Special Issue and Guest Editor Policy
The International Journal of Didactical Studies (IJODS) may publish special issues devoted to focused, timely, and academically significant themes that fall within the journal’s aims and scope. Special issues are subject to the same standards of editorial integrity, peer review, research ethics, and publication quality as regular issues of the journal.
1. Editorial Responsibility
The Editor-in-Chief retains overall responsibility for all content published in IJODS, including all special issues.
The establishment of a special issue, appointment of Guest Editors, selection of manuscripts for peer review, and final publication of the issue remain subject to the oversight of the Editor-in-Chief and, where appropriate, designated members of the Editorial Board.
Guest Editors assist in the scholarly coordination of a special issue but do not assume ultimate responsibility for editorial decisions or for the integrity of the journal.
All special issues must fall clearly within the aims and scope of IJODS.
2. Proposal and Approval of Special Issues
Special issues may be proposed by members of the Editorial Board, researchers, or prospective Guest Editors, or may be initiated by the Editor-in-Chief.
A proposal should normally include:
- the proposed title and academic rationale of the special issue;
- its relevance to the aims and scope of IJODS;
- the proposed Guest Editor or Guest Editors and their affiliations;
- a brief description of their expertise in the proposed field;
- the anticipated topics or types of contributions;
- a proposed timeline for submission, review, and publication.
The Editor-in-Chief evaluates each proposal before approval. Approval of a special issue does not guarantee the acceptance or publication of any individual manuscript.
3. Selection and Appointment of Guest Editors
Guest Editors must have appropriate academic qualifications, subject expertise, and a scholarly record relevant to the proposed special issue.
Before appointment, IJODS reviews the academic credentials, institutional affiliation, expertise, publication record, and potential conflicts of interest of proposed Guest Editors.
All Guest Editor appointments require approval by the Editor-in-Chief.
Guest Editors are expected to comply with the journal’s policies on peer review, publication ethics, conflicts of interest, confidentiality, research integrity, and editorial independence.
The Editor-in-Chief or designated Editorial Board members oversee the work of Guest Editors throughout the editorial process and may intervene or assume direct editorial responsibility whenever necessary to protect the integrity of the review and publication process.
4. Editorial and Peer-Review Standards
Manuscripts submitted to a special issue are subject to the same editorial screening and peer-review standards as manuscripts submitted to regular issues of IJODS.
Special issue manuscripts undergo initial editorial assessment for relevance to the journal and special issue, scholarly quality, originality, ethical compliance, and suitability for peer review.
Manuscripts considered for publication are evaluated through the journal’s established double-blind peer-review process and are reviewed by at least two independent reviewers with appropriate expertise.
Guest Editors may recommend suitable reviewers and provide scholarly input during the editorial process. Reviewer selection and the integrity of the peer-review process remain subject to journal oversight.
Invitation to contribute to a special issue does not guarantee peer review, acceptance, or publication. All editorial decisions must be based on scholarly merit, methodological quality, originality, relevance, and compliance with journal policies.
Special issue articles are clearly identified as belonging to the relevant special issue.
5. Conflicts of Interest
Guest Editors must disclose any financial, professional, institutional, personal, or other relationships that could reasonably be perceived as influencing their editorial responsibilities.
Guest Editors must not handle manuscripts where they have a conflict of interest with the authors, institutions, research, or other parties involved.
Where a conflict exists, the manuscript must be reassigned to the Editor-in-Chief or another independent editor who has no relevant conflict of interest.
Authors, reviewers, Guest Editors, and other editors involved in a special issue are subject to the same conflict-of-interest requirements that apply to regular IJODS submissions.
6. Manuscripts Authored by Guest Editors
Guest Editors may submit manuscripts to the special issue for which they serve as editors. However, they must have no involvement in the editorial handling, reviewer selection, peer review, or editorial decision concerning their own manuscripts or manuscripts they have co-authored.
Such submissions are assigned to the Editor-in-Chief or another suitably qualified independent editor who has no conflict of interest with the authors.
The identity of the handling editor and the peer-review process must remain independent of the Guest Editor authors.
Manuscripts authored or co-authored by Guest Editors must constitute no more than 25% of the total content of the special issue.
Acceptance of such manuscripts is based solely on the same academic and ethical standards applied to all other submissions.
7. Editorial Independence
Editorial decisions concerning special issue manuscripts must be made independently of financial, commercial, institutional, personal, or promotional considerations.
Neither Guest Editors nor external organizations, sponsors, institutions, or other third parties may guarantee the acceptance or publication of a manuscript.
The payment or waiver of an Article Processing Charge does not influence editorial assessment, peer review, acceptance, or rejection.
Where a special issue receives external financial or institutional support, any relevant funding or sponsorship must be transparently disclosed and must not influence editorial decisions.
8. Article Processing Charges
Articles accepted for a special issue are subject to the journal’s applicable Article Processing Charges Policy, unless a specific waiver or discount has been formally approved in accordance with that policy.
No fee is charged for submission or peer review, and no payment is requested before a manuscript has received a final acceptance decision.
Guest Editors do not make decisions regarding APC payments, waivers, or discounts.
9. Marketing and Calls for Papers
Calls for papers for special issues must provide accurate and transparent information about the topic, Guest Editors, submission process, relevant deadlines, and journal policies.
Marketing or direct solicitation conducted on behalf of IJODS must be appropriate, academically relevant, and non-misleading.
A call for papers or invitation to submit does not imply preferential treatment or guarantee publication.
All submissions received through a call for papers remain subject to the journal’s normal editorial and peer-review requirements.
10. Publication and Identification
Special issue articles are published under the same open-access, copyright, licensing, ethical, and preservation policies as regular IJODS articles.
Each article associated with a special issue should be clearly identified as part of that special issue on the journal website and, where technically feasible, within the published article.
Special issues must clearly identify the Guest Editor or Guest Editors responsible for their scholarly coordination.
11. Research Integrity and Post-Publication Responsibilities
All manuscripts submitted to special issues are subject to the IJODS Ethics and Malpractice Statement and other applicable journal policies.
Concerns relating to plagiarism, duplicate publication, authorship, data integrity, undisclosed conflicts of interest, peer-review manipulation, research ethics, or other forms of publication misconduct are investigated using the same procedures that apply to regular journal content.
Where concerns arise after publication, IJODS may issue a correction, Expression of Concern, retraction, or other appropriate notice in accordance with the journal’s post-publication policies and relevant publication-ethics guidance.
Guest Editors must promptly inform the Editor-in-Chief of any ethical or research-integrity concerns that arise during the preparation or publication of a special issue.
12. Complaints and Appeals
Authors of manuscripts submitted to special issues have access to the same complaints and appeals procedures as authors submitting to regular issues.
Complaints or appeals relating to the conduct or decision of a Guest Editor are handled independently by the Editor-in-Chief or another appropriately designated editor.
Where a complaint or appeal involves the Editor-in-Chief, it must be handled independently by an appropriate member of the Editorial Board or another qualified individual who was not involved in the original decision.
13. Relationship with Other IJODS Policies
Special issues are governed by all applicable IJODS policies, including:
- Peer Review Process
- Ethics and Malpractice Statement
- Author Guidelines
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) Usage Policy
- Open Access Policy
- Article Processing Charges Policy
- Archiving Policy
Where this Special Issue and Guest Editor Policy and another journal policy address the same issue, the standard that best protects editorial independence, research integrity, and the reliability of the scholarly record will be applied.