Topic Selection (humrel-topic-selection)
When to trigger
- You have a workplace/organizational phenomenon but are unsure it is an HR question rather than a sibling-journal question
- The puzzle is interesting empirically but you cannot yet say what social-theoretical understanding it would advance
- A coauthor asks "is this Human Relations, Organization Studies, JMS, or Work, Employment and Society?"
- The topic is timely (AI at work, platform labour, hybrid work, inequality) and you need it to be more than topical
What makes a question an HR question
HR is the interdisciplinary social-science journal of relationships at and around work. Its self-description is the test: research that advances "our understanding of social relationships at and around work through theoretical development and empirical investigation." Three things travel together for a strong HR topic:
- The relational/social core. The phenomenon is about people in relation — power, identity, meaning, conflict, control, solidarity, emotion, institutions — not a firm-level performance lever or an isolated individual trait. If the question could be answered without reference to social relations, it is probably not HR.
- A theoretical stake, declared early. HR runs an editorial scoping screen and demands "a unique and substantive theoretical contribution"; "suitable data are a necessary but not sufficient feature to get to full peer review." A topic that is only descriptive or only managerial-prescriptive will not clear the screen.
- Interdisciplinary reach. HR draws on sociology, psychology, organization studies, and critical theory. The best topics speak to a conversation readers from more than one tradition recognize.
Sibling boundaries — where the topic should and should not go
| If the centre of gravity is… |
The natural home is… |
HR's distinct angle |
| US-style hypothesis test of an OB effect |
AMJ |
HR wants theory + social context, methods plural, not a moderated-mediation template |
| A debate internal to organization theory / paradigms |
Organization Studies (EGOS) |
HR is broader social science of work, less paradigm-internal |
| Managerial relevance / strategy / the firm |
JMS |
HR foregrounds the social relation, not managerial payoff |
| Employment, labour markets, class, work sociology |
Work, Employment and Society |
HR pulls the case up to organizational/relational theory, not labour-market description |
| A purely critical/deconstructive intervention |
Organization |
HR welcomes critique but rewards a constructive, generative theoretical contribution |
How to sharpen the question
- State the phenomenon as a puzzle or tension ("workers say X yet do Y"), not a topic label.
- Name the conversation it joins and the prior it could unsettle (feeds
humrel-literature-positioning).
- Identify which HR readers would care (organizational sociologists? critical scholars? work psychologists?) and which would desk-screen it as out of scope.
- Decide the likely archetype (ethnographic, critical, quantitative, mixed, theory) early — it sets the chain entry point in
humrel-workflow.
Checklist
Anti-patterns
- A "hot topic" (AI, hybrid work) with no relational mechanism or theoretical stake
- A managerial how-to or performance-optimization question dressed as organizational research
- A descriptive case that never rises above its setting to organizational theory
- Framing so generic the journal name could be swapped without changing a word
- Treating the editorial scoping screen as a formality rather than the first real gate
Output format
【Journal】Human Relations
【Skill】humrel-topic-selection
【Verdict】fit / sharpen / reroute to sibling
【Puzzle (one sentence)】the tension, not the topic
【Relational core】how it is about relationships at/around work
【Theoretical stake】what understanding it could advance
【Sibling boundary】why HR and not OS / JMS / AMJ / WES / Organization
【Source status】verified / 待核实 / not asserted
【Next skill】humrel-theory-development
Source: brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills → Human-Relations-Skills/skills/humrel-topic-selection/SKILL.md
1---2name: humrel-topic-selection3description: Use when deciding whether a question belongs in Human Relations (HR) and how to frame it for the journal's interdisciplinary work-and-society audience. Tests fit and sharpens the question; it does not develop the theory or invent evidence.4---567# Topic Selection (humrel-topic-selection)89## When to trigger1011- You have a workplace/organizational phenomenon but are unsure it is an *HR* question rather than a sibling-journal question12- The puzzle is interesting empirically but you cannot yet say what *social-theoretical* understanding it would advance13- A coauthor asks "is this Human Relations, Organization Studies, JMS, or Work, Employment and Society?"14- The topic is timely (AI at work, platform labour, hybrid work, inequality) and you need it to be more than topical1516## What makes a question an HR question1718HR is the **interdisciplinary social-science journal of relationships at and around work**. Its self-description is the test: research that advances "our understanding of social relationships at and around work through theoretical development and empirical investigation." Three things travel together for a strong HR topic:19201. **The relational/social core.** The phenomenon is about people *in relation* — power, identity, meaning, conflict, control, solidarity, emotion, institutions — not a firm-level performance lever or an isolated individual trait. If the question could be answered without reference to social relations, it is probably not HR.212. **A theoretical stake, declared early.** HR runs an editorial scoping screen and demands "a unique and substantive theoretical contribution"; "suitable data are a necessary but not sufficient feature to get to full peer review." A topic that is only descriptive or only managerial-prescriptive will not clear the screen.223. **Interdisciplinary reach.** HR draws on sociology, psychology, organization studies, and critical theory. The best topics speak to a *conversation* readers from more than one tradition recognize.2324## Sibling boundaries — where the topic should and should not go2526| If the centre of gravity is… | The natural home is… | HR's distinct angle |27|------------------------------|----------------------|---------------------|28| US-style hypothesis test of an OB effect | AMJ | HR wants theory + social context, methods plural, not a moderated-mediation template |29| A debate internal to organization theory / paradigms | Organization Studies (EGOS) | HR is broader social science of work, less paradigm-internal |30| Managerial relevance / strategy / the firm | JMS | HR foregrounds the *social relation*, not managerial payoff |31| Employment, labour markets, class, work sociology | Work, Employment and Society | HR pulls the case up to *organizational/relational theory*, not labour-market description |32| A purely critical/deconstructive intervention | Organization | HR welcomes critique but rewards a constructive, generative theoretical contribution |3334## How to sharpen the question3536- State the phenomenon as a **puzzle or tension** ("workers say X yet do Y"), not a topic label.37- Name the **conversation** it joins and the **prior** it could unsettle (feeds `humrel-literature-positioning`).38- Identify *which* HR readers would care (organizational sociologists? critical scholars? work psychologists?) and which would desk-screen it as out of scope.39- Decide the likely archetype (ethnographic, critical, quantitative, mixed, theory) early — it sets the chain entry point in `humrel-workflow`.4041## Checklist4243- [ ] The question is about **social relationships at/around work**, not a firm-performance lever44- [ ] A theoretical stake is stated, not just an empirical gap or a timely topic45- [ ] The target conversation and the prior it could overturn are named46- [ ] You can say why it is HR and *not* OS / JMS / AMJ / WES / Organization47- [ ] At least one HR reader segment would find it non-obvious and important48- [ ] Process facts cited (length, review model, portal) trace to `resources/official-source-map.md` or are marked 待核实4950## Anti-patterns5152- A "hot topic" (AI, hybrid work) with no relational mechanism or theoretical stake53- A managerial how-to or performance-optimization question dressed as organizational research54- A descriptive case that never rises above its setting to organizational theory55- Framing so generic the journal name could be swapped without changing a word56- Treating the editorial scoping screen as a formality rather than the first real gate5758## Output format5960```text61【Journal】Human Relations62【Skill】humrel-topic-selection63【Verdict】fit / sharpen / reroute to sibling64【Puzzle (one sentence)】the tension, not the topic65【Relational core】how it is about relationships at/around work66【Theoretical stake】what understanding it could advance67【Sibling boundary】why HR and not OS / JMS / AMJ / WES / Organization68【Source status】verified / 待核实 / not asserted69【Next skill】humrel-theory-development70```7172---7374**Source:** [`brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills`](https://github.com/brycewang-stanford/Awesome-Journal-Skills) → `Human-Relations-Skills/skills/humrel-topic-selection/SKILL.md`
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