Identity

Methods for Unraveling Identity: The Identity Researcher's Toolbox

Identity: An International Journal of Theory and Research welcomes submissions for the special issue “Methods for Unraveling Identity: The Identity Researcher's Toolbox”. 

Identity is a complex and multifaceted concept. To fully capture its richness, identity scholars tackle it through various lenses and perspectives. Accordingly, they can employ diverse quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-method approaches. Moreover, since identity is not static but evolves over time, a range of longitudinal designs can be utilized to uncover its developmental patterns.

This special issue aims to bring together contributions that focus on methodologies for studying identity. We welcome submissions of Methodological articles that:

a) introduce innovative methodologies for identity research;
b) compare the strengths and limitations of existing approaches;
c) provide tutorial-style guidelines for implementing state-of-the-art practices in identity research.

Methodological articles should be written to be accessible to a broad audience of scholars. See the Instruction for Authors for more info on this type of article.

Examples of articles suitable for the special issue include: 

• From theory to measurement
• Identifying identity statuses and profiles: A tutorial on classification methods
• Designing longitudinal studies: From long-term to day-to-day approaches
• Conducting and coding narrative identity interviews: A step-by-step guide
• Participant-generated approaches to collecting qualitative identity data
• Longitudinal analytical approaches: A tutorial on cross-lagged panel models
• Designing and evaluating identity interventions: Methods for assessing effectiveness
• Reviewing, integrating, and advancing existing methodological approaches

These are just examples; we welcome submissions on other relevant topics. However, please note that studies focusing on the psychometric evaluation of instruments (e.g., validation studies assessing the psychometric properties of a scale developed in English when adapted to another language) are not the primary focus of this special issue. They can still be submitted but only as a Brief report as indicated in the journal Instructions for Instruction for Authors.