Information for prospective guest editors

Jezikoslovlje welcomes proposals for guest-edited special thematic issues. Before submitting their proposals, prospective Guest Editors should carefully consider the following information.

1. Compatibility of proposals with the aims and thematic scope of Jezikoslovlje

Jezikoslovlje is open to publishing special thematic issues as long as the overall theme and the individual contributions are consistent with the aims and scope of Jezikoslovlje. Specifically, we shall consider only proposals which address linguistic topics from contemporary theoretical and methodological perspectives, and limit contributions from neighboring disciplines to those that provide triangulating evidence for the main – linguistic – theme of the issue.

2. Thematic coherence of individual contributions 

Individual contributions should show a high level of coherence. This does not mean that all contributions should adopt the same theoretical stance or methodological perspective; this only means that they should cumulatively afford an in-depth treatment of the topic and thus extend knowledge in the area concerned. Achieving this is the responsibility of the Guest Editor.

3. Submitting a proposal

Proposals for guest-edited issues are submitted to the Editors of Jezikoslovlje via email at jezikoslovlje@ffos.hr. The proposals should include the following information:

  1. main theme of the special issue;
  2. relevance of the theme;
  3. motivation for the proposal;
  4. how the special issue will contribute to existing scholarship in the area;
  5. detailed information about each projected contribution:
  6. name and institutional affiliation of the contributor,
  7. title of contribution,
  8. a 250-300 word abstract;
  9. (a) tentative date(s) by which the Guest Editor expects to have:
  10. the final list of contributors who have confirmed their intention to submit a manuscript,
  11. the final list of contributions that will enter the review procedure.

A special thematic issue is a collection of original research papers (it may also include state-of-the-art papers), and an introduction by the Guest Editor. The introduction serves to contextualize the theme of the special issue and provides a summary of each contribution. Typically the number of papers to be included is 8 to 10, but the journal may allow a few more papers as long as they are all of high quality. If less than 8 to 10 articles are accepted, we publish them as a special section within a regular issue, rather than as a standalone special issue. The Guest Editor may also submit a contribution of his own subject to constraints detailed in Section 5.2. Each contribution should meet the maximum length restrictions specified for each type of contribution.

4. Assessing proposals

Proposals for special issues will be assessed by Jezikoslovlje’s Editors. Each proposal will be evaluated based on the elements listed in items 1–6 of Section 3. However, prospective Guest Editors should keep in mind that, regardless of the merits of their proposals, any pre-existing publication line-ups must be respected, which may require adjustments in the projected publication schedule. The prospective Guest Editor will be informed of the Editors’ decision within a reasonable time frame. If the proposal is approved, the Guest Editor will assume the responsibility of defining a more precise timeline for the processing of individual contributions through all publication stages.

5. Responsibilities of the Guest Editor

Guest Editors must use whatever quality control procedures are necessary to ensure that all activities involved in various manuscript processing stages and the accepted manuscripts themselves meet high-quality standards. The Guest Editor, contributors, and reviewers for the special issue are bound by the same responsibilities as those that pertain to the editors, contributors, and reviewers of regular issues of the journal. In addition, the Guest Editor must meet additional requirements set out below.

It is of vital importance that Guest Editors allow sufficient time in planning the various stages of the publication process. In particular, their planning should leave enough time for the first review, for contributors’ revisions of their manuscripts, and for final stylesheet adjustments of accepted papers and for adjusting the papers to the publication template.

5.1. Notification requirements

Guest Editors must provide Jezikoslovlje’s Editors with regular progress reports, i.e. supply them with the following information concerning the publication process:

Stage 1: submission of manuscripts

  1. the beginning and end of manuscript submission stage;
  2. the final list of received contributions eligible for review, specifying the title of each contribution, the names and institutional affiliations of each contributor;

 

Stage 2: double-blind review of eligible contributions (see Section 5.2.)

  1. before sending manuscripts out for review, Guest Editors should send to Jezikoslovlje’s Editors the list of intended reviewers for approval. The list must specify the names and institutional affiliations of intended reviewers for each submission. Jezikoslovlje reserves the right to propose alternative reviewers (e.g. if the proposed reviewer cannot be enlisted because they had only recently served as a reviewer for Jezikoslovlje, or is unavailable or non-eligible for other justified reasons, etc.) 
  2. the projected end of the first stage of the review process for all contributions;
  1. the outcome of the first stage of the review process for each contribution (each reviewer’s recommendation concerning ((non-)acceptance) and the total number of contributions recommended for acceptance, rejection, or acceptance pending revision;
  2. the deadline given to authors for submission of revised manuscripts (for papers accepted pending revision);
  3. following the second stage of the review process (Guest Editor’s and/or original reviewers’ evaluation of the quality of revisions), the list of contributions that the Guest Editor recommends to the journal’s Editors to be accepted for publication (see Section 5.2.);

 

Stage 3: preparation of accepted manuscripts for publication

  1. for manuscripts accepted for publication by the joint decision of the Guest Editor and the journalʼs Editors (see Section 5.2.), the deadline by which manuscripts will be ready for publication following the author’s final stylesheet adjustments and the Guest Editor’s preparation of the finalized texts for publication (adjustment to publication template);
  2. the completion of the formatting, style, and template adjustments of each accepted contribution.

 

Once all contributions have been prepared for publication, the Guest Editor shall forward them to the journal as both .doc and .pdf files (at jezikoslovlje@ffos.hr), together with any other forms and documents requested by the journal’s Editors (see Section 5.4.).

5.2. Review process

Guest Editors should make it clear to prospective contributors that all papers will undergo double-blind peer review and that an invitation to submit, or an inclusion in the proposal for a special issue, should in no way be construed as a guarantee of paper acceptance. Guest Editors are responsible for selecting high-quality reviewers to assess the merits of each individual contribution (but see note above). At least one reviewer should be from abroad. Both reviewers must have at least the rank of assistant professor or equivalent. In case the Guest Editor has submitted his own work for consideration of publication in the special issue, Jezikoslovlje’s Editors will handle the double-blind review of that contribution. Reviewers should be instructed to follow the instructions for reviewers, especially those concerning attention to ethical issues and compatibility between the extent of requested revisions and final recommendation concerning publication. Guest Editors will forward Jezikoslovlje’s official review form to the selected reviewers. Guest Editors must plan enough time for the reviews and revisions. Based on the assessments and recommendations of each reviewer, the Guest Editor will make a final recommendation to Jezikoslovlje’s Editors on the (non)acceptance of each manuscript. The review process of a manuscript ends after the Guest Editor and Jezikoslovlje’s Editors have jointly reached the final decision regarding publication.

 5.3. Language and style of contributions; stylesheet requirements

Authors are ultimately responsible for the quality of language of their contributions; they are also responsible for adjusting their manuscripts to the journal’s stylesheet. Still, the Guest Editor must make sure that the authors do comply with those requirements in the preparation of their texts. In other words, the Guest Editor must make sure that the language and style of the accepted manuscripts are of high quality and that the accepted manuscripts are fully consistent with Jezikoslovlje’s stylesheet instructions. The Guest Editor will make final technical fine-tuning of the texts to fit Jezikoslovlje’s publication template (the template will be sent to the Guest Editor at the appropriate time).  

5.4. Record-keeping and forms

Guest Editors must keep a record of all review process documents and fill in other forms to be provided by the journal’s Editors following acceptance of their proposal. These documents and completed forms must be submitted to the journal upon finalization of the special issue.

5.5. Complimentary copies

Guest Editors shall be entitled to two complimentary copies of the thematic issue of the journal.