Marine Geophysical Research - Guidelines for Special Issues
The journal encourages and initiates the publication of Special Issues. The following are general guidelines for the preparation and publication of such issues.
Proposal
Guest Editor(s) should prepare a proposal for the Special Issue and submit it to the Co-Editors and the publisher for approval. The proposal should contain the following information:
A tentative Special Issue title,
An outline summarizing the objectives of the Special Issue,
A tentative time schedule,
A Table of Contents listing tentative contributions.
The Role of the Guest Editors
Guest Editors* are expected to select authors and to invite them to submit quality (in terms of science, English and presentation) papers to the Special Issue, to select reviewers for the submitted papers, to handle all aspects of the papers’ review and editorial decisions in an efficient and timely manner, and to keep in touch with the Coeditors in all other matters concerning the Special Issue. All articles appearing in a Special Issue should conform to the standard editorial and publication policies as outlined for the journal. This implies that each manuscript will be original, not be published formerly elsewhere and will be peer reviewed by at least two international specialists in the field. In case major revision is asked for by any of the referees, the revised script should be reviewed again by at least one referee.
*In case there are several Guest Editors (GEs), one GE will act as corresponding GE.
Time Schedule
Guest Editors should prepare a time schedule and also inform the authors and reviewers of this. Guest Editors should keep in touch with the Co-Editors and publisher regarding the status of the Special Issue on a regular (quarterly) basis. It is the GE responsibility to ensure a thorough and speedy review procedure. The journal policy is for reviews to be completed within 21 days. We recommend that Guest Editors assume their role if other scheduling constraints allow them the necessary amount of time to dedicate adequately to managing a Special Issue over the next year or more; the typical time from inception to completion of a Special Issue is one to two years.
Size
Each Special Issue is devoted to a single, well defined topic; the number of papers in a Special Issue can be as few as 6 or as many as the Guest Editors solicit. For issues that will contain more than 10 papers, the Special Issue may be printed as comprising two issues of the journal.
Color Images
Color images can be included and are free of cost.
Special Issue Workflow
Editorial Manager
Once the proposal is accepted, the Special Issue will be entered in the Editorial Manager system of the journal. Guest Editors are granted an Editor login to the system, allowing them to assign reviewers and to oversee the review process. If a Special Issue has one Guest Editor, one individual EM account will be created which allows the GE to coordinate the reviews. Please note that if a Special Issue has more than one Guest Editor, one shared account is created as well as individual accounts to each GE. The idea is that one GE will manage the shared account and will assign papers to the other GE’s individual accounts. The common account is created only for the assignment of the papers.
Open for Submissions
The Special Issue will be open for submissions on the journal page: https://www.editorialmanager.com/mari/default.aspx. Once submitted*, papers are directly assigned to the appointed Guest Editors. *To submit, authors should click on “Submit New Manuscript" and select the Special Issue as “article type” in the drop-down menu (e.g.: below). Author instructions regarding electronic submission of papers can be found at https://www.springer.com/gp/authors-editors/journal-author/journal-authorhelpdesk/submission/1302 (this opens in a new tab)
Review Process
Guest Editors will handle the review process.
Final Acceptance of Papers
Guest Editors will make the final decision on acceptance. Authors will be automatically notified through the system. When strictly necessary, the Co-Editors can revert the decision of Guest Editors.
Production
The SI articles are moved into production after acceptance. The corresponding authors will receive author’s proofs.
Special Issue Preface
Guest Editors are expected to write an introduction or overview (1–2 pages) as a Preface for their Special Issue.
Building the Issue
When all the articles have been moved into production, it’s time to finalize the issue with the publisher and journal production. The Guest Editors should provide the SI Preface and indicate the preferred sequence of papers.
After Publication
The Guest Editor(s) will receive two print copies of the Special Issue. It is the intention of Springer to the recommendations of the Guest Editor(s) and the Editor, to consider the possibility of also distributing the Special Issue as a separate (hardcover) book.