Guide to preparing a special issue or supplement
As part of our commitment to support Editors in commissioning high-quality content, Taylor & Francis has created robust processes for publishing special issues and supplements. Our processes also reflect changes to embed new guidance in light of an industry-wide focus in ethics cases; for example, the increase in papermills as highlighted by COPE.
We have created a standardized information form which will be sent to you when you have expressed an interest in exploring a special issue or supplement, before the call for papers. This will make sure that we have a record of all the necessary detail and production specifications required to plan the publication effectively.
We will also send you a customized guidance document to share our definitions and processes, as well as clarifying responsibilities for all parties including finding content and completing peer review. We are confident that this will contribute to a smooth and successful publication experience.
How can we achieve this?
To facilitate this, we would like to encourage Editors to reach out to their T&F Editorial contact when they would like to initiate a supplement or special issue as early as possible, prior to requesting a call for papers.
With early notice, we can help with the following:
Gathering your requirements and providing the guidance document.
Completing checks and ensuring compliance with our ethics policies.
Coordinating with marketing to plan a call for papers and social media activity.
Sending a publishing agreement to the guest editor(s) and providing them with materials and support to successfully run the supplements and special issue, including links to editorial resources and peer review training.
Notifying global peer review to set up a question and/or dropdown option for authors on the submission site, and to provide the right permissions for the guest editor. We can also make sure that permissions are removed when publication is complete to maintain control of peer review decisions on the journal.
Notifying production to facilitate smooth and on-time publication; this is particularly important to agree the issue’s timing and ensure that papers are published in the correct issue.
Benefits of this initiative
Having awareness of any special issue or supplement coming into Taylor & Francis will allow us to coordinate with colleagues. This will also ensure that the requisite steps are completed to mitigate ethical risks further into the publication process.
We would also like to highlight the option of “Article Collections” which can be used to publish a group of related articles or media on Taylor & Francis Online. These can be newly or historically published content and can be accompanied by an editorial and list of guest editor(s). An example of an article collection can be found here.
If you would like to explore this route, please do get in touch.