Note

This is a draft of the text that will appear on the journal website. To propose and discuss changes, please join the online forum.

Special issues

Planetary Research will occasionally publish a collection of articles with a common theme as a special issue. Special issue topics can be proposed by anyone and are subject to approval by the editor-in-chief. The journal does not make use of guest special issue editors, and all manuscripts submitted to a special issue are reviewed using the same procedures and standards as those submitted to a standard issue. When manuscripts submitted to a special issue are accepted following peer review, they will be published online immediately. When the last manuscript of the special issue is published online, an issue will be created with all of the accepted special issue articles.

To propose a special issue, one should write a letter to the editor-in-chief describing why the special issue is timely and of interest to the scientific community. The proposer should provide a list of tentative article titles and corresponding first author names, along with a proposed deadline for manuscript submission. Though there is no minimum required number of articles for a special issue, if the expected number is less than 10, the proposer should justify why the small number of articles should not instead be published in a standard issue. The editor-in-chief will decide whether to proceed with the special issue or not after consultation with the editorial board.

Special issue topics will be advertised on the journal website. Special issues are open to submissions from the entire scientific community, and not just the authors previously identified by the proposer. Following acceptance of each manuscript, the editor-in-chief, in consultation with the proposer, will decide whether the article is appropriate for the special issue, or whether it should instead be published in a standard issue. If the number of manuscripts submitted to a special issue is significantly different than expected, the editor-in-chief may decide to cancel the special issue and instead publish the articles in a standard issue. After the final manuscript of the special issue has been accepted, the proposer of the issue will be given the opportunity to write an introduction to the special issue.

The proposer of the special issue is responsible for inciting authors to submit their manuscripts in a timely manner. The final publication date will be coordinated with the proposer, but will typically occur one year after the special issue was proposed. Beyond one year, extensions must be approved by the editor-in-chief. Once the special issue is created, it is no longer possible to add additional articles to the issue.