be given to studies that emerge from organizational challenges, collaborations between researchers and practitioners, or co-created organizational interventions.
- Translational rigor. Studies should balance scientific rigor with practical relevance and clarity, evaluating programs, policies, or tools through strong designs (e.g., field experiments, quasi-experiments, longitudinal studies, mixed methods, or rich qualitative cases).
- Demonstrated pathways to practice. Manuscripts must clearly show how findings inform decisions, policies, or interventions. This includes illustrating what stakeholders (e.g., leaders, HR professionals, employees, or policymakers) can do differently as a result of the research.
- Applied deliverables. Authors are encouraged to include translational components such as frameworks, implementation guidelines, or practical summaries that enhance accessibility for non-academic audience.
- Societal ripple effects. Submissions should articulate how the findings contribute not only to organizational success but also to broader societal outcomes such as wellbeing, equity, inclusion, sustainability, or workforce development.
- Integrated contribution. In keeping with Personnel Psychology's renewed editorial focus on weaving ideas, evidence, and impact into a coherent whole, submissions should illustrate how these strands connect. For example, theoretical reasoning should clarify mechanisms with practical leverage, empirical evidence should build trust in findings that can be applied, and impact should be demonstrated through practical outcomes for individuals, organizations, or society.
- Cross-disciplinary insight. We welcome contributions that adapt frameworks or evidence from disciplines adjacent to industrial-organizational psychology (e.g., behavioral economics, public health, computer science, data science) to address workplace and societal challenges, where such integration enhances translational impact.
Required Elements in the Manuscript
The manuscript should present empirical work that directly addresses tangible organizational or societal problems, providing a clear and actionable path forward. It must outline the specific problem being addressed, the solution offered through the research, and the observed outcomes or changes resulting from the research. To ensure relevance, the research should be deeply contextualized, focusing on specific occupations, sectors, or domains, thereby demonstrating how the findings apply to settings outside of the lab. This focused approach will help highlight the practical implications and significance of the research, ensuring that it resonates with both academic and professional audiences.
Authors should go beyond discussing implications by demonstrating how evidence translates into action. Submissions should include a section (e.g., within the Discussion or as a stand-alone subsection) explicitly outlining the study's translational contribution. Papers should identify stakeholders affected, the actions enabled, and the pathways for implementation. We welcome the inclusion of practical tools, models, or accessible communication materials (e.g., infographics, summaries, frameworks) as supplementary online materials.
Not Suitable for This Issue
Due to the focus of this special issue, we will not consider conceptual or theoretical papers, narrative reviews, or meta-analytic studies, despite the fact that these types of papers can also provide valuable insights for practice. Due to the need for rich contextualization, studies using student or crowd-sourced samples (e.g., Prolific, Qualtrics) are less likely to be of interest unless they have direct relevance to the research question of interest (i.e., are used for substance rather than convenience). We intentionally do not exclude well-executed case-based field work where designs and evidence meet the translational aims of the issue.
Potential Topics
We welcome a range of topics that align with Personnel Psychology's mission but advance its reach into practice. The special issue will emphasize pressing, high-impact issues where industrial-organizational psychology's voice is needed. Example themes include, but are not limited to:
- Culture and Behavior Change
- Employee Well-Being and Societal Outcomes
- Resilience and Recovery at Work
- Psychological Recovery and Sustainable Performance
- Work and Non-Work Integration
- Evaluation of Advanced Testing Technologies
- Algorithmic Decision-Making in HR
- Human-Automation Teaming
- AI and Work
- Economic and Employment Transitions
- Sustainable Work and Environmental Psychology
Submission Details and Timeline
To be considered for the Special Issue, manuscripts must be submitted between October 1 and October 31, 2026 (by 8:00 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time on October 31, 2026). Papers for this Special Issue cannot be submitted prior to October 1, 2026. Submitted papers will undergo a double-blind review process and will be evaluated by two reviewers and one special issue editor.
Authors should prepare their manuscripts for blind review according to the directions provided in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). Formatting guidelines are also provided on Personnel Psychology's website, under "author guidelines": https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/page/journal/17446570/homepage/forauthors.html . Be sure to remove any information that may potentially reveal the identity of the authors to the review team. Manuscripts should be submitted electronically at: https://wiley.atyponrex.com/journal/PEPS
Resubmission policy for Special Issue submissions
In line with current journal practice, only manuscripts that are desk rejected for scope reasons (i.e., deemed potentially suitable for the journal but not for the Special Issue) may be considered for transfer to the regular review track at the Editor-in-Chief's discretion. Manuscripts rejected after external review for the Special Issue will not be transferred to the regular track and are not eligible to be resubmitted.
Submission Details (at-a-glance)
• Submission portal: https://wiley.atyponrex.com/journal/PEPS
• Submission window: October 1-31, 2026 (closes 8:00 p.m. U.S. ET, Oct 31, 2026)
• Expected publication: Accepted papers will be published OnlineFirst upon acceptance.
Questions on the Special Issue?
Please direct your questions to Tara S. Behrend (tara.behrend@gmail.com), Michael T. Braun (MBRAUN4@depaul.edu), Nick Turner (nick.turner@haskayne.ucalgary.ca), and Chia-Huei Wu (chiahuei.wu@gmail.com).
This special issue advances Personnel Psychology's mission to publish research that is both rigorous in evidence and rich in impact, connecting science and practice to improve the quality of work and working lives.
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Chia-Huei Wu, PhD
Professor in Organizational Psychology
Department of Human Resource Management & Employment Relations
King's Business School, King's College London, UK
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