Propose a Special Issue

What a special issue is here

A special issue is a set of articles commissioned around one question, published in the journal alongside its regular content and carrying the same DOIs, the same license and the same permanence. It is a scholarly instrument for concentrating evidence where the literature is scattered — not a promotional vehicle and not a separate publication.

Researchers with relevant expertise are invited to propose one.

What a proposal needs

• The question. What the collection would establish, and why the existing literature does not answer it.
• Fit. Which of the journal’s core domains the collection sits in.
• Guest editors. Names, affiliations, ORCID iDs and a short statement of the relevant expertise of each.
• Article types. Which of the journal’s accepted types the collection would draw on, and roughly how many articles.
• Sourcing. How manuscripts would be attracted — an open call, a conference, a research network — and over what period.
• Competing interests. Any commercial, institutional or funding relationship bearing on the topic or on the proposed guest editors.

The core domains a proposal should sit in

The guest editor’s role

• Define the scope of the collection and its call, with the editorial office.
• Identify and invite reviewers with the right subject expertise.
• Make recommendations on manuscripts they are not conflicted on.
• Write an introduction to the collection once it is complete, if they wish to.

Safeguards

These are what make a collection worth publishing in, so they are stated rather than assumed.

• The same review. All submissions undergo initial editorial screening. Manuscripts that meet the journal’s scope and minimum requirements proceed to independent peer review. Single-blind by default; double-blind review is available on request. Manuscripts that proceed to external peer review are normally evaluated by at least two independent subject-matter experts.
• The same decision criteria. Editorial decisions are based on scope, scientific quality, methodological rigor, ethical compliance, reporting quality, and relevance to the journal. Publication in a collection is neither easier nor quicker than publication in a regular issue.
• Editorial oversight is retained. A guest editor recommends; the journal’s editors decide, and the Editor-in-Chief holds final responsibility.
• Guest editors recuse themselves from any manuscript they have authored or on which they have a competing interest, which is handled by a journal editor instead.
• The same charges. An article in a collection is subject to the journal’s ordinary article processing charge and nothing else.

How to propose

1. Write to the editorial office. Send the six items above to [email protected] with “Special issue proposal” in the subject line.
2. Editorial review. The proposal is assessed for scientific fit, the strength of the question, and the expertise and independence of the proposed guest editors.
3. Agreement. If it proceeds, the journal agrees the scope, the call text, the article types and the handling arrangements with you in writing before anything is published.
4. The call opens. The collection is announced on the Call for Papers page and submissions are handled through the journal’s ordinary routes.

Call for Papers · Instructions for authors · Editorial policies

Across the journal

Journal pages