Special Section Proposal Guidelines

Qualitative Psychology encourages submissions of special section proposals from Guest Editors.

In their published form, special sections will usually contain a brief editorial introduction by the Guest Editor(s) of the special section followed by a set of 3 to 5 papers organized around a central topic or theme. Special sections should be organized around a topic or theme important to the advancement of qualitative inquiry in psychology.

Guest Editors may propose special sections focused on

• a common methodological issue
• a linking epistemological concern
• an overarching theory or social issue around which knowledge has been advanced by qualitative inquiry
• a demonstration of the state-of-the-art in qualitative inquiry within a subfield of psychology

Guest Editors who wish to submit a proposal for a special section must follow these steps:

A preliminary proposal should be submitted via email to David Frost, the Qualitative Psychology Associate Editor in charge of special sections, for feedback on the general focus of the section and its feasibility.

The preliminary proposal should include:

• a brief vision statement (1–2 pages) describing the general focus of the special section, and
• a tentative list of papers including a listing of tentative titles or topics and potential authors (and whether or not they have already agreed to contribute).

Preliminary proposals are approved if they are deemed to represent an important and timely topic of considerable interest to Qualitative Psychology readership, and if they include a coherent and compelling set of contributions that advance the understanding, practice, and/or teaching of qualitative inquiry in psychology.

After the preliminary proposal is approved, the special section Guest Editors prepare and submit a formal proposal.

A formal proposal should include

• a draft of the issue editors' introduction (no more than 500 words)
• a proposed list of papers, including titles and authors (this should include the estimated length of each proposed manuscript)
• an abstract of 2–3 pages for each proposed contribution followed by a short biography (limited to half a page) of each author
• a timeline for development of the special section, indicating the stage of development of the material underlying each article and when manuscripts are likely to be forthcoming

Approval of the formal proposal indicates the Journal's interest in publishing the proposed special section. However, it does not guarantee that the Journal will publish the entire set of papers submitted. Each individual manuscript will be sent out for peer review by experts in the field, and the result of the peer review process will determine acceptance for publication.

The Guest Editors solicit full-length manuscripts. All manuscripts must be prepared following the guidelines to authors specified on the Journal's website. Guest Editors should ensure that each manuscript is free of typographical and grammatical errors and conforms to all guidelines to authors before submitted to the Journal for review.

When satisfied with all full-length manuscripts, the special section Guest Editors instruct each author to submit their manuscript individually through the manuscript submission portal on the Journal's website. Each author should indicate that their manuscript is part of a proposed special section in the submission process.

Authors are encouraged to suggest reviewers in the submission process. Manuscripts will then be sent out for peer review.

After each manuscript has completed the peer review process and has been accepted for publication, all manuscripts are sent to the publisher for copyediting in paper and electronic form.

The publisher sends page proofs to the first author of each individual article; the publisher also sends a complete set of proofs for the entire special section to the special section Guest Editor(s).