We publish Special Issues/Supplements in accordance with Supplements, Theme Issues, and Special Series by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) and Conflict of Interest Disclosure and Journal Supplements in MEDLINE by the NLM guidance.

1. Definition

• Special Issues

The purpose of a Special Issue is to provide a critical analysis and comprehensive overview of contemporary topics within the coverage of the journal. Each unique and innovative Special Issue is supervised by the Editor-in-Chief and/or members of the Editorial Board, and led by Guest Editor(s) (an international authority on the subject in question who oversees its thorough exploration). Special Issues are published as a part of a regular issue of the journal.

• Supplements

A Supplement is a collection of papers that addresses Special Issues or Topics. A Supplement may be published as a separate issue of the journal or as part of a regular issue.

2. The Publication Process for Special Issues/Supplements

If you have an idea for a Special Issue that you would like to propose for one of Journal of Biological Regulators and Homeostatic Agents (JBRHA), please contact the Editorial Office (help@biolifesas.org)

All proposals submitted should include the following information:
• The name and address for communication of the Guest Editor(s);
• Rationale explaining the scope and significance of the proposed theme in 200–350 words;
• A biographical statement for each of the proposed Guest Editors, linking them to the field of study;
• Brief details about the other contributors, including their institutional affiliation;
• A preliminary time schedule for the preparation of the Special Issue;
• Instructions for the preparation of papers, as provided on the journal website under 'For Authors';
• The proposal will then be reviewed by the Editorial Office, which takes full responsibility for the policies, practices, and content of Special Issues/Supplements, including complete control of decisions relating to the selection of authors, peer reviewers, and content for the Special Issues/Supplements. The Journal do not permit funding organizations to make decisions beyond which publications they choose to fund.

All proposals for special issues/supplements must undergo evaluation and obtain approval from the Editorial Office. Guest editors for the Special Issue assist in the preliminary review of manuscripts and the organization of the Special Issue. All manuscripts proposed for Special Issues/Supplements will be subjected to external peer review organized by the journal Editorial Office. The final decision regarding acceptance or rejection of manuscripts will be based on the collected peer review reports and will be overseen by the Editor-in-Chief and/or Editorial Members recognized by the Editor-in-Chief, with guest editors possibly participating in the decision-making process alongside the Editor-in-Chief and/or Editorial Members recognized by the Editor-in-Chief in most cases to ensure the quality and integrity of the Special Issue.

Proposals will be judged against the following criteria:
• Is the proposed topic of interest and relevance to an identifiable and substantial international audience of educational researchers?
• Does the treatment of the topic reflect an awareness of international perspectives and theoretical developments in the relevant field?
• Does the research to be included in each of the papers outlined in the proposal appear to be well-conceived?
• Is the proposal clearly and logically constructed, in a way that would encourage confidence in the proposers as Guest Editors?
• Does the set of contributors include researchers who are well regarded in their field?
• Will the Special Issue make a significant and useful contribution to the study of education?

To ensure high-quality content for a specific target audience, all articles submitted for a Special Issue/Supplement must undergo a standard peer-review process organized by the Editorial Office within the scope of the journal.

All Special Issues/Supplements should contain a general introduction. The source of the idea for Special Issues/Supplements, sources of funding for the Special Issue/Supplement's research and publication, as well as products of the funding source related to the content of the Special Issue/Supplement, should be clearly stated in the introductory material.

Advertising in Supplements follows the same policies applied to JBRHA:

The issues of Supplements are distinguished from ordinary editorial issues by an “S”.

The Editor(s)-in-Chief maintains editorial responsibility for the content of all Special Issues/Supplements in their journal, including adherence to JBRHA Editorial Policies. They retain the authority to reject or request amendments to any article or abstract submitted to a Special Issue/Supplement.

3. Peer Review

• Manuscripts for Special Issues/Supplements should follow the Instructions for Authors, the same principles of authorship and relationship disclosure, and the other related editorial policies of the journal.
• Manuscripts submitted to Special Issues/Supplements undergo the standard peer review process administered by the journal Editorial Office and overseen by the Editor(s)-in-Chief.
• The final decision regarding acceptance or rejection of manuscripts will be based on the collected peer review reports and will be overseen by the Editor-in-Chief and/or Editorial Members recognized by the Editor-in-Chief, with guest editors possibly participating in the decision-making process alongside the Editor-in-Chief and/or Editorial Members recognized by the Editor-in-Chief in most cases.
• Guest Editors are appointed following consultation with the Editor(s)-in-Chief of the journal. All Guest Editors must disclose any Conflict of Interests for manuscripts submitted to their Special Issues/Supplements.

4. Disclosure of Conflict of Interest

Disclosure of Conflict of Interest for manuscripts to the Special Issues/Supplements follow the Supplements, Theme Issues, and Special Series by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) and Conflict of Interest Disclosure and Journal Supplements in MEDLINE by the NLM guidance.

• In Special Issues/Supplements sponsored by for-profit organizations, where any product of the sponsor is mentioned in an article, a statement to clarify for this for readers must also be included in the “Conflict of Interests” section of the article.
• A statement about the author's source of funding for publication is to be included in the article.
Financial relationships between any of the Editors, authors and sponsors must be disclosed along with any other Conflict of Interest.

Updated on 25 May 2022