Special Issues and Symposiums
Special issues and symposiums are an important feature of EPS and bring together a group of scholars to address a common research agenda.
Special issues and symposiums need to be led by a Guest Editor(s) who take responsibility from the outset in terms of preparing an initial proposal through to the final submission of papers and the copy-editing process. Throughout this process you will be supported by the EPS editorial team.
In the first instance, scholars considering a special issue or symposium should liaise with the journal’s editors to discuss the viability of the topic being proposed. At this stage, proposals should contain the following key points:
• Title
• Rationale and argument for the special issue/symposium
• An outline of the contribution of the proposed work to the journal and the discipline
• Abstracts of the proposed articles in the special issue/symposium
• Biographies and affiliations of the proposed authors
• An indicative timeline for delivery of the completed collection
• Proposals should be sent to: eps@ecpr.eu
The journal editors will aim to decide on the proposed special issue/symposium within two weeks. A decision to commit to the proposal does not, however, guarantee publication as all articles will be subject to the normal rigours of peer review.
This guideline should help you manage the process of bringing your Special Issue/ Symposium to publication smoothly. As Guest Editor you have agreed to oversee the compilation of the Special Issue/Symposium. The following points outline the key tasks and responsibilities that are associated with editing a Special Issue/ Symposium.
1. Commission and gather articles which review concepts and research findings associated with the theme of the special issue/symposium. It is important that guest editors oversee the work of the authors that they are coordinating.
2. Reject poor quality submissions, or those that do not meet the objectives of the issue. Liaise closely with the journal editors, who will make the final decision regarding quality of articles based on peer review advice.
3. Ensure that articles are written coherently, follow journal style, and are presented in a manner that reflects the standards associated with the journal. Authors whose first language is not English should, where appropriate, consider having their articles proofread by a native English speaker.
4. Best practice is for guest editors to organize one round of internal review before the symposium is sent to EPS. We encourage articles of a symposium and special issue to be initially presented at a panel or a workshop where the articles can be developed based on feedback. Guest editors are responsible to guide their authors through advice provided by external reviewers.
5. Take responsibility for ensuring the content of accepted articles remains consistent with the journal’s overall aims & scope. Further details can be obtained from the journal’s webpage: https://www.palgrave.com/gp/journal/41304/authors/aims-scope
6. Authors should be advised to read thoroughly the “Instructions for Authors” “Guidelines for Authors” tab at the journal’s homepage for details of how the manuscript should be presented.
7. Write an introductory article to the Special Issue/Symposium that covers the aims and scope of the issue, introduces each article, highlights key points, and summarises future direction of research. The introductory editorial article should be written in the same style and format as the other articles, e.g. including an abstract, keywords and conclusion. The length of the introduction should be in the region of 3,000 words. We recommend that the introduction includes:
- Background of the subject area, recent developments and coverage of the subject area in the journal.
- Aims and scope of the Special Issue/Symposium, the reason for creating it, and the purpose it will serve the community.
- Citations to recently published articles in the journal to show grounding in the area.
- An introduction to all articles within the Special Issue/Symposium, highlighting key articles and authors.
- Acknowledgments – thanks to authors, the journal etc is optional.
8. Guest Editors will inform the Editors of the “running order” (i.e. the order in which the articles should be published within the issue).
9. At the very start when an article is submitted by an author, it will go through a set of technical checks to ensure it meets the format requirements of the journal, articles will be sent back to the authors should the article fall short of these standard requirements. See attached guidelines.
10. Guest Editors will inform authors of the need to select the Special Issue/Symposium title from the Special Section on the manuscript page. This title will have been passed to the editorial assistant who will enter it into the system before submission stage.
11. Guest Editors will inform all authors that articles will undergo rigorous peer review and that no guarantee of publication can be given in advance of peer review.
12. Articles will only receive an accept decision when it is publishable in its current form, with no changes left to make. Please refer to the Journal’s guidelines for authors to ensure that the final manuscript is compliant.
13. We strongly encourage cross-referencing of symposia and special issue article to enhance the coherence of the article collection. If an article within the Special Issue/Symposium cross-references another article within the same Special Issue/Symposium, authors should ensure they inform the production team at proofing stage to ensure they update the reference with the cited article’s DOI once it is created.
14. Once a manuscript has been accepted, it will be sent to the Publisher who will prepare the final proof, which will be sent to the author shortly thereafter.
15. After the article has been typeset, proofs will be made available to the author. The Production Editor will usually request that proof corrections are returned within three working days. It is primarily the authors’ responsibility to check article proofs and to address the copyeditor queries.
