Introduction to Volume 8, Issue 3 of topiCS.

Abstract

We predict that years from now this issue of topiCS, “Discovering Psychological Principles by Mining Naturally Occurring Data Sets,” will be seen as the point at which the field of Cognitive Science realized that the ready availability of large quantities of human data in electronic format had and would continue to have a major impact on the nature, conduct, and definition of human cognitive research. From this point forward, the nature and definition of naturally occurring data sets (NODS) as a method for empirical research will reference, debate, redefine, and amend the definitions of NODS proposed in the Editors’ introduction and their collection of papers. As Topic Editors Robert L. Goldstone (Indiana University) and Gary Lupyan (University of Wisconsin) carefully discuss in their short and interesting introduction, NODS is not necessarily Big Data, and it is not necessarily data that was collected for other than research purposes (this point is clearly made in their discussion of Anderson and Schooler 1991). Equally important is their emphasis on the interplay between laboratory studies and NODS: namely, that “NODS should supplement not supplant experiments.” topiCS encourages letters and commentaries on all topics, and proposals for new topics. Letters are typically 400–1,000 words (maximum of two published pages) and will be published without abstract or references (possibly 1–2 but usually none). Commentaries are often solicited by Topic Editors prior to the publication of their topic. However, commentaries after publication are also considered and should range between 1,000 and 2,000 words. Most commentaries will not have an abstract and will not include many references. The Executive Editor and the Senior Editorial Board (SEB) members are constantly searching for new and exciting topics for topiCS. Feel free to open communications with a short note to the Executive Editor (grayw@rpi.edu) or an SEB member (SEB members are listed under the Editorial Board heading on the publisher's homepage for topiCS (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1756-8765/homepage/EditorialBoard.html).