This document has been created as a guideline for preparing and administering thematic special issues of the Journal Information & Media.
Step 1. Coming up with the idea to organize a special issue (SI)
1. Topics for special issues (SI) are suggested by Editor in Chief or other members of the Editorial Board, or by scholars from outside the Editorial Board.
2. The special issue (SI) needs to align with the mission of the Journal.
3. Decision on whether or not to organize the proposed special issue is taken by the Editor in Chief in consultations with these members of the Editorial Board who are denoted by expertise in the given thematic area.
4. There should be more than one Editor for a special issue. In exceptional cases, one Editor may be allowed to run a special issue. In this case, the decision to make the exception must be supported by the evidence of exceptionally sound qualifications of the Editor.
5. The formal decision to launch a special issue must always be supported by the written Call for Papers for the special issue (SI CfP). The SI CfP must be 1) written in a concise form; 2) following academic tradition; 3) arguing for the currency/novelty and importance of the topic. Once SI has been approved by the Editor in Chief, SI CfP is published on the Journal’s web site.
6. The editors of SI are expected to establish for the SI a board of reviewers which shall include not only the regular members of the EB, but also scholars and practitioners from outside the EB who have expertise in the SI topic (superior to that of the core editorial board of the Journal). Practitioners should be included when SI topics involve topics for which practitioners may exert a big influence.
Step 2. Evaluation of the qualification of the Editors of a special issue
7. The candidate(s) to the role of the Editor(s) of a special issue must possess sufficient qualification for the job.
8. Qualifications are evaluated based on the publications record of the candidates, or by alternative means which can prove sufficient expertise of the candidate in the given topic and in the familiarity (and experience) with the academic publishing practice (how to organize the review process, how to evaluate reviews, etc.).
9. If none of the candidates to the role of editors of the special issue has sufficient qualifications to run the special issue, EiC (in consultations with EB) shall nominate an editor with sufficient qualifications to complement the list of the candidate editors.
Step 3. Establishing quality controls for a special issue
10. Situations when SI is organized/run by only one Editor should be avoided. In exceptional cases, one Editor may be allowed to run a special issue. In this case, the decision to make the exception must be supported by evidence of the exceptionally sound qualifications of the Editor.
11. The Editors of a special issue must represent various institutions.
12. Ideally, the Editors of a special issue shall come from at least two different countries.
13. Situations when Lithuanian-affiliation-only Editors are in charge of a SI in the Lithuanian language must be avoided. In exceptional cases, if no foreign experts with sufficient Lithuanian language skills can be found to act in the role of the Editor, additional measures must be taken to ensure the quality of the preparation process of the special issue. These additional measures may involve consultations with the Editor in Chief and/or members of the Editorial Board during the review and paper acceptance decision process.
14. SI CfP, developed according to the accepted SI CfP Template, is an important tool for establishing the quality and process control, as it contains references against which the process can be benchmarked: 1) justification of the novelty & fit to the aims of the Journal; 2) important dates; 3) the number of review iterations; 4) members of the SI EB; other specific aspects of relevance.
15. Additionally to CfP, the Editors must present to EiC plans for 5) the planned number of papers for SI; 6) envisioned promotional and dissemination activities; any other information relevant to the Journal’s administration.
Step 4. Publication of a special issue
16. Special issue publication is preceded by the publication of the SI CfP (see Step 1. Coming up with the idea to organize a special issue) once the SI has been formally approved by the Editor in Chief.
17. Editors of the special issue are expected to prepare an editorial introduction to the special issue. Ideally, the editorial shall provide an overview of the papers included in the special issue complemented by the editors’ views on how the selected papers and/or the special issue contribute(s) to the development of the field and the Journal.
Other important issues
18. The Editors of a special issue cannot be (co-)authors of papers submitted to the special issue.