Bylaws

Article I: Name and Purpose 

1. The name of this organization shall be the Society for Qualitative Inquiry in Psychology (SQIP), a section of Division 5 of the American Psychological Association (APA).

2. The purposes of the Society shall be:  

   1. to serve as a forum for enriching and reflecting on forms and applications of qualitative studies in psychology.

   2. to provide researchers and practitioners opportunities to share developments across a wide array of theories and methods (e.g., narrative, discourse, life history, phenomenology, ethnography, case studies, focus groups, visual representation, performance, action research).

   3. to stimulate deliberation on the methodological, theoretical, and philosophical status of such forms of inquiry.

   4. to invigorate innovations in qualitative inquiry.

   5. to promote the teaching and learning of qualitative inquiry.

   6. to encourage and facilitate the exchange of information with other disciplines engaging in qualitative inquiry.  

3. The Society shall, as required by APA Bylaws, comply with all APA and Division Bylaws, Association Rules and current policies. 

 

Article II: Membership 

1.  To join the Society, members must first join Division 5 of the APA (Quantitative and Qualitative Methods) and then designate SQIP as a section of interest.

2. Members will join SQIP in the category of membership they hold in Division 5. The Society shall consist of the following classes of members:

   1. Members and Associates: Members or Associates of the APA shall join the Society at the same rank and with the same privileges as outlined in the APA Bylaws.

   2. Professional Affiliates: People who represent other disciplines, who are not members of the APA but are interested in the work of the Society, or who are APA Affiliates who do not qualify for membership in any other category in these bylaws may join as Professional Affiliates. Professional Affiliates shall have all the privileges and responsibilities of other members of the Society, except that they shall not have the right to vote.

   3. Student Affiliates: People who are enrolled in graduate programs in psychology or a related field and are interested in the work of the Society may join as Student Affiliates. Student Affiliates shall have all the privileges and responsibilities of other members of the Society, except that they shall not have the right to vote, and ordinarily they will not chair a standing committee or serve as an officer of the Society.

   4. International Affiliates: People who reside outside the U.S. and Canada and are APA International Affiliates and/or are nonmembers of the APA but are interested in the work of the Society may join as International Affiliates. International Affiliates shall have all the privileges and responsibilities of other members of the Society, except that they shall not have the right to vote. 

3. A member who does not pay dues by January 1 of a given year as required on the APA dues statement shall be presumed to have resigned and will be dropped for nonpayment. A person may be reinstated by paying the dues.

4. Conduct of a Member, Associate, or Affiliate that is deemed harmful to the Society will be handled in accordance with the Division 5 bylaws.   

 

Article III: Officers  

1. The officers of the Society shall consist of a President, President-Elect, Past President, Secretary, Financial Officer, Section Representative to Division 5 Executive Committee, Membership Chair, Communications Chair, Early Career Representative, and Student Representative. 

2. The President, President-Elect and Past President will each serve one year in the designated role and the roles will change at the close of the Annual Meeting of the Society.

3. In accordance with the Bylaws of Division 5, there shall be a Section Representative to the Division 5 Executive Committee, who shall be elected by the Members and Voting Associates of the Society. This Section Representative shall serve for a term of three years.  In accordance with the Division 5 Bylaws, they shall be ineligible for re-election without at least one year intervening. 

4. Candidates for President-Elect, Secretary, and Financial Officer in  the Society shall be Members of the Society. Officers and Section Representatives shall be elected by ballots distributed to Society Members and Voting Associates, except for the Communications Chair, Early Career Representative, Student Representative, and Membership Chair who will be appointed by the Society’s Executive Committee.

5. The term of office of President-Elect shall be one year, after which the person shall serve one year as President. The term of Past-President shall be the one year immediately following the person’s term as President.

6. The President shall preside at all business meetings of the Society, carry out the actions voted by the Members, recommend such actions as they deem necessary or desirable, and perform such other duties as are specified in these Bylaws.

7. The President-Elect shall serve as Vice President of the Society, preside in the absence of the President, and carry out such other duties as may be delegated by the President.

8. The Secretary shall keep the records of all meetings of the Society and of its Officers, issue notices of meetings and calls for nominations of officers, and manage any processes related to elections or votes on bylaw amendments, as required by the Bylaws of Division 5 or by the APA Bylaws. The Secretary shall be responsible for reporting the outcome of all elections and bylaws amendment ballots to the Division Coordinating Officer/Secretary and to the membership of the Society.

9. The Financial Officer shall serve as treasurer, manage all the financial resources of the Society, and make disbursements as authorized by the membership or the Executive Committee, depending on the circumstance, the Executive Committee, the Presidential trio, or a majority vote from voting-eligible members. In consultation with the Executive Committee, the Financial Officer shall oversee the development of ad hoc task forces and working groups related to financial policy.

10. The Secretary and Financial Officer shall each be elected to a three-year term of office by the membership of the  Each may serve not more than two consecutive terms.

11. The Section Representative to Division 5 shall perform the duties and accept the responsibilities specified in the Bylaws of the Division.

12. The Membership Chair shall oversee the maintenance of the Society’s membership database and develop recruitment and retention activities for the Society. The Chair shall be appointed by the Executive Committee for a three-year term and, normally, will not serve more than two consecutive terms.

13. The Communications Chair is responsible for helping to communicate, both within and outside the Society membership, the work being done by the Society and its members, and the events, opportunities, and resources offered by the Society. The Chair shall be appointed by the Executive Committee for a three-year term and, normally, will not serve more than two consecutive terms.

14. The Student Representative and the Early Career Representative shall each be appointed by the Executive Committee and will serve a term of two years.

15. In the case of the death, incapacity, resignation, refusal to serve, or disqualification of any officer, the Executive Committee shall by majority vote designate a temporary incumbent to serve out the remainder of the term. 

 

Article IV: Committees of the Society 

1. The President, President-Elect, Past President, Secretary, Financial Officer, and Section Representative to Division 5 constitute the Society’s Executive Committee. The Executive Committee shall have general supervision of the affairs of the Society, performing the duties and abiding by the limitations specified in these Bylaws.

   1. No Member of the Executive Committee shall hold more than one office simultaneously.

   2. A quorum for the meetings of the Officers of the Society shall consist of a majority of the Officers. 

2. The Society shall ordinarily have a person or a committee to manage the following tasks:  (a) Training, Mentorship, and Student Development, (b) Finance, (c) Membership, (d) Nominations and Elections, (e) Yearly Conference Program, (f) Yearly Conference Local Arrangements, (g) Communications (including website, social media, newsletter), and (h) International Relations.

3. A Committee of the Society carries out regularly-occurring functions that are developed in consultation with the Executive Committee.  Its members are appointed by the Executive Committee to serve for a fixed term that will be negotiated with the Executive Committee.

4. The President, in consultation with the Executive Committee, may appoint Task Forces to carry out specific tasks as needed.  Typically, a Task Force will complete its work within a year, make a report or produce a project, and then disband.  The size, composition, and responsibilities of the Task Force will be negotiated with the Executive Committee.

5. A Working Group of the Society may be formulated in a more ad hoc manner, without having been established by the Executive Committee but developed in consultation with the Executive Committee.  A Working Group may choose its members, terms of service, and the tasks it undertakes.  

 

Article V: Nominations and Elections 

1. The Nominations and Elections Committee shall consist of two members of the Society who are appointed by the Executive Committee for staggered terms of two years. 

2. The Nominations and Elections Committee shall manage the nominations and elections of SQIP’s elected positions of President-Elect, Secretary, and Financial Officer. The Committee shall also manage the nominations for Section Representative to the Division 5 Executive Committee and arrange for these nominations to be sent to the Division 5 Elections Committee.

3. Ordinarily, the Nominations and Elections Committee shall circulate a call for nominations and self-nominations to the Society membership at least 30 days before the election. The Committee shall certify that nominees are qualified to serve and that they accept the nomination. An individual cannot contest for more than one office in an election.

4. The Nominations and Elections Committee shall prepare a slate. In addition to the names of the candidates, the ballot shall contain brief biographical statements prepared by the candidates. The ballot shall be sent to Society members who are eligible to vote, using an electronic voting system. Votes shall be cast anonymously.

5. The Society’s Secretary shall report the election results to the Officers of the Society. The Secretary shall also report the results of the election to the Coordinating Officer/Secretary of Division 5 and arrange for the election results to be announced on the SQIP listserv, in the SQIP Newsletter, and at the next Annual Meeting of the Society.

6. Officers shall assume office at the close of the Annual Meeting of the Society’s members, or, in the case of the member elected as Section Representative to the Executive Committee of Division 5, as stated in the Division’s bylaws. 

 

Article VI: Meetings of the Society 

1.  The Annual Meeting of the Society shall be held at a time and place to be set by the Executive Committee.  

2. Other meetings of the Society may be called as are considered appropriate and feasible by action of a majority of the Executive Committee.

3. If a vote of the Society membership is to be taken at the Annual Meeting, a quorum shall consist of 10 percent (10%) of the Members.

4. Written notice of the date, time and place of all meetings of the Society, Annual or otherwise, shall be given to the Membership at least 30 days prior to such meetings. 

 

Article VII: Dues 

1. Annual dues shall be those established by vote of the Executive Committee.

2. Once established by the Executive Committee, annual dues shall remain in force for each subsequent year unless modified by the Executive Committee. 

 

Article VIII: Amendments to the Bylaws 

1.  Amendments to these Bylaws shall be proposed as follows:

   1. By a majority vote of the Executive Committee; or

   2. By petition, signed by at least five percent (5%) of the voting Members, such petition to be sent to and validated by the Society’s Secretary. 

2. At least 30 days prior to an Annual Meeting at which proposed amendments to these Bylaws are to be considered and voted upon, or at least 30 days prior to the date by which ballots containing proposed amendments are to be returned in order to be valid and counted, the Secretary shall provide to the Membership of the Society, in writing, the text of such proposed amendment together with any explanatory statement deemed necessary and useful by those persons proposing the amendment.

3. An amendment to these Bylaws can be approved by  a majority of electronic ballots cast by the voting Members and Voting Associates.

4. Within 60 days of final action taken on any proposed amendment, the Society’s Secretary shall notify the Division Coordinating Officer/Secretary and the Membership of the Society. 

 

Article IX: Records 

 The Society shall keep records and minutes of proceedings of the Annual Meeting, which will be available to members upon request.   

 

Article X: Use of Society’s Name 

No Member, Committee or subgroup of Members of the Society may take any action or issue any statement in the name of the Society except through the authorization of the Executive Committee or of the President.