Special Issues: An Overview

            In addition to regular articles in our journal, we also publish special issues that address emerging areas within our discipline, or provide detailed analyses of a key topic being researched. The conferences are organized by renowned experts in the field, and they attract articles of the highest level of quality. You may submit proposals for a special issue at any time during the year, and they should be sent to info@kitspress.com

          KITS PRESS Publications welcomes researchers to serve as Lead Guest Editors for Special Issues if their work is in line with the objectives and focus of one of our journals.

In addition to advancing research on the selected topic, guest editing a special issue serves to position the lead guest editor as an authority on the field. The Guest Editorial Team may also produce one review article and one editorial.

This guide sets out the steps involved in proposing, preparing and launching a Special Issue.

• Developing Concepts

KITS PRESS Journals relies on the Lead Guest Editor’s expertise as a subject matter expert to decide which issues call for the extensive investigation and analysis that a Special Issue entails. The subject must fall within the Lead Guest Editor’s expertise, so they are comfortable handling manuscripts on the topic. Additionally, it need to be consistent with the journal’s objectives and focus.

• Proposal Creation

After a subject has been chosen, the Lead Guest Editor is tasked with putting together a small group of Guest Editors and creating a proposal. Two to four suitably competent Guest Editors are normally invited by the Lead Guest Editor to join the Special Issue Editorial Team. These guest editors will be in charge of handling the manuscripts that have been submitted and overseeing the peer review procedure. Guest editors should have the necessary time and resources to handle manuscripts, as well as employment in the relevant subject. Contacting and confirming the involvement of Guest Editors is the responsibility of the Lead Guest Editor. The proposal is actually a draught Call for Papers that should contain the following information: The journal for which the Special Issue is intended.

An idea for the Special Issue’s heading (should not exceed 10 words).

Proposed Aims and Scope, describing the intended focus of the Special Issue and listing the subjects to be covered.

A list of two to four guest editors, including information about each one such as their names, email addresses, affiliations, and a brief bio (one paragraph). You should also add your personal information here.

A suggested programme and timetable.

When submitting a proposal, it is vital to give an explanation of

1. why the topic is crucial and current,
2. whose communities are anticipated to contribute to the Special issue, and
3. how the Guest Editors’ expertise is compatible with the Special Issue’s suggested topic.

When complete, the proposal should be forwarded to info@kitspress.com.

• Proposal Validation
• The KITS PRESS Editorial Team starts the validation process after a proposal is submitted.
• We will make sure that the suggested Special Issue’s title, goals, and scope are generally appropriate for the chosen publication. We also make sure the Guest Editor team is qualified.
• By doing this, conflicts of interest between team members and the Special Issue’s topic are avoided. For further information, please refer to our managing conflicts of interest handbook.
• The proposal is evaluated to determine if it is likely to get enough contributions from scholars working in a pertinent topic by the KITS PRESS Journals Subject Analytics Team.
• As a result of any of these evaluations, the proposal may need to be revised and resubmitted. You might even be asked to find new Guest Editors.
• Editorial Board Approval
• The suggestion is made to the journal’s Editorial Board for their review. The final determination of whether a Special Issue is appropriate rests with the Editorial Board.
• The allocated Editorial Board member might have suggestions or objections to the plan, in which case changes need to be made. The request is accepted if the Editorial Board member is pleased.
• The original Guest Editor now serves as the Special Issue’s Lead Guest Editor.
• Publishing the call for papers
• The Call for Papers can be found under the heading “Special Issues” on the journal’s page at the KITS PRESS official website.
• The Call for Papers is encouraged to be widely distributed by the Guest Editorial Team. Early process awareness raising ensures that the Special Issue obtains a sufficient number of excellent entries.
• Managing Submissions and Peer review
• The SSRG International Journals Editorial Team will review papers before they are submitted to the Special Issue to make sure they are appropriate for consideration. The papers are delivered to the Lead Guest Editor if they pass these crucial inspections.
• A Guest Editor is chosen by the Lead Guest Editor to serve as the manuscript’s handling editor. Alternately, they may decide to take on the role of managing Editor themselves. The Managing Editor evaluates the calibre and relevancy of submitted manuscripts to make sure they are consistent with the Special Issue’s theme.
• The same procedures used to handle submissions to other KITS PRESS journals are also used to process submissions for the Special Issue. Before they may be accepted for publication, they must undergo a comprehensive evaluation for scientific rigour and complete peer review. For additional information, see our guide Peer Review at KITS PRESS Journals.
• Please take note that Guest Editors are not permitted to assess papers sent in for the Special Issue. All approved papers will instead be published in the journal’s regular section if a Special Issue does not receive enough submissions to be a success.
• Contributions from the Guest Editorial Team
• Manuscripts submitted by guest editors may also be taken into consideration for the special issue. Please take note that an Editorial Board member will handle any manuscripts submitted by a member of the Guest Editorial Team.
• The Guest Editorial Team will be invited to write a brief editorial for publication as the opening of the Special Issue after the final article has been accepted. The topics of each article in the Special Issue should be briefly discussed in this Editorial, along with the issue’s overall focus. The Special Issue and Editorial should have the same title. On the top page, it should also list the current affiliations and contact addresses of the Guest Editorial Team.
• The complete guest editorial team should contribute to the editorial, and their names should be listed in the same sequence as they do in the call for papers. None of the articles that make up the Special Issue may be cited in the editorial papers.
• As with our standard submission, there is no article processing charge for the editorial. The Guest Editorial Team’s one review article is also qualified for a complete waiver. No more than four pieces (including the editorial) written by members of the Guest Editorial Team may be included in the final Special Issue.
• Publication and Promotion
• The Special Issue is published, made publicly accessible on dsjournal.com, and included in the pertinent databases and repositories, ensuring that it receives the widest distribution among scientists. Special Issues are available in an edited volume format as a single PDF publication with a special cover in addition to being viewable and downloadable as individual articles.
• The papers are also added to the proper abstracting and indexing services, as we make sure.
• The Special Issue should also be shared and promoted, according to Guest Editors.
• By looking at each article’s page, one may keep track of the impact of a Special Issue, including the quantity of readers, downloads, and citations for each article. The average number of citations for papers in special issues is 23% more than for ordinary articles.