Aims & Scope

Welcome to the professional research and expert opinion section of the Journal of Public Deliberation (JPD).

I. Synergizing a Movement

The principal objective of JPD is to synthesize the research, opinion, projects, experiments and experiences of academics and practitioners in the emerging multi-disciplinary field and political movement called by some "deliberative democracy." By doing this, we hope to help improve future research endeavors in this field and aid in the transformation of modern representative democracy into a more citizen friendly form.

II. Peer Reviewed Research Articles

This section of JPD is designed mainly for academic researchers and field practitioners who require high quality theory, information and analysis of deliberative democracy phenomena. Articles will be written by academic researchers and by those who practice various forms of public deliberation, our hope is to encourage research and writing partnerships between both.

JPD's peer reviewed research articles will be reviewed by two independent members of our Board of Editors. In some cases, it will also be reviewed by the Chief coordinating editor. A consensus must be reached before such an article will be published. Sometimes a fourth editor might be called upon to facilitate a final decision.

JPD's peer reviewed research articles will also be classified into one of four different categories: (1) Frontier; (2) Advance; (3) Contribution; (4) Essay. The peer reviewers will also have to agree as how each article should be so categorized. In general, a "Frontier" article must be considered to be at the cutting edge of the field in terms of extending its philosophical, theoretical and/or research horizons, parameters or paradigm. An article may be classified as an "advance" if it presents and/or executes a novel or innovative approach to the study of the field through its design or form adding a different dimension or greater validity to the accumulated information thus far. A "contribution" is a research article that adds to the store of knowledge already accumulated in the field through other related research and writing. It must be systematic, rigorous and objective. An "essay" must be of significant academic value, be approved for publication by the Essay editor and Chief Coordinating Editor, but be written in such a way as to be readable and engaging to practitioners and the general public. It will thus be published simultaneously at www.auburn.edu/jpd as a "Feature Article."

III. Book Review Essays, Columns, Book Reviews and Interviews

JPD will also publish articles written by academics that review a book or two books as part of a more general theme (Book Review Essay), a descriptive or analytic review of a single book (Book Review), and interviews of or by academics in this field that add to the store of knowledge about the scope or development of deliberative democracy. These will be reviewed either by the essay editor or the coordinating editor.

IV. All Fields of Research and Writing Welcome

This is an interdisciplinary online publication. Therefore, we define research as being as diverse as the natural sciences, the social sciences, communications, history and philosophy. Our board of editors is comprised of scholars from many fields and is open to others who may wish to join us. The present board will decide upon new members.