Guest Editors
Eric Brewe and Vashti Sawtelle

For several decades statistics have demonstrated a lack of women participating in the field of physics. These statistics have prompted research to understand why the representation of women in physics is so low and what can be done to improve this situation. This Focused Collection on gender in physics provides a way of highlighting these works in a physics venue and gives researchers a foothold in understanding the progress made in research on gender. Collecting articles in this Focused Collection will (1) consolidate important findings from past research in gender in physics, (2) highlight the importance of research on gender and bring it to the forefront of a broader research agenda, (3) allow for an examination of best practices in physics education to support diversity and representation in the field, and (4) provide an opportunity to examine assumptions regarding the study of gender in the context of physics.

In this Focused Collection we invite proposals that (1) examine the lack of representation of women in physics, (2) compare men to women in physics, and/or (3) take the stance of gender as a socially constructed phenomenon that is performed by individuals. With this in mind we anticipate submissions to include, but not be limited to:

• Investigations of the performance or affective characteristics of women at any level of physics. Comparisons of performance by gender would be appropriate as would investigations of women without comparisons to men.
• Investigations of interventions and documentation of how they affect performance of women and/or the gap between men and women.
• Studies of gender identity in physics.
• Explorations of the impact of gender and gendered actions in physics and physics education.

Submissions are encouraged from across the continuum of physics learning environments including early childhood, secondary, postsecondary, graduate education and postgraduate settings. Most papers are expected to be based on empirical studies and both qualitative and quantitativeworkwill bewelcome.Overviewand reviewarticles are also appropriate for this issue.

Submission Process

Interested authors should submit 500-word proposals for full papers by July 18, 2014 to the guest editors, Eric Brewe and Vashti Sawtelle at GenderIssuePRSTPER@gmail.com. Proposals for manuscripts of empirical studies must include a brief discussion of the research methodology and/or data sources the work will expect to draw upon. Proposals for overview or review articles should include a sampling of key references to be drawn upon in the article. Please include a sentence identifying the type ofmanuscript that is envisioned. Contact information and institutional affiliation of the lead author must be included with the proposal.

The guest editors will, in consultation with the PRST-PER editor, review proposals and notify authors of the status of their submission by August 29, 2014. For proposals that are accepted, the authors will be asked to prepare manuscripts that will go through the standard PRST-PER review process. Completed draft manuscripts will be due by January 30, 2015. Given the short review cycle, we expect the submitted manuscripts to be complete works. Works in progress or incomplete articles will be returned to the author without review.

Charles Henderson
Editor

Published 17 March 2014
DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.10.010004
PACS numbers: 01.10.Cr, 01.40.Fk