Special Issues
Focused collections in the Journal of Human Psychology: how a collection is proposed, how it is reviewed, and what is open now.
JHP ISSN 2644-1101 Guest-edited collections Same peer review as a regular submission Same article processing charge
Propose a Special Issue
Focused collections Proposals invited
The Journal of Human Psychology welcomes proposals for focused collections addressing substantive questions about human psychological processes and behavior. Researchers with relevant expertise are invited to review the proposal requirements and contact the editorial office. Approved calls identify the theme, guest editors, scope, key dates and submission route.
Regular submissions are accepted throughout the year and are unaffected by whether a collection is running. A manuscript that fits the journal’s remit does not need a collection to be published in it.
The four states a collection passes through
A collection is in exactly one of these at any time, and this page uses the words in this sense and no other.
- UpcomingApproved and announced. The scope and guest editors are published; submission has not started.
- OpenAccepting submissions against a stated closing date.
- ClosedPast its closing date. Manuscripts already received are still in review; no new ones are accepted.
- CompletedPublished. The collection appears in the archive with its articles.
A collection that is open has a closing date on this page. Where no date is shown, the collection is not open, whatever else has been announced about it elsewhere.
Propose a Special Issue
The Journal of Human Psychology welcomes proposals for focused collections that address important questions in human psychology. Researchers with relevant expertise are invited to review the proposal requirements and contact the editorial office.
A collection earns its place by doing something a set of separate articles cannot: bringing together work that answers one question from several designs, settings or populations, so a reader can see where the evidence converges and where it does not. Proposals that name the question, rather than the topic area, are the ones that usually succeed.
Proposals go to the editorial office at [email protected] and are considered by the journal’s editors against the criteria below. The proposal requirements below set out the information to include.
What a proposal contains
- Proposed title. Descriptive and concise, naming the question the collection addresses.
- Scope statement. Between 300 and 500 words on the theme, why it matters now, and the key research questions the collection would cover.
- Guest editors. Brief biography and CV for each proposed guest editor. One to three guest editors is the usual range.
- Suggested timeline. Proposed dates for the call for papers, the submission deadline, and expected publication.
- Potential contributors. Five to ten researchers or groups who might be invited to submit.
Proposals are assessed on the significance of the question, the fit with the journal’s remit, the expertise and independence of the proposed guest editors, and whether the timeline is realistic for the work involved.
Guest editors and the safeguards that apply
A guest editor shapes a collection and helps find the work for it. What a guest editor does not do is decide the fate of a manuscript they are close to, and the arrangements below exist to keep that clear.
What a guest editor does
- Drafts the call for papers and sets out the collection’s scope.
- Invites submissions and encourages relevant work.
- Identifies suitable reviewers in the collection’s subject areas.
- Oversees review of the collection with the journal’s editors.
- Writes an editorial introducing the published collection.
What stays with the journal
- Manuscripts in a collection are reviewed to the same standard as any other submission, and acceptance is never implied by an invitation.
- A guest editor who is an author on a manuscript in their own collection takes no part in handling it; a journal editor with no involvement does.
- A guest editor declines any manuscript in which they hold a competing interest, on the same terms as any editor.
- The final decision on every manuscript rests with the journal.
Review and charges in a collection
A manuscript in a collection is assessed on exactly the same terms as a regular submission.
Single-blind by default; double-blind review is available on request. All submissions undergo initial editorial screening. Manuscripts that meet the journal’s scope and minimum requirements proceed to independent peer review. Manuscripts that proceed to external peer review are normally evaluated by at least two independent subject-matter experts.
Editorial decisions are based on scope, scientific quality, methodological rigor, ethical compliance, reporting quality, and relevance to the journal. Being invited to a collection is an invitation to submit, and nothing more.
- Peer review
- The journal’s standard process, unchanged
- Article processing charge
- The journal’s standard charge, raised after acceptance only
- License
- CC BY 4.0, authors retain copyright
- Article types
- The journal’s standard types, unless the call states otherwise
- Decision
- Taken by the journal, not by the guest editors
Related pages
Bring a question, not a topic area
Proposals go to the editorial office at [email protected]. The proposal page carries the full requirements. Researchers who would rather submit a single manuscript can do so at any time.
Journal of Human Psychology (JHP) · ISSN 2644-1101 · Crossref DOI prefix 10.14302 · Published by Open Access Pub · Content licensed CC BY 4.0, authors retain copyright