This special issue of the Journal of Experimental Political Science is dedicated to the memory of Rebecca Morton. Becky was co-founder and co-editor-in-chief of JEPS, and so the idea for a special issue of JEPS in her memory was an obvious one. But Becky’s connection to the issue that follows goes beyond just her association with JEPS – it also speaks to her lifelong efforts to integrate experimental research into the study of political science. With a background in economics and a lifetime of experience running experiments, Becky was eager to see a journal in political science that would be a home for experimental work that focused on politics. Given the richness of the field in which she worked, Becky could have easily sought to build a journal around the types of experiments she liked best: lab experiments that tested predictions derived from formal theoretical models. Instead, though, she partnered with one of us whose background was in very different types of experimental research and went about building a journal that is a home to all types of experimentalists working in the field of political science. The JEPS that exists today – which welcomes survey, field, lab, and lab-in-field experiments, as well as methodological work and meta-analyses – is a testament to Becky’s vision and willingness to think about the field as a whole, as opposed to just her particular interests.
We’d like to think that Becky would be happy with the special issue that is being published in her memory, as it reflects that vision. There are methods papers here, survey experiments, field experiments, and lab experiments – and even a turnout experiment as well. But beyond methodological diversity, Becky was also a supporter of intellectual diversity that came from having a wide variety of voices heard in the production of academic research. We hope that the breadth of scholars that are being published in this issue would also please Becky.
Finally, we want to take this opportunity to say how grateful the three of us are to have known and worked with Becky over the years. She was our friend, our advisor, our co-author, and our co-editor. We miss her dearly and are extremely appreciative of this chance to honor her memory.
Open access
