I have recently joined the editorial team at Spatial Demography — a new journal outlet for demographers and others who use spatial data, methods, and theory.
A bit more about the journal:
Spatial Demography [ISSN: 2164-7070 (online)] focuses on the spatial analysis of demographic processes. This cross-disciplinary work involves modern demographic data visualization, enhanced geo-referenced data availability, and spatial statistics, facilitated through full color graphics, motion video tools, and a quick time-to-publication. The journal publishes research articles, essays, research reports, data sources, computing software, teaching notes, and book reviews on a wide range of topics of interest to the social demographer.
Spatial Demography is more than just another new online journal - the editors strongly promote the use of the forums as a place to engage with others on general research topics, as well as discuss specific articles from the journal and Online First area. One of the really nice thing about the forums is that they have a familiar ‘blog-feel’, where users are encourage to post their thoughts about the work being done by others as well as their own work.
Another thing I really like about Spatial Demography is that the Associate Editors embrace technology and sharing of ideas in a very open way. For example, Corey Sparks does a cool column/forum for the journal on ‘Software and Code’:
The purpose of this forum is to highlight the tools of the trade, our methodological toolbox, if you will. With so many scientists in so many disciplines contributing to the area known as “Spatial Demography”, we all have our old stand by routines, our tricks and our tips for new researchers.
The ‘Software and Code’ forum will routinely feature ‘how-to guides’ for various spatial analysis techniques using primarily open source computing applications, with lots of annotated code to help others learn everything from the basics to the more advanced spatial statistics methods.
A big thanks to Frank Howell and Jeremy Porter (Editors-in-Chief) for inviting me on-board. I’m excited to see where this journal goes, and I hope you’ll check it out as well.
