SMAR’s Special Issue Policy sets out the fundamental principles governing the preparation, evaluation, and implementation of special issue proposals; the duties and responsibilities of guest editors; the editorial evaluation and peer-review processes applicable to manuscripts submitted to special issues; and the rules governing the publication of special issues. Special issues are managed in accordance with the journal’s aims and scope and its principles concerning research and publication ethics, editorial independence, and scientific evaluation. All manuscripts submitted to a special issue are subject to SMAR’s general editorial evaluation, peer-review, and publication policies, regardless of whether they have been invited or are associated with any scientific event.

1. Purpose and Scope of Special Issues

SMAR may publish special issues devoted to a specific scientific theme or a current area of research that is directly related to the journal’s aims and scope.

Special issues may be planned to bring together current academic debates in a particular field, encourage interdisciplinary research, or facilitate the publication of original collections of research that demonstrate scientific coherence.

A special issue proposal is expected to fall within SMAR’s scientific scope and to establish a meaningful relationship with the social inventiveness approach adopted by the journal. The establishment of a special issue does not imply that the journal’s aims and scope are being temporarily or permanently expanded.

Special issues are published under the overall editorial responsibility of SMAR. As with regular issues, the Editor-in-Chief is responsible for the scientific and ethical integrity of special issues. Manuscripts published in special issues are subject to the same manuscript preparation, research and publication ethics, editorial evaluation, and peer-review policies applied to manuscripts published in SMAR’s regular issues.

2. Who May Propose a Special Issue?

Special issue proposals may be submitted by researchers or academics with relevant academic expertise in the proposed field. A proposal may be prepared by one or more prospective guest editors.

Individuals proposed as guest editors are expected to possess sufficient academic expertise in the scientific field of the special issue and appropriate publication experience. The academic qualifications and subject-matter expertise of the proposed guest editors are evaluated by the SMAR Editor-in-Chief.

Acceptance of a special issue proposal does not automatically mean that the individual submitting the proposal will be appointed as a guest editor. Where deemed necessary, SMAR may request changes to the proposed editorial structure or the appointment of an additional editor to the special issue.

3. Application Procedure

Special issue proposals must be submitted to the journal’s editorial office through SMAR’s official contact address.

A special issue proposal is expected to include the following information:

• The proposed title and theme of the special issue,

• The scientific rationale and current relevance of the topic,

• Its relationship with SMAR’s aims and scope,

• The expected contribution of the special issue to the existing literature,

• The names, institutional affiliations, and areas of expertise of the proposed guest editor or editors,

• The types of manuscripts planned to be considered within the special issue,

• The estimated number of articles,

• The proposed submission, evaluation, and publication schedule.

If the special issue is associated with a congress, symposium, workshop, research project, or another scientific event, this relationship must be clearly stated in the application. Information regarding the name and date of the relevant event and the method by which manuscripts will be directed to the special issue must be provided to the editorial office.

Where possible, a draft call for papers for the special issue should also be submitted with the application. No official call for a special issue may be published on behalf of SMAR without the approval of the SMAR Editor-in-Chief.

Special issue applications must be submitted to sosyalmucit@outlook.com

4. Evaluation of Special Issue Proposals

Special issue applications are evaluated by the Editor-in-Chief with consideration given to the scientific theme, alignment with the journal’s aims and scope, originality and current relevance of the proposal, expected academic contribution, qualifications of the proposed guest editors, feasibility of the publication schedule, and the journal’s existing publication plan.

The editorial office may accept the special issue proposal, request revisions or additional information, change the proposed publication period, or determine that the proposal is not suitable.

Acceptance of a special issue proposal means only that the special issue project has been approved for implementation. It does not constitute any guarantee of acceptance or publication for individual manuscripts to be submitted to the special issue.

5. Editorial Evaluation and Peer-Review Process for Special Issues

Manuscripts submitted to a special issue are subject to the same scientific, ethical, and editorial standards as manuscripts published in regular issues.

Manuscripts found suitable for peer review following editorial preliminary evaluation are evaluated by at least two independent external reviewers with expertise in the relevant field under SMAR’s double-blind peer-review system.

The fact that a manuscript has been invited for a special issue or presented at a congress, symposium, workshop, or another scientific event associated with the special issue does not provide any publication priority or guarantee of acceptance and does not exempt the manuscript from the peer-review process.

Guest editors may contribute to the scientific organization and thematic coherence of the special issue and to the assessment of whether manuscripts fall within the scope of the special issue. However, the overall editorial oversight of the special issue is exercised by the Editor-in-Chief or by authorized editors appointed by the Editor-in-Chief.

The final editorial decision on manuscripts evaluated for a special issue is made by the Editor-in-Chief or by an authorized editor appointed by the Editor-in-Chief who has no conflict of interest in relation to the manuscript concerned. Although reviewer reports constitute a fundamental component of the editorial decision-making process, final decision-making authority may not be delegated to reviewers or guest editors.

6. Manuscripts Authored by Guest Editors

Guest editors may submit scholarly manuscripts to the special issue. However, a guest editor may not participate in any way in the technical or scientific preliminary evaluation, assignment of an editor, selection of reviewers, evaluation of reviewer reports, or final publication decision concerning a manuscript of which they are an author or co-author.

A manuscript authored or co-authored by a guest editor is managed independently by the Editor-in-Chief or another authorized editor who has no conflict of interest and is subject to the same scientific, ethical, and peer-review standards as other manuscripts in the special issue.

Manuscripts authored or co-authored by the guest editor or editors may not constitute more than 25% of the total number of articles published in the special issue.

7. Publication of Special Issues

Special issues are planned in consideration of SMAR’s announced publication schedule and editorial capacity. Special issues do not replace the journal’s regular publication schedule and may not be planned in a manner that prevents or delays the timely publication of regular issues.

The number of supplementary or special issues may not exceed one-third of the journal’s regular publication frequency. As SMAR publishes six regular issues per year, no more than two supplementary or special issues may be published within a calendar year, except for the applicable exemptions. Special issues containing congress or symposium abstracts are excluded from this numerical limitation.

SMAR’s manuscript preparation requirements, research and publication ethics policies, editorial evaluation procedures, and scientific peer-review standards are applied without exception to supplementary or special issues.

When a special issue is published, the title and scope of the special issue and, where applicable, the names of the guest editors are clearly indicated. In special issues associated with a congress, symposium, or another scientific event, the relationship with the relevant event and the nature of the published content are stated clearly so that they can be readily understood by readers.

Page numbering in supplementary or special issues is arranged in a manner that distinguishes such issues from regular issues published within the same year.

Research articles, review articles, and other types of scholarly articles published in supplementary or special issues are included in assessments of the journal’s article types and publication distribution for the relevant period. Special issues consisting of congress or symposium abstracts are excluded from this scope.

Festschrift issues are not considered supplementary or special issues; they are numbered and published as regular issues within the journal’s regular publication schedule.