Replication Data for: The American Political Science Review during the COVID-19 Pandemic

On June 1, 2020, a little more than two months after the World Health Organization's pandemic declaration, we assumed leadership of the <i>American Political Science Review</i> (<i>APSR</i>), making it difficult to isolate the pandemic's effect on new submissions and review processes. In this research note, we describe submission and review patterns in the two and half years before and after the pandemic's beginning and editorial transition. We offer some tentative conclusions. The timing of the editorial transition and our public commitments to broaden the reach of the journal may help explain why new submissions to the <i>APSR</i> increased during the the pandemic. At the <i>APSR</i>, our commitment to <i>substantive</i> diversity may have also contributed to greater <i>representational</i> diversity among submitting authors. In our experience, reviewers were less likely to complete reviews during the first years of the pandemic, but by inviting more reviewers per manuscript, our team was able to improve review times overall. This strategy may not work as well for smaller journals that already struggle to secure reviews.