Journal of Sleep And Sleep Disorder Research · Special issues
Special Issues
Focused collections on a question that deserves more than one paper — how they work here, and how to propose one.
01 · Proposals
Propose a Special Issue
Journal of Sleep And Sleep Disorder Research welcomes proposals for focused collections that address important questions in sleep science, circadian research and sleep medicine. Researchers with relevant expertise are invited to review the proposal requirements and contact the editorial office.
A collection works best where a question is genuinely open, where several groups are working on it, and where gathering the papers in one place lets a reader see the shape of the evidence rather than a scatter of separate reports.
What a proposal contains
- The question the collection addresses, and why it merits a collection now.
- How it sits inside the journal’s subject coverage, which is set out in the aims and scope.
- The proposed guest editors, with affiliations and the publication record that establishes their standing in the subject.
- The kinds of contribution sought, and roughly how many.
- Any competing interests the guest editors hold in the subject, including commercial relationships.
Proposals go to the special issue proposal page, or to the editorial office.
02 · Guest editors
Guest editors and their remit
A guest editor is appointed for a collection and handles the manuscripts within it, under the same rules that apply to the journal’s own editors.
- Verification
- Proposed guest editors are checked against their published record and their institutional affiliation before appointment.
- What they do
- Guest editors shape the call, invite contributions, select reviewers and make recommendations on the manuscripts in their collection.
- Competing interests
- A guest editor declares competing interests in the subject at appointment, and stands aside from any manuscript where one would affect their judgment.
- Their own manuscripts
- A guest editor who is an author on a submission to their own collection takes no part in its assessment, which is handled by an independent editor from the journal.
- Final responsibility
- Every manuscript in a collection is reviewed independently and decided under the journal’s ordinary editorial authority. A proposal being accepted settles the collection, and each manuscript is settled on its own.
03 · Review
How papers in a collection are handled
All submissions undergo initial editorial screening. Manuscripts that meet the journal's scope and minimum requirements proceed to independent peer review.
A collection changes the topic, not the standard
Single-blind by default; double-blind review is available on request. Manuscripts that proceed to external peer review are normally evaluated by at least two independent subject-matter experts.
Editorial decisions are based on scope, scientific quality, methodological rigor, ethical compliance, reporting quality, and relevance to the journal.
Being invited to a collection, proposing one or guest-editing one carries no advantage in the review or acceptance of a manuscript. Every submission meets the same criteria as a regular submission to the journal.
The charge that applies to an accepted manuscript is the same in a collection as outside one, and is set by article type on the article processing charges page.
04 · Submitting
Submitting to a collection
Manuscripts for a collection are submitted through the journal’s ordinary routes, with the collection named in the cover letter so the editorial office can route them to the right guest editor.
Authors must use only one submission route for the same manuscript.
- Primary route — ManuscriptZoneThe journal’s submission system.oap.manuscriptzone.net
- Alternative route — Manuscript submission formA simple form that records the manuscript and its files, preset to this journal.openaccesspub.org/manuscript-submission-form
- Assisted route — Editorial officeAuthors who need assistance may write to the editorial office.[email protected]
There is also a dedicated special issue submission page, and collections already published are listed on the published special issues page.
Related pages
Working with the journal
A collection sits inside the journal’s ordinary subject coverage and is published under the same terms as everything else.