Social Psychology Network

Thanks in part to the Social Psychology Network (SPN) web site, the border between Canada and the United States is invisible when it comes to the professional activities of psychologists engaged in education and research. SPN is an outstanding example of how the Internet can be used to serve the needs of psychology scholars, and Canadians have been as well served by SPN as any in the world.

The wealth of teaching and research resources available all in one site requires that SPN be at the top of our bookmark list. We use the online randomizer to carry out random sampling and random assignment in our research, and we use the randomizer's tutorial to teach our students how to do the same. We direct students interested in graduate study to the excellent resources on graduate programs with full confidence that information about Canadian programs will be there. When it comes time to update a lecture or develop a new course, SPN serves as a superb clearinghouse for teaching resources. When we're wondering where and when the next professional meeting will be held, including meetings in Canada, the SPN site is invariably the first place to go. When our Ph.D. students begin their job search, they can check the job posting forum for positions in Canada and elsewhere. And of course, SPN's well-moderated discussion forums support the needs of both faculty and students for the latest announcements about conferences, new books, jobs, news, and commentary on current professional issues.

In sum, Social Psychology Network is a unique and invaluable resource that binds the psychology scholarly community together, and in so doing, facilitates and enhances our scholarly work. Canadian members of this virtual community benefit as much as any others and thus are stakeholders in the continuance of SPN. We encourage our members and others to join and support SPN so that it will thrive for many years to come.

--Canadian Psychological Association
  Social and Personality Section
  (July 7, 2005)