Special issues are a wonderful way for researchers to come together and publish research centering on a specific topic or theme. They can greatly enhance the scientific impact of research work by focusing the field in on a potentially fruitful or up-and-coming topic area. Special issues can also present a perfect opportunity to showcase the best selected papers coming from various conferences, associations, societies, and research institutions, especially within gold open access journals where the content can be published without any paywalls to access it. Special issues published under gold open access benefit from increased visibility and citation impact, opportunities for collaboration, and if/when the journal is indexed, the special issue will benefit alongside the full journal publication.
Contributing authors are often drawn to publishing in special issues because of the expedited peer review process. The Guest Editors of the special issue are assigning all the manuscripts out for review as opposed to relying on the Editor-in-Chief of the journal to assign the manuscripts out, this allows more focus on the issue and the articles within. The Editor(s)-in-Chief of the journal will of course still make a final decision on the special issue, but the intricacies of the peer review process will be facilitated and managed wholly by the Guest Editors. Once the Special Issue is completed, the publisher can turn the content around in only a matter of days.
At present, all of IGI Global’s gold open access journals are calling for special themed issues (view the full list here).
Guest Editors of Gold Open Access Special Issues Benefit From:
- Two Article Processing Charge (APC) waivers granted per special issue (Note: If the journal is diamond/platinum open access the APC funding is already covered by the funding body).
- Opportunity to author up to two manuscripts of their own in the issue so long as the peer review is managed by another member of leadership (who are not authors on the manuscript).
- Complimentary use of the eEditorial Discovery submission system to manage the special issue and all submitted content – submitted manuscripts can be viewed and assigned for peer review in the system, and decisions and follow-ups can also be communicated through the system.
- Exclusive contributor discounts on IGI Global publications
- Promotional support for the special issue
- Content is submitted for consideration to various indexes (if the journal is already indexed the special issue content is also recognized by the index).
Contributing Authors of Open Access Special Issues Benefit From:
- Opportunity to Freely Share Their Research: Through the Creative Commons (CC BY) license, authors’ work is freely and immediately available to the entire global community.
- Higher Discoverability and Citation Impact: OA content has an 89% higher download rate leading to higher citation impact, credibility, and the chance of being accepted in prestigious indexes, which supports their career and future funding and collaboration prospects.
- Rigorous and Expediate Publishing Process: All IGI Global OA content receives a rigorous high-quality peer review and production process with the publishing process taking as little as 30 days.
- Greater Visibility & Wider Professional Recognition
- Opportunities for Networking & Collaboration
- Supports Overall Career Advancement
- Affordable Article Processing Charges (APC) (Starting at US$ 500)
- Authors That Take Advantage of IGI Global Author Services will have any amount spent on the author services deducted from the Open Access APC.
The first step to becoming a Guest Editor of a journal special issue is to identify the journal you are interested in guest editing for. Should you need any recommendations please do not hesitate contacting IGI Global’s Open Access Team at openaccessadmin@igi-global.com. Then, submit a special issue proposal using the web form here. Note: You will need to select a journal from the dropdown. Once submitted, the special issue proposal will be sent to the Editor(s)-in-Chief of the journal for consideration and they will accept, reject, or request revisions to the special issue proposition. IGI Global does ask that if you have secured open access funding for the special issue that this information be presented within the proposal so that if the proposal is accepted, we can clarify in the call for papers for the special issue that there will be no Article Processing Charge (APC) fees charged to the authors as the issue is receiving funding coverage. Please note that the APC fees associated with IGI Global open access journals, paid directly to the publisher by the author or a funding body, offsets the costs associated with publishing the article under OA (accessible without paywall). The payment is not required until AFTER the manuscript has undergone the full double-blind peer review process and is accepted into the journal.
About IGI Global
Founded in 1988, IGI Global, an international academic publisher, is committed to producing the highest quality research (as an active full member of the Committee on Publication Ethics “COPE”) and ensuring the timely dissemination of innovative research findings through an expeditious and technologically advanced publishing process. Through their commitment to supporting the research community ahead of profitability, and taking a chance on virtually untapped topic coverage, IGI Global has been able to collaborate with over 100,000+ researchers from some of the most prominent research institutions around the world to publish the most emerging, peer-reviewed research across 350+ topics in 11 subject areas including business, computer science, education, engineering, social sciences, and more. To learn more about IGI Global, click here.
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