Propose a Special Issue
Special issues are an important component of INNSpub journals. They deal with more focused topics with high current interest falling within the scope of the journals in which they are published. They should be organized by recognized experts in the area and attract articles of the highest quality.
In particular, the special issues call for high-quality contributions related to the field of Biology, Environment, Social Sciences, Agriculture, Medicine, and other related fields and special issue proposals are welcome at any time during the year.
Guideline to make a proposal for a special issue
Proposals for special issues should be submitted by the lead guest editor of the special issue and should include the following matters
- A suggested title for the special issue (should not exceed 10 words)
- A brief description of the rationale behind the proposal, its planned scope, its innovative nature in relation to existing published work in the particular field, and an indication of its likely appeal to readers not specializing in the particular field (for example the broader theoretical or methodological focus of the proposed special issue
Proposed aims and Scope, giving an overview of the special issue’s intended focus and a list of the topics to be covered. - A list of Guest Editors who will join the lead Guest Editor in managing the special issue, including their names, emails, affiliations, and a short biography (one paragraph) of each Guest Editor.
- Guest Editor(s) will be required to sign a (standard) formal publishing agreement with the publishers once a proposal has been accepted by the Editors.
Editorial workflow
- All proposals are subject to approval by the journal following a discussion of the proposed Special Issue among the journal’s Editorial Board. If approved, a Call-for-papers for the special issue will be issued and posted online.
- The Guest Editors’ main editorial task is to manage the peer review of submitted manuscripts. Guest Editors should recommend papers for publication only on the basis of academic merit and subject appropriateness.
- If the Editor finds that the submitted manuscript is of sufficient quality and falls within the scope of the journal, they should assign the manuscript to a number of external reviewers, provided that no conflict of interests exists between these reviewers and the manuscript’s authors. The reviewers will then submit their reports on the manuscripts along with their recommendation of one of the following actions to the Editor. If the Editor finds that the manuscript may not be of sufficient quality to go through the normal peer review process, or the manuscript may not be appropriate for the journal’s scope, the manuscript shall be rejected with no further processing.
- In case there is no conflict of interest, the lead Guest Editor will need to read over the article and if it is of reasonable quality, he/she will need to assign it either to himself/herself or to one of the Guest Editors. The Guest Editor handling the manuscript will then need to assign it to external referees for peer review. The Guest Editor should assign a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 5 independent external referees to each paper, and this should be done within a maximum of 1 week from the time he/she has received the manuscript. Reviewers are then expected to submit their reports within a maximum of 2 weeks. Once the review reports have been received, the Guest Editor will need to make an editorial decision.
- If the Guest Editor recommends ‘Consider after Minor or major change’ the authors are asked to prepare and submit a final copy of their manuscript with the required changes suggested by the reviewers. The Guest Editor reviews the revised manuscript after the minor changes have been made by the authors. Once the Guest Editor is satisfied with the final manuscript, the manuscript can be accepted. If the Editor recommends rejecting the manuscript, the rejection is immediate. Also, if the majority of the reviewers recommend rejecting the manuscript, the rejection is immediate.
- The Guest Editors cannot act as reviewers for the Special Issue’s manuscripts. This is to ensure a high-quality, fair, and unbiased peer-review process of every manuscript submitted to the journal, since any manuscript must be recommended by one or more (usually two or more) external reviewers and the Guest Editor before acceptance for publication.
- To ensure the success of the special issue, we generally aim to have over 20 submissions, which allows for a higher rejection rate and thus produces a stronger collection of accepted manuscripts. If the special issue receives less than 10 submissions.
- Special issues are made freely available online to all interested readers leading to the maximum possible dissemination and recognition within the scientific community. Special issues can be viewed and downloaded on the individual article level, but are also available in an edited volume format as a single PDF published with a custom cover. They are also made available in print for all readers interested in a print edition.
Timeline frame
- Deadline for submission (2 months from the initial Call-for-Papers)
- The first round of review (1 month after the submission deadline)
- Tentative publication date (3 months after the first round of review)
Contact
If you have any suggestions or questions about the special issue or submission, please feel free to contact us at (spissueinns@innspub.com)
More links
| Journals | Author Guideline | Submission |