Best CPA Journal Article Awards

The CPA is committed to promoting excellence and innovation in psychological science, according to the highest standards of scientific inquiry, and disseminating psychological knowledge to our members and the broader external community via a variety of means including but not limited to journals and publications, newsletters, electronic newsletters, and annual meetings.

In keeping with these aims, the CPA recognizes the contributions made by authors to its three journals (CP, CJBS, CJEP) by sponsoring an annual award for the best article published in the previous year. CJEP is published quarterly by the CPA in collaboration with the Canadian Society for Brain, Behaviour and Cognitive Science (CSBBCS); the CSBBCS shares the CPA’s commitment to promoting scientific excellence and thus co-sponsors the CJEP award.

Number and value of awards: One award per year, valued at $1,000.00 per journal.

For CJEP, the CPA and the CSBBCS each contribute $500.00 annually to the award.  In addition, the corresponding author of the winning paper will receive free CSBBCS membership for the subsequent calendar year, as well as a $70.00 credit from the CPA to be put toward any CPA product (e.g., membership, continuing professional development, convention registration, publications).

Eligibility: Any manuscript published in CP, CJEP or CJBS in the previous calendar year (currently 4 issues). Brief reports, empirical articles, and review papers are eligible. Award winners must agree to the publication of their name(s), picture(s) and full reference of the winning article on the CPA website (and for CJEP, the CSBBCS website) and other award announcements.

Selection: The Editorial team (Editor and Associate Editor(s) or appointed individuals) of each journal will nominate one paper per issue (normally, 4 issues per year) and evaluate them accordingly.

  • For CJEP, the winner will be selected by a committee comprised of 2 CPA appointed members and 2 CSBBCS appointed members; both the CPA and the CSBBCS will appoint their two members as they see fit. The Chair of the CPA’s Scientific Affairs Committee, which oversees the CPA’s Publications, will serve as the Chair of the decision committee.
  • For CP, the four nominated articles are evaluated by the Board of Directors representing Science, Practice and Education.
  • For CJEP, the articles are selected and evaluated by the journal’s editorial team.

The CPA’s Managing Editor of the Journals will solicit the short list from each journal’s Editorial Team in January of each year.

Criteria: The criteria for selection include: originality and innovation, theoretical contribution, quality of empirical work (if any), clarity of writing and presentation, and expected impact.

Process: No application is required. The corresponding author of the winning manuscript will be notified by the Editor of the journal in advance of the annual meeting.

Payment: The winner will be acknowledged at the CPA’s annual meeting (and for CJEP, at the CSBBCS annual meeting); a cheque and certificate are also presented at that time.

For CJEP, a cheque and certificate will be presented at the Annual meeting (CSBBCS or CPA) of the recipient’s choosing.