Guidelines for Special Issues

This document is created as a guideline for preparing and administering special thematic issues in Psichologija Journal.

Step 1. Coming up with the idea to organize a special issue (SI)

1. Topics for special issues (SI) are suggested by the Editor-in-Chief or other members of the Editorial Board or by scholars from outside of the Editorial Board (Guest Editor(s)). Detailed and formal proposals for special issues should be emailed to Editor-in-Chief. The special issue proposal template can be found here.
2. The Special Issue (SI) needs to align with the Journal's mission. To ensure each SI addresses a unique subject of interest, please check that a similar, open special issue does not already cover your proposed SI subject.
3. The Editor-in-Chief takes the decision on whether or not to organize the proposed Special Issue in consultation with the members of the Editorial Board, who have expertise in the given theme.
4. There should be more than one Editor for a Special Issue. However, one Editor may be allowed to run the Special Issue in exceptional cases. In this case, the decision to make the exception must be supported by the evidence of the exceptionally sound qualifications of the Editor.
5. The formal decision to launch a special issue must be supported by the written Call for Papers for the Special Issue (SI CfP). The SI CfP must be 1) written in a concise form, 2) following academic tradition, and 3) arguing for the currency/novelty and importance of the topic. Once SI is approved by the Editor-in-Chief, SI CfP is published on Journal's website. It is the Guest Editors' role to select authors and invite them to submit papers for the special Issue which are of the highest quality in terms of science and presentation
6. The editors of SI are expected to establish a board of reviewers for the SI, which includes both the regular members of the Editorial Board and scholars and practitioners from outside of the EB who have expertise in the SI topic (better than the core editorial board of the Journal). Practitioners should be included when SI topics are such for which practitioners have a significant influence.

Role of Editorial Board (EB) members

• Review the special issue proposals for the relevance of current research in the concerned field.
• Recommend suitable proposals and their guest editors along with their biographies.

Role of Guest Editor(s)

• State the importance of the proposed SI theme and explain how the SI articles will contribute towards advancing the scope of the Psichologija Journal.
• Suggest potential authors and invite them to contribute relevant articles for the proposed special Issue.
• Suggest a minimum of 3-5 reviewers for the manuscripts submitted towards the Special Issue.
• Carry out all communications with potential authors and reviewers concerning author guidelines for manuscript preparation and reviewing.
• Prepare a timeline and schedule for the release of the Special Issue articles. This should include a timeline for manuscript preparation, the review process, and final submission.
• Oversee the submission of final edited versions of the contributing articles, along with the contact information of all corresponding authors.
• Include a short editorial for the topic of interest written by the guest editor or any contributors.

Step 2. Evaluation of the qualification of the Editors of the Special Issue

7. The candidate(s) for the role of the Editor(s) of the Special Issue must possess sufficient qualifications for the job.
8. Qualifications are evaluated based on the publications record of the candidates or by alternative means which can prove sufficient expertise of the candidate in the given topic and in familiarity (and experience) with the academic publishing practice (how to organize the review process, how to evaluate the reviews, etc.)
9. If none of the candidates for the role of editors of the Special Issue has sufficient qualifications to run the Special Issue, Editor-in-Chief, in consultations with Editorial Board, will nominate an editor with adequate qualifications to complement the list of the candidates' editors.

Step 3. Establishing quality controls for the Special Issue

10. Situations, when SI is organized/run by only 1 Editor should be avoided. In exceptional cases, one Editor may be allowed to run the Special Issue. In this case, the decision to make the exception must be supported by the evidence of the exceptionally sound qualifications of the Editor.
11. Editors of the Special Issue must be from different institutions.
12. Ideally, the Editors of the Special Issue will be from at least two countries.
13. SI CfP, developed according to the accepted SI CfP Template, is an essential tool for establishing quality and process control, as it contains references against which the process can be benchmarked: 1) justification of the novelty & fit the aims of the Journal; 2) important dates, 3) the number of review iterations, 4) members of the SI EB; other.
14. Additionally to CfP, the Editors must present to EiC plans for 5) the planned number of papers for SI (usually approximately 15-20 articles), 6) envisioned promotional and dissemination activities, and other relevant to the Journal's administration information.

Step 4. Promotion of the Special Issue

15. An effective way to maximize the visibility of a Special Issue and increase submissions is to promote your Special Issue from the very beginning. Effective promotion can be made through social media (Twitter, LinkedIn, ResearchGate, homepage of your website etc.), by introducing your Special Issue during academic events to colleagues (a presentation can be given to them), and by preparing flyers and posters.

Step 5. Publication of the Special Issue

16. Special Issue publication is preceded by the publication of SI CfP (see Step 1. Coming up with the idea to organize a special issue) once the SI is formally approved by the Editor-in-Chief.
17. Editors of the Special Issue are expected to prepare an editorial introduction to the Special Issue. Ideally, the editorial will provide an overview of the papers included in the special Issue complemented by the editors' views on how the selected papers and/or the Special Issue contributes to the development of the field and the Psichologija Journal.

Other important issues

18. Editors of the Special Issue cannot be (co-)authors of papers submitted to the Special Issue.