Special/Theme Issue Q&A
Does Tob Regul Sci publish Special/Theme issues?
Yes, we accept both.
What is the difference in a Special and Theme issue?
A special issue usually consists of a set of at least 8 papers on a common theme. A theme issue will have fewer papers and will include papers on other topics.
Is the Special issue a normal issue or is it a supplementary issue?
The supplementary issue is a continuation part of Normal issue. It should be considered as the Normal issue. Supplementary issue is not a Special issue. The journal may publish supplementary issue due to work load or number of papers exceeds.
What are the costs?
The cost for a special/theme or regular or supplementary issue differs as the fee is per article rather than per issue. If open access is requested there is an additional fee. Moreover, not all the articles in an issue need to be open access, a select few can be open access.
Is there a minimum of articles in a special issue?
For a special ssue the minimum is 8 articles with as many as 15 manuscripts. The smaller theme issue is less than 8 articles and is completed with non-themed manuscripts.
What is the process for submitting a special or theme issue?
Submit a brief proposal which includes; 1) theme of issue, 2) lead topic editors of the issue, 3) titles and authors of each manuscript, 4) a brief abstract noting the relevance to regulatory science, 5) funding and 6) timeline.
How are issues funded?
Issues must be supported by a grant, shared with author, or have the individual authors pay the fees. The most common and the easiest is to have an agency cover the full amount.
Are there any addition costs?
No, other than the mandatory fee per article and the option fee for open access.
Are there are unique guidelines for submission?
No, however, all papers must follow the Author Guidelines.
Once an issue is approved what is the review process?
Authors are provided a deadline to submit via our Manuscript Manager. Once received, we send out for review. This is the slowest method of review. The journal is as fast as our slowest reviewer, consequently, 2 reviewers can submit a review within 7-10 days and the final review can take weeks.
Are there other ways to speed up the review process?
Yes, additional funds can be secured to hire reviewers to review. Paid reviewers can be paid by the article or by the full issue.
Is it acceptable to pay reviewers?
Yes, of course. We identify reviewers within our group of reviewers, moreover, by paying reviewers they are much more likely to meet our deadlines as we specify a specific time frame in which the review must be completed.
Do all manuscripts have to be reviewed by independent reviewers?
Yes. We always identify 2-3 reviewers for each manuscript.
Are the papers blinded to reviewers?
Yes, actually we adhere to a double-blind process whereby the manuscript is blind to the reviewer and the reviewer is blind to the author(s)
What happens if a manuscript is rejected?
We work with the author(s) to elevate the paper to a publishable level and if unable to do so will permanently reject the paper. We only accept and publish papers that have been reviewed and accepted for publication.
How long before an accepted paper is published?
We are a fast as our slowest person, meaning we have to wait for all reviews to be completed before we can publish the paper. However, once we receive all accepted papers the process thereafter is very swift as we only have to send to grammarian, typeset and authors proof manuscripts.
Can the special editor(s) provide an introduction paper to introduce the issue?
Yes, and such an introductory paper would ideally discuss the relevance of the collection of papers to tobacco regulation.