Special Issues

The scientific editors of Global Research Review (GRR) evaluate each submission that warrant further consideration for publication are sent out for in-depth peer review by reviewers. 

About Special Issues

A Special Issue is a collection of articles that concentrates on a topical research area within the scope of our Review.

These Issues (including Conference issues) provide a venue for research on emerging areas, highlight important subdisciplines, or describe new cross-disciplinary applications.

Proposing a Special Issue

The Global Research Review publish Special Issues – dedicated collections of articles that highlight emerging areas of research within a field, or provide a venue for a deeper investigation into an existing research topic.

As the Lead Guest Editor of a Special Issue, you can be at the forefront of scientific communication, encouraging continued research in important areas while gaining editorial experience and improving your academic profile. There are many other additional benefits to being a Guest Editor.

The sections below will help you in writing and submitting a Special Issue proposal, as well as understanding what will be required of you as a Lead Guest Editor or a Guest Editor of a Special Issue if your proposal is approved.

If you have an idea for a Special Issue that you would like to propose for our Review please follow the link below.

Choosing a topic

You should choose a topic close to your own research interests. The topic of the Special Issue should be of increasing interest within your field. If you have noticed a surge in interest in a particular subject at recent conferences, seminars or meetings, for example, this is a good sign that a related proposal will generate significant interest.

Ensure that the topic of your proposal is within the scope of our Review. The scope of your Special Issue should be broad enough to attract a reasonable number of submissions but narrow enough to provide a cohesive collection of articles.

Preparing a Call for Papers

Your Special Issue proposal should take the form of a Call for Papers, which will be submitted to the Editorial Board of the Review for assessment. If the proposal is approved, the Call for Papers will help researchers to find the Special Issue and submit their manuscripts.

The Call for Papers should provide enough background information to entice submissions but does not need to be overly detailed. Concise proposals are more likely to catch and hold the attention of qualified researchers, leading to higher quality submissions. You should communicate the Issue’s focus clearly and efficiently in no more than 400 words.

You should structure your proposal according to the following guide:

  1. Write a succinct and descriptive title for your Special Issue in no more than 10 words.
  2. In one or two short paragraphs, you should provide a brief summary of your chosen topic and where it sits within the wider subject.
  3. In another paragraph, you should then go on to explain the main challenges that research in your chosen topic is facing.
  4. In the final paragraph, you should set out your proposed aims and summarise the scope of the Special Issue, explaining what kind of studies you are hoping to attract.You should also suggest what types of articles are suitable, including original research and review articles.
  5. Finally, you should propose a list of ten to fifteen bullet-point topics that you expect to receive submissions on. These topics are ‘signposts’ for the direction of the Special Issue, providing authors with guidance on areas in which they may wish to submit. Each topic should contain more detail, and should be clearly linked to the scope of your proposed Issue.

Recruiting an Editorial Team

Special Issues are led by a single Lead Guest Editor and a team of 2 – 5 Guest Editors. Guest Editors are integral to the success of a Special Issue. They are responsible for:

  • Managing the peer review process of submitted manuscripts
  • Making final decisions on submitted manuscripts

The Lead Guest Editor is the main point of contact throughout the course of the Special Issue, from submission of the proposal through to the peer review of submitted manuscripts. In addition to editorial tasks, it is the responsibility of the Lead Guest Editor:

  • To liaise with the Content Development team during the assessment of the Special Issue proposal and make any requested revisions to the proposal
  • To communicate with the rest of the Guest Editor team during the assessment of the proposal and beyond
  • To assign submitted manuscripts to the most appropriate Guest Editor based on expertise
  • Once all manuscripts have passed peer review, we ask the Guest Editor team to write an Editorial that introduces the Special Issue.

Your proposal should state the full names and affiliations of the researchers who are willing to act as Guest Editors. All Guest Editor suggestions undergo a screening and verification process by the Content Development team. 

If any suggested Guest Editors do not meet our criteria, GRR reserves the right to request that Guest Editors be removed and/or replaced.

The Guest Editor team should include individuals based in different institutions and countries. This diversity reduces conflicts of interest and helps the issue reach a wider audience.

It is also important that all Guest Editors have enough time to commit to handling manuscripts throughout the course of the Special Issue.

Assessment and Approval of Special Issues

The Global Research Review’s Content Development Team carry out initial checks on submitted proposals to ensure that they are appropriate in terms of detail, structure, and focus, as well as to assess the Guest Editor team’s expertise and diversity. The team may request that you make changes to your proposal before it can be considered further.

Special Issue proposals are then sent to the GRR’s Editorial Board for approval. The Board will assess the quality of the proposal and the fit of the suggested topic for the Review.

The Editorial Board and/or the Content Development Team may request revisions to improve your proposal. You should carefully consider the feedback provided to increase your proposal’s chance of approval and to help make the Special Issue as successful as possible.

The final approval of any proposal will be decided by GRR’s Content Development Team and the GRR’s Editorial Board. The Global Research Review reserves the right not to proceed with any Special Issue at any time and for any reason and in its sole discretion.

The Content Development Team will also ensure that Special Issues on similar topics are not launched concurrently. If there is significant overlap between the topic of your proposal and an open Issue, the launch of your own Issue may be delayed until the open Issue has closed to submissions. This is to ensure the success of both Special Issues.

Normally, this assessment by the Editorial Board and the Content Development Team takes two to four weeks from submission of your proposal.

Submit your Special Issue Proposal

Thank you for your interest in proposing a Special Issue for consideration in our Global Research Review. Please provide the required information below at : submit@grrjournal.org, and we will get in touch about your proposal as soon as possible.

If you are submitting a Conference Issue, please include the word ‘CONFERENCE’ in your Proposal Title, and the details of your conference in the Proposal Text, including a link to the conference website.

Informations required:

  • Special Issue title : (10 words maximum)
  • Proposal text (400 words): In one or two short paragraphs, you should provide a brief summary of the area and where it sits within the wider subject. You should go on to explain the main challenges facing the field. In a separate paragraph, you should layout your proposed aims and the scope for the Special Issue, explaining what kind of studies you are hoping to attract.
  • Potential topics to be covered: (10 Topics maximum)

Guest Editorial (GE) Team: A Guest Editorial Team is made up of a Lead Guest Editor and between 2 and 5 Guest Editors.

Please send us the details indicated bellow corresponding to all Guest Editorial Team:

  • Lead GE Name:
  • GE Names:
  • Emails address:
  • Affiliations:
  • Cities:
  • Countries:

Conflict of Interest Declaration: Indicate that none of the Guest Editors have a conflict of interest or one (or more) Editors have a conflict of interest.