Focus and Scope

Methods, data, analyses (mda) publishes research on all questions important to quantitative methods in the social sciences, with a special emphasis on survey methodology. mda is released online as open-access  journal. All content is freely available and can be distributed  without any restrictions, ensuring the free flow of information that is crucial for scientific progress. mda does not raise any publication fees.

We especially invite authors to submit articles extending the profession's knowledge on the science of surveys, be it on data collection, measurement, or data analysis and statistics. We also  welcome applied papers that deal with the use of quantitative methods in practice, the analysis of digital behavioural data, or that present the use of a particular state-of-the-art method using an example for  illustration.

Section Policies

Research Reports

We invite authors to submit articles extending the profession's knowledge on the science of surveys, be it on data collection, measurement, or data analysis and statistics. We also  welcome applied papers that deal with the use of quantitative methods in practice, with teaching quantitative methods, or that present the use of a particular state-of-the-art method using an example for  illustration. In spite of the focus on survey methodology we also encourage submissions on other important topics of social science research methods.

The total length of the manuscript shall not exceed 10.000 words.

Open Submissions

Indexed

Peer Reviewed

Research Notes

Research notes should consist of no more than 6.000 words. We encourage researchers to submit smaller (experimental) studies to mda.

Open Submissions

Indexed

Peer Reviewed

Field Reports

mda publishes descriptions of innovative fieldwork methods. Such studies typically have high informative value for persons implementing surveys, but lack the statistical complexities and academic rigor of usual articles in our field, among other reasons because innovative methods are seldom implemented as an experiment.

Open Submissions

Indexed

Peer Reviewed

Abstracts for Special Issue on "Video Interviewing for Collecting Survey Data"

Please enter your abstracts for the Special Issue on Video Interviewing about here.

The abstract should be documenting the main research questions, design of the study, and proposed analyses (500 - 1000 words)

• Fred Conrad
• Gabriele Durrant
• Tim Hanson
• Andrew Hupp

Open Submissions

Indexed

Peer Reviewed

Full Papers for Special Issue on "Video Interviewing for Collecting Survey Data"

Please submit your full paper for the Special Issue on Video Interviewing in this section of the journal mda.

Please note that only papers whose abstracts for the Special Issue have been previously reviewed by the guest editors can be submitted here.

• Fred Conrad
• Gabriele Durrant
• Tim Hanson
• Andrew Hupp

Open Submissions

Indexed

Peer Reviewed

Full Papers for Special Issue on "Exploring the Methodological Choices, Challenges and Solutions for New Data"

Please submit your full paper for the Special Issue on New Data in this section of the journal mda.

Please note that only papers whose abstracts for the Special Issue have been previously reviewed by the guest editors can be submitted here.

• Trent Buskirk
• Rachel Gibson

Open Submissions

Indexed

Peer Reviewed

Abstracts for Special Issue on "Exploring the Methodological Choices, Challenges and Solutions in working with New Data"

Please enter your abstracts for the Special Issue on New Data Sources about here.

The abstract should be documenting the main research questions, design of the study, and proposed analyses (500 - 1000 words)

• Trent Buskirk
• Rachel Gibson

Open Submissions

Indexed

Peer Reviewed

Peer Review Process

Mda aims for a quick peer-review process. All papers submitted to mda will first be screened by the Associate Editor for general suitability and then double-blindly reviewed by at least two reviewers. The decision on publication is made by the Associate Editor based on the reviews.

Publication Frequency

Open Access Policy

Privacy policy

Privacy Statement

The names and email addresses entered in this journal site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.

The data collected from registered and non-registered users of this journal falls within the scope of the standard functioning of peer-reviewed journals. It includes information that makes communication possible for the editorial process; it is used to informs readers about the authorship and editing of content; it enables collecting aggregated data on readership behaviors, as well as tracking geopolitical and social elements of scholarly communication.

This journal's editorial team uses this data to guide its work in publishing and improving this journal. 

Rights of the Individual

Those involved in editing this journal seek to be compliant with industry standards for data privacy, including the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) provision for "data subject rights" that include (a) breach notification; (b) right of access; (c) the right to be forgotten; (d) data portability; and (e) privacy by design. The GDPR also allows for the recognition of "the public interest in the availability of the data," which has a particular saliency for those involved in maintaining, with the greatest integrity possible, the public record of scholarly publishing.

All registered users with mda, including authors and peer reviewers, can exercise their rights of the individual, as they are detailed in the GDPR.

If you have a user account and wish to have it deleted, please contact us. 

Cookies

By using the website mda.gesis.org you agree that we may save cookies on your computer or mobile device when you visit the site.

If you don't consent to this, but still wish to use the website, you may deactivate cookies from mda.gesis.org in your browser settings.

You will still be able to access all the published articles with cookies disabled, but you won't be able to perform tasks that requires you to log in to the Open Journals System of mda.

What kind of cookies does mda.gesis.org use

mda.gesis.org runs on the Open Journal Systems platform as known as OJS. It sets the following cookies:

Cookies for web analytics

We are using the 3rd party etracker in order to analyze the traffic on our website. If you wish you can opt-out of the data collection process.

Please read the usage statistics information below for details.

Usage Statistics

In order to be able to analyse usage and impact of our journal and the published articles, this website uses etracker technology (etracker.com).

The collected data is only used for evaluation purposes. All visitor data is saved using an anonymous user ID and can be used to aggregate a usage profile. Cookies may be used for this purpose. Cookies are small text files that are stored in the visitor's local browser cache. Using such cookies it is possible to recognize the visitor's browser. The data collected via etracker technology will not be used to determine the personal identity of the website visitor or compiled with personal data pertaining to the user of the pseudonym unless agreed to separately by the person concerned. (More details on cookies used by etracker can be found on the appropriate support page of etracker.)

If you wish you can opt-out of the data collection process. By clicking the opt-out button, you can actively decide against participating in the statistical analysis. When clicking the opt-out button a cookie is being created on your system to store your decision. If the privacy settings of your browser lead to cookies being automatically deleted you will have to opt-out again the next time you access this journal. The cookie is only valid for one browser. If you use a different browser, you will have to opt out again. No individual information is stored within this cookie.

Please bear in mind that general server logs are not affected by your decision to opt-out of the detailed evaluation process.

Opt-Out

Our details

The department "Knowledge Transfer", Team Publications, leads the journal management and production of mda. The department is part of the GESIS – Leibniz-Institute for  the Social Sciences, responsible in terms of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (EU-GDPR), Art. 4 Clause 7. 

For further questions of liability, copyright and data protection please refer to the imprint of the GESIS – Leibniz-Institute for  the Social Sciences as well as the GESIS privacy policy.

We may update this privacy policy from time-to-time, particularly as technology changes. You can always check this page for the latest version.

Updated on May 24, 2018

Our data protection commissioner can be reached at datenschutz (@) gesis.org

Publication ethics and Malpractice statement

Publication ethics and Malpractice statement

Plagiarism and publication malpractice are still issues occurring when publishing research related articles. Mda (methods, data, analysis) is strictly against such practices and will take necessary measures to ensure that articles published through our Open-Journal System will not fall under these categories.

In the case that our publishers or editors are made aware of, or discover by themselves any allegation of research misconduct, mda retains the right to retract or correct articles if needed.

Please note: We are planning to check randomly selected texts by a suitable plagiarism software in the upcoming future.

Authors and Author responsibilities

There are no fees or charges for submitting a manuscript or having it published in mda.

All of our authors are obligated to participate in a peer review process, and it is important that all authors and co-authors actively participate in the research of their article and do so in an accurate and complete manner. Authors and co-authors are also personally responsible for the content of their articles and will uphold public responsibility for it. Authors also need to provide a list of their references and sources, as well as financial support.

One of our criteria for publishing in the mda is that articles have not been published in whole or in part anywhere else. If parts of other articles have been used, then they have to be properly disclosed as citation using quotation marks and giving the correct references. Furthermore, articles which have been published in other journals are not allowed, as well as articles using false or manipulated data. We do not encourage the use of false or manipulated data and want to help eliminate such actions.

These rules, as well as those in our Ethic Statement should not be violated or severe consequences will follow.

Editors, reviewers and journal managers are constantly and diligently investigating these stated criteria in every step of your publishing system, so that the articles in question will not be published in mda.

Every author who wishes to hand in a manuscript and publish an article in mda has to agree with this statement and declare that the policies of this journal will be upheld.

Responsibilities of the reviewers and editors 

The mda editorial board is responsible for the editorial process and reviews all submitted papers in a rigorous, fair and timely manner while abiding to our editorial policy.  

Upon submission, the mda managing editor initially assesses the general suitability of all documents and determines if a manuscript is eligible for peer review. If a manuscript has been approved by the managing editor, the editor in chief appoints and contacts an associate editor during the next stage of the editorial process. Each manuscript is then double-blindly reviewed by at least two reviewers appointed by the associate editor. Following the completion of the peer review process, the associate editor forwards a decision letter to the author, containing important information for required corrections. Mda retains the right to reject a manuscript if deemed necessary by the associate editor in a decision letter. 

All mda editors come from different backgrounds and are recognized experts in their field of expertise. 

Editorial Board

Our editorial board consists of the following experts:

Dr. Melanie Revilla (Editor-in-chief, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona)

Prof. Dr. Eldad Davidov (University of Cologne, University of Zurich)

Prof. Dr. Edith de Leeuw (University of Utrecht)

Prof. Dr. Gabriele Durrant (University of Southampton)

Dr. Sabine Haeder (GESIS Mannheim)

Prof. Dr. Jochen Mayerl (University of Chemnitz) 

Prof. Dr. Norbert Schwarz (University of Los Angeles)

Prof. Dr. Annelies Blom (University of Mannheim)

Dr. Jan-Karem Hoehne (University of Mannheim)

Dr. Peter Lugtig (University of Utrecht)

Contact Information:

Dr. Sabine Häder

GESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences

PO Box 122155

D 68072 Mannheim

Germany

Tel: +49 621 1246526

Email: sabine.haeder@gesis.org

Copyright

All rights remain with the author.

All content is licensed using the creative commons attribution license (CC-BY).

Ownership and Management

The department "Knowledge Transfer", Team Publications, leads the journal management and production of mda. The department is part of the GESIS – Leibniz-Institute for the Social Sciences, responsible in terms of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (EU-GDPR), Art. 4 Clause 7.

Archiving

In the case of mda being discontinued, all data will remain on the OJS server of GESIS.