devpsych-topic-selection

Topic Selection & Fit (devpsych-topic-selection)

Developmental Psychology publishes empirical research that significantly advances knowledge and theory about development across the life span — infancy through aging. The decisive fit test is not "is this interesting in children/older adults?" but "is the contribution about developmental change?" — age effects, within-person change, trajectories, or the mechanisms that drive them.

When to trigger

• Choosing among projects or framings for Developmental Psychology
• A reader said the work feels "not really developmental," "descriptive," or "a single-age study"
• Deciding which length tier to target (brief report vs. larger vs. multi-study/longitudinal report)
• Placing a study run on minors or older adults that you suspect belongs at a sibling venue

The fit test

A strong Developmental Psychology paper usually clears all four:

1. Developmental claim. The contribution is about change with age or time (or the mechanism of change), not a correlation that happens to be measured in one age band. State the developmental question.
2. Theory advance. It advances theory about development, not just adds a finding; name the developmental theory it informs (see devpsych-theory-and-hypotheses).
3. Design credibility. The design can actually support a change claim — appropriate ages, adequate power, and a plan for cohort confounds, attrition, and measurement invariance (devpsych-study-design).
4. Open-science ready. You can share data/materials (or justify an exemption) and, ideally, preregister — TOP expectations are part of fit, not an afterthought.

Length tier (verify current limits on the official page)

• Brief report — a focused, single-question contribution; the shortest tier.
• Larger research report — a standard full empirical paper.
• Multi-study / comprehensive longitudinal report — the longest tier; for multiple studies or trajectory work. (检索于 2026-06；以官网为准: tiers run roughly from ~4,500 words for a brief report up to ~10,500 for a larger report and ~15,000 for a multi-study/longitudinal report, length counting cover page, abstract, text, references, tables, and figures.)

Fit scoring — worked example (illustrative)

Score a candidate against the four gates before investing. A self-regulation project, two framings:

Candidate A (off-fit): one age group (5-year-olds), effortful-control task
            correlates with parent ratings; no age contrast, cross-sectional.
  Developmental claim ✗ (no change)   Theory advance ~ weak
  Design ✓   Open-science ✓
  Verdict: off-fit as written → either add ages/waves, or place at a general venue.

Candidate B (strong): three-wave longitudinal sample (ages 4, 6, 8), latent
            growth in effortful control predicting later adjustment, open data.
  Developmental claim ✓ (within-person change)
  Theory advance ✓ (transactional model)   Design ✓   Open-science ✓
  Verdict: strong fit → larger or multi-study/longitudinal report.

Sibling-venue triage (place it right)

If the work is...	Better home	Why
Broad APA lifespan-development advance	Developmental Psychology	the journal's core remit
SRCD-flagship child-focused contribution	Child Development (SRCD)	society flagship for childhood
Short, mechanism-focused, often infant/cognitive	Developmental Science	faster, brief-format developmental venue
Personality/social process not centered on age	JPSP	not a developmental-change claim
One-age finding with no change story	general/topical journal	not developmental

Reviewer / editor pushback at the fit stage

• "Not really developmental" → add an age contrast or a wave so the claim is about change, or reframe.
• "Descriptive, no theory advance" → tie the trajectory to a developmental mechanism it tests or revises.
• "Belongs at a sibling journal" → if the contribution is child-only and society-facing, weigh SRCD; if it is broad lifespan and theory-advancing, Developmental Psychology is right.

Anti-patterns

• A single-age study dressed as developmental with no change claim
• A correlation in one cohort treated as a developmental effect
• Choosing the wrong length tier (a multi-study paper squeezed into a brief report)
• A project whose data/materials cannot be shared and cannot be justified under TOP

Output format

【Developmental question】the change/trajectory in one sentence
【Theory advance】which developmental theory it informs
【Design feasible】ages + power + change supportable? [Y/N]
【Open-science ready】data/materials shareable (or justified)? [Y/N]
【Length tier】brief / larger / multi-study-longitudinal
【Fit verdict】strong / needs reframing / off-fit (why)
【Next】devpsych-theory-and-hypotheses

Supplementary resources

• ../../resources/external_tools.md — preregistration, power, and developmental data archives
• ../../resources/official-source-map.md — scope, length tiers, accepted article types