Special Issues

A special issue refers to a curated collection of articles within a parent journal, focusing on a specific theme or topic, researchers can effectively target the production of information relevant to the chosen theme, fostering innovation and facilitating focused discussions within the field. 

The editorial board of Actas Españolas de Psiquiatría welcomes scholars in the field of psychiatry to propose special issues on topics of current interest in the scientific community. If you would like to propose a special issue for Actas Españolas de Psiquiatría, you can submit your proposal following the guidelines below.

Before becoming a guest editor for AEP, you should ensure familiarity with and adherence to the guidelines of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) on supplements, themed journals, and special series, as well as NLM guidelines on conflict of interest disclosure and journal supplements publication policies on MEDLINE. All special issue proposals will undergo evaluation and preliminary approval by the editor-in-chief. Therefore, guest editors can provide, but are not limited to, the following special issue proposal for the editor-in-chief's consideration:

Complete information about the guest editor, including but not limited to the guest editor's name, affiliation, email address, website, research interests, ORCID (optional);

Purpose of the special issue;

Provide an abstract containing the theme and scope of the special issue, along with 3-5 keywords, the abstract should typically be between 200-350 words;

Statement of the importance of the special issue to the field and its appeal to authors;

Plan for potential sources of papers.

Guest editors have the option to draft invitation letters for submissions;

Guest editors also have the opition to write an editorial to summarize the content and fundamental principles of the special issue.

 

Guest Editor Guidelines

Guest editors should ensure that the content published in the special issue aligns with the titles and scope specified by the journal. The journal's editors reserve the right to review the relevance of the content.

Guest editors may negotiate with the editorial team of the journal to determine the schedule for the special issue.

Guest editors may choose to prepare a guest editorial outlining the significance, impact, practical applications, and future directions of the theme.

The guest editorial should be sent via email to the publishing office in plain text format, accompanied by a colored photograph of each GE. Digital photographs should be in .tif format with a resolution of at least 300 dpi.

All individuals involved in the peer review process must disclose any potential conflicts of interest that could affect the fairness of evaluation, review, and decision-making processes. Any submissions involving conflicts of interest with guest editors will be referred to the Editor-in-Chief or other members of the editorial board for decision-making and make up no more than 25% of the issue's total, in accordance with DOAJ’s suggestion. Any potential editorial conflicts of interest should be disclosed to the publisher in writing before the editorial appointment and updated upon the occurrence of new conflicts.

Guest editors are required to adhere strictly to the best practices of the special issue. If any unethical behavior (such as citation cartels, undisclosed competing interests, peer review fraud, identity theft) is discovered, the editorial department will suspend peer review and publication processes for all content in the special issue pending investigation.

 

Review Process and Editorial Procedures

All papers submitted to the special issue will undergo the same peer review process as regular submissions to the journal. The Editor-in-Chief will be responsible for the entire content of the journal, including all special issues. Upon receipt of the article by Actas Españolas de Psiquiatría, a guest editor will assist the editorial board members in conducting a preliminary evaluation to ensure the relevance and scientific validity of the submission. When a manuscript passes through this initial internal review process, each manuscript will be sent to at least two independent experts for peer review, who will assess the appropriateness of the content and the scientific quality of the submitted text. They will then provide their comments and conclusions to the authors. Both reviewers and authors will always remain anonymous, and their identities will never be disclosed. The guest editor at Actas Españolas de Psiquiatría and the editorial board members will determin whether the article should be accepted for publication or rejected. If the article is authored by the editor themselves, the editorial team, or family members of the research group, the editor will never be involved in this process; or even if there is a close professional relationship between the author and parties involved in the editorial process. In all cases, the articles will be anonymously reviewed by other independent reviewers. If there are any conflicts of interest between the editor and the content of the article, Actas Españolas de Psiquiatría ensures an independent review and selects reviewers outside the usual editorial team to ensure that the review process is free of any conflicts.

During the review process, individual papers or entire special issues may be rejected if they do not meet quality standards by the editorial team. Any disagreements arising during the editing process will be resolved by the Editor-in-Chief.