Special Issues Guidelines

Special Issues (also called Themed or Focused Issues) present collections of research papers centered around a specific topic or emerging area. They allow the journal to spotlight timely, cohesive themes and bring together multiple contributions in one curated collection.

Below are guidelines for proposing, preparing, reviewing, and promoting Special Issues at Global Journals®.

What is a Special Issue

  • A Special Issue is not simply a regular journal issue; it is a thematic collection of articles organized around a specific focus.
  • Articles submitted to a Special Issue go through the same rigorous peer review as regular submissions. Once accepted, they appear in regular issues but are labeled as part of the Special Issue and tagged as a collection.
  • Special Issues enhance discoverability, cluster related content for easy browsing, and benefit from targeted promotion.

Purpose & Scope

  • A Special Issue should focus on a well-defined, current topic of broad interest aligned with the journal’s aims and scope.
  • It should offer added value compared to ordinary issues by highlighting emerging trends, synthesizing perspectives, encouraging interdisciplinary work, or compiling state-of-the-art advances.
  • The Special Issue must not diverge too far from the journal’s core domain; all contributions must still adhere to the journal’s quality, ethics, and editorial standards.
  • Articles in a Special Issue go through the same peer review process as regular submissions. They must maintain rigorous standards and independent review.

Advantages of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Greater visibility
  • Thematic clustering increases discoverability and encourages more linking among related articles.
  • Focused audience
  • Readers interested in that theme can find relevant work in one place.
  • Promotional leverage
  • Special Issues often receive additional promotion via social media, newsletters, and editorial channels.
  • Community engagement & networking
  • Authors publishing in the same Special Issue can cross-connect, fostering collaboration.
  • In some cases, special Issues may be republished in other formats or reprinted in book form.

Proposal & Guest Editor Role

  • Proposal Requirements

When proposing a Special Issue, you should provide

  • A tentative title and concise description of the theme.
  • Keywords and scope alignment with our journal’s domain.
  • Proposed Guest Editor(s) with affiliations and contact details (ORCID optional).
  • A list of potential authors or planned papers (typically 8 or more) with tentative titles and affiliations.
  • Suggested timeline (submission window: 6–12 months is common).
  • A draft call for papers / invitation letters.
  • A promotion plan: how you intend to advertise the Special Issue.

Guest Editor Responsibilities & Ethics

  • Guest Editors are tasked with
  • Overseeing the editorial process for Special Issue submissions (screening, inviting reviewers, handling revisions).
  • Ensuring content is within the Special Issue’s scope and adheres to the journal’s standards.
  • Promoting fairness: they should not impose citation requests to boost their own networks or journals.
  • Maintaining confidentiality of manuscript materials and identities of reviewers.
  • Declaring any conflicts of interest and stepping aside when conflicts impair impartiality.
  • Limiting their own number of contributions in the Special Issue; if they submit, the editorial evaluation should be handled by independent staff or editorial board members.

Submission, Review & Decision Workflow

  • Submissions earmarked for a Special Issue follow the same peer review pipeline as regular manuscripts: initial check, independent peer review, revision rounds, final decision.
  • Each manuscript must be reviewed by at least two independent reviewers.
  • The Guest Editor recommends decisions (accept, reject, revise) based on reviewer reports; but the journal staff or Editor-in-Chief may intervene if needed (e.g. in disputes or conflicts) to ensure consistency.
  • Manuscripts by Guest Editors must be treated impartially (handled by external editors or board members).

Timeline & Publication Strategy

  • The submission window for a Special Issue typically runs 6 to 12 months.
  • Accepted articles may be published earlier (ahead of full issue closure) but will always be grouped under the Special Issue label.
  • The final collection may be published as a standalone thematic section or integrated within regular issues.

Promotion & Visibility

  • Promotion of the Special Issue should begin alongside its launch, Guest Editors and the journal should coordinate communications (email, social media, homepage banners).
  • Guest Editors are encouraged to embed links in email signatures, post on social media, use graphical banners, and leverage their networks.
  • The journal should assist by providing promotional assets (images, formatted text) and cross-promoting on social channels.
  • Introducing the Special Issue at conferences or in talk slides can attract submissions. Flyers or poster versions can also be used.

Quality Assurance & Editorial Checks

  • Manuscripts will be checked for ethical compliance, plagiarism (e.g. via iThenticate or equivalent), and scope relevance.
  • Guest Editors’ decisions may be reviewed or overridden by editorial staff if questions arise.
  • In cases of conflict of interest or lack of response, the editorial office reserves the right to replace a Guest Editor or invite additional editorial oversight.
  • The issue should maintain high standards, rejecting submissions failing to meet quality, ethics, or novelty thresholds.

Supplementary & Supporting Information

Supplementary or supporting information (SI) is additional material that complements the main article, such as extra tables, extended methods, datasets, audio/video files, or additional figures. This information is optional but can strengthen transparency, reproducibility, and depth of your work.

Here is how Global Journals® handles Supplementary Information, adapted from best practices:

  • Submission with Manuscript
  • Submit all supplementary files together with your initial manuscript. The files will be made available to peer reviewers during review and may be published as supporting content
  • Types & Designation
  • Each supporting item should be clearly labeled (e.g. “Supplementary Table S1”, “Supplementary Figure S2”, “Supplementary Data”, “Supplementary Methods”, “Supplementary Movie”). You may designate them by the appropriate type: Table, Figure, Data, Methods, Movie, Audio, Note, etc.
  • Referencing in the Main Article
  • Every supplementary item must be cited at least once in the main text (or in figure/table legends) at the relevant point. This ensures readers know the relationship between the main narrative and the extra content.
  • Self-Contained SI Files
  • Supplementary files should be independently understandable: include all necessary explanations, legends, and references so that someone reading the SI can understand it without returning to the main manuscript.
  • Formatting & Organization
  • Number supplementary references from 1 upward, and list them at the end of the SI file, separate from the main reference list.
  • For supplementary figures: use a consistent style, font, resolution, and clarity as in main figures.
  • Do not overload supplementary figures; avoid using SI just to hide essential data that should be in the main body.
  • Place supplementary materials in logical order and label them clearly so users can navigate them easily.
  • Access & Linking
  • The final published article will include links to all supplementary files (e.g. via the article’s webpage or PDF).
  • In many cases, SI is bundled into the full article PDF; some multimedia files (audio, video) may remain as separate downloadable files.
  • When Supplementary Is Not Provided
  • In rare cases, authors may choose not to supply supplementary information if it is not necessary.
  • However, any data necessary to support main conclusions should be retained in the main article or accessible via SI.
  • Do not relegate critical methods, results, or data exclusively to supplementary material if they are central to your claims.
  • Editorial & Review Considerations
  • Peer reviewers will assess supplementary files as part of their evaluation.
  • Editors may request that certain SI content be moved into the main text if it is essential to interpret the findings.
  • If SI contains sensitive data (e.g. identifiable human data), careful ethics and permissions must be observed.