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Special Call

  1. Purpose and Criteria

The proliferation of inappropriate and fraudulent conduct related to special calls in predatory journals has prompted GGA editors to establish stringent criteria for submitting proposals for new special calls. These criteria are in line with the recommendations published by the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ):

  • Editorial Responsibility: The Editor-in-Chief is responsible for the content of the entire journal, including all special calls.
  • Scope and Oversight: Proposed special calls must align with the journal's scope and follow the same editorial oversight as regular papers, including external peer review.
  • Labeling: Articles within special calls must be clearly labeled as "Special Call".
  • Guest Editors: Guest editors' credentials must be thoroughly checked and approved.
  • Oversight: The Editor-in-Chief or a nominated board member must oversee the guest editors, acting as the Scientific Editor for the call.
  • Review Process: Articles submitted by guest editors must undergo an independent and transparent review process handled by the scientific editor. Guest editors' submissions must constitute no more than 25% of the total number of articles in the call.
 
  1. Proposal Requirements

Proposals for Special Calls must be submitted to the Editor in Chief and include:

  • Guest Editor Details: Full contact information and institutional affiliations of proposed guest editors.
  • Provisional Title: A suggested title for the special call.
  • Rationale Summary: Justification for the novelty, relevance, and impact of the special call.
  • Article Themes: A brief list of intended articles and themes to guide potential authors.
  • Schedule: A proposed timeline for each stage, including deadlines for announcements, submissions, reviews, and final publication.
  • Indicative Scholars: A list of scholars who might submit invited articles.
  • Reviewers: A list of proposed ad hoc editorial reviewers, including contact details and ORCID IDs.
 
  1. Guidelines for Special Calls

a) Scientific Editor Involvement
Role: A GGA Associate or Consultant Editor must serve as the Scientific Editor
Responsibilities: Review and ratify editorial recommendations, ensure no conflicts of interest, verify manuscript integrity, and guide guest editors.

b) Guest Editors
Selection: Based on expertise, diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility.
Responsibilities: Follow the submission and review process through the GGA’s Editorial Platform. Ensure a double-masked peer-review process with at least two independent reviewers per submission. Maintain confidentiality throughout the review process.
Timeliness: Aim to make editorial decisions within eight weeks of submission. All communications must occur via the editorial platform.

 
  1. Introductory Essay

Content: The scientific editor and/or guest editor(s) are encouraged to submit an introductory essay outlining the call’s rationale, current knowledge, gaps, and expectations for submissions.

 
  1. Invited Papers and original articles

Quantity: Guest editors and the Scientific Editor are responsible for securing at least four invited articles from independent researchers. In addition, they must select between 8 and 12 original articles submitted to the call, with flexibility based on the Editor-in-Chief's approval.

 
  1. Sponsorship and Competing Interests

Sponsorship: Sponsors must not influence any phase of the manuscript selection and editing process. No favors or payments are allowed for editors or reviewers.

Competing Interests: All editors must disclose potential conflicts of interest, including non-financial biases.

 
  1. Appeals and Research Misconduct

Appeals: The Editor-in-Chief will handle written appeals and complaints regarding post-publication issues.

Plagiarism Check: Each accepted paper undergoes a similarity check using the iThenticate tool®.

Misconduct: The editors will seek advice from COPE and evaluate on a case-by-case basis for retractions or expressions of concern, according to the GGA policies.

Volume Limit: Special calls should not exceed 50% of the journal's volume content.

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