Polygence blog / Research Opportunities and Ideas

Top 3 Psychology Journals for High School Students to Publish In

By Alex Yang

Graduate student at Southern Methodist University

Last updated May 17, 2024Published Jan 12, 2024

2 minute read

Psychology has become a very popular topic amongst students. Who doesn’t want to understand why people behave the way they do or say the things they do? Psychology provides a lens to deeply understand human behaviors, ourselves, and our relationships, and as a result, can be a really interesting research topic for students. If you’re considering researching psychology or have already started a project, publishing your research in a journal can be a great way to add credibility to your work and gain recognition. You might also have the opportunity to receive feedback on your research from expert scientists and researchers and learn about the peer-review process. In this article, we’ll cover our top psychology journals for high school students to publish their research in.

What are the Best Psychology Journals?

1. Whitman Journal of Psychology

Cost: Free
Deadline: Throughout the year
Type of research: Manuscripts and podcasts

Since 1994, the Whitman Journal has been accepting work from high school students worldwide, making it one of the most long-standing high school psychology journals out there. With this much history, the journal has an extensive archive of previous work that can help give you a sense of what’s been published before. Students can either submit a manuscript or a podcast episode of around 20 minutes (can be solely audio or with video as well).

2. Journal of Secondary Psychological Studies

Cost: Free
Deadline: Early deadline for 2024 is December 1, 2023
Type of research: Research paper

Designed to help high school students present their own empirical research on psychology, this journal focuses on research conducted in a high school setting without any expensive equipment. This makes the research more relatable and also allows students to be more creative and thoughtful in their experimental design process. The journal also intends to provide feedback to students who submit their research, with a staff that’s composed of both high school and college students.

3. Journal of Psychological Inquiry (JPI)

Cost: $30 fee
Deadline: Rolling
Type of research: Empirical research, literature reviews, analysis of TV shows or movies, analysis of current events, historical articles

This journal started out in 1993 to highlight high-quality research work by students in the hopes of getting other students excited about what they could accomplish in psychology research. Although this journal is technically for undergraduate students, there seems to be no strict requirement as we went through the registration process and were able to list a high school as our affiliated institution. The journal is interesting in that there are many different submission options, including analyses of a TV show or movie or even a current event. If an empirical manuscript isn’t your thing, this journal is a great opportunity to conduct more informal research while still learning about key psychology concepts. With the target demographic being undergraduate students, however, there may be a higher standard for publication compared to the other journals on this list. In this case, it may be helpful to seek out a mentor to help you with your research.

Can You Submit to Multiple Psychology Journals?

Ultimately, your paper can only be published in one peer-reviewed journal. Submitting the same paper to multiple peer-reviewed journals at the same time is not allowed. If your work is not accepted by one journal, however, then you are allowed to submit your research to your next choice. Keep in mind however that journals will often have different formatting and citation requirements, so do not just copy and paste the same submission to every journal! Take the time to carefully read through the submission requirements and make revisions accordingly - this will give you the best shot of having your paper published! If you’re confused about citing properly, check out our complete guide on citations and bibliographies.

Are There Other Psychology Journals To Consider?

Getting your research published in a journal can often be a time-consuming process. If you’re waiting to hear back from a peer-reviewed journal or just want to put your work out there in an efficient manner, consider the Research Archive of Rising Scholars (RARS), a preprint archive managed by Polygence. Having your work published in RARS means that you have a link that you can share with others to show off the amazing work that you’ve done. In addition, our archive is fully indexed by Google Scholar, and each preprint shows up as a publication preprint on the author's Google Scholar page.