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Call for special issues

The International Journal of Care and Caring (IJCC) aims to publish one Special Issue per year.  Proposals are now invited for Special Issues, in the format described below, for consideration by the Editors in July 2022. 

Deadline for proposal submissions: 15 July 2022

The Editors will announce their initial decisions on proposals received, and indicate those accepted for development and planned publication, by 31 July 2022.

Proposers should state if their target publication date is February 2024 or February 2025.

What are we looking for in an International Journal of Care and Caring Special Issue?

  • The aim of a Special Issue is to bring together a set of cutting-edge research articles that develops a specific debate or topic on a theme relevant to the remit of the International Journal of Care and Caring. This may include articles presenting theoretical, conceptual and/or empirical material.
  • A Special Issue must be integrated around a common theme, and must take forward scholarly debate.
  • It may be internationally comparative or may focus on one specific region of the world.

 

How to present a Special Issue proposal for the International Journal of Care and Caring

A special issue proposal must include ALL the following information:

  1. Title: This should clearly reflect the field and content of the proposed Special Issue.
  2. Details of guest editor(s): Provide contact details, institutional affiliations, and a short academic profile (of up to 150 words) for each proposed guest editor.
  3. Description: In no more than 750 words, outline the intellectual focus of the proposed Special Issue, stating how its proposed content engages with significant issues, and the contribution it will make to the field of care and caring.
  4. Draft contents page: This should set out the structure of the Special Issue, listing the titles and authors of each proposed article and stating clearly whether named contributors are already confirmed, or are speculative. It should also include plans for the Debates and Issues and Reviews sections of the issue. These are distinctive features of the International Journal of Care and Caring, and proposals which do not include plans for these will not be accepted.
  5. Article abstracts: A 150-word abstract for each article to be included in the collection must be provided. NOTE: A Special Issue of IJCC can contain 6-8 research articles, each of approx. 6,000 - 8,000 words. Proposers should aim to include 8-12 abstracts for consideration.
  6. Editorial Article written by the guest editor(s): Special Issues must include an editor(s)’ introduction of approximately 8,000 words. Guest editors should confirm their intention to provide an Editorial Article which must be accepted for publication by 15 December in the year before planned publication in February.
  7. IJCC Debates and Issues section Proposers should indicate how they will ensure items relevant to the theme of the Special Issue will secured for this section of the journal, by suggesting topics and names and affiliations of potential contributors. (D&I abstracts are not required at this stage)
  8. Reviews Section: Proposers should list at least 3 recently published or forthcoming books, and one international conference relevant to the topic of the Special Issue, that can be considered for review.
  9. Timetable statement: Please include your timetable for initial submission, review, re-submission, copyediting, etc. For publication in February 2024, all copy will need to be accepted and in production by 30 November 2023. Securing a full set of papers and other items usually takes 12-15 months from invitation to progress the Special Issue to acceptance. Guest editors will need to keep to agreed timescales. Peer reviewed papers normally require at least one set of revisions, and allowance must be made for review processes and for authors to amend drafts of their papers.
  10. Maximising impact: Please consider how you intend to promote and disseminate the Special Issue (blogs, events, conferences, other social media, etc.). An editorial statement outlining ten useful ‘top tips for impact’ is available at: http://policypress.co.uk/journals/maximise-your-impact

 

How will proposals be assessed?

A Special Issue selection committee, comprising four IJCC Editors, will review all proposals received and make decisions based on the following criteria:

  1. International appeal
    This is vital given the focus of the journal.
  2. Intellectual significance, originality and rigour
    - Does the proposal seek to challenge dominant assumptions?
    - Will it set the agenda in terms of future debates? 
    - Does it have novel, timely or innovative dimensions?
    - Does it aim to fill a significant gap in the current literature?
  3. Profile of contributors
    IJCC is committed to supporting scholars from all backgrounds, disciplines and parts of the world. Proposals that include a mix of established scholars and ‘rising stars’, and which are internationally inclusive, are particularly welcome.
  4. Guest Editors
    - Are the proposed guest editors experts in the field?
    - Do they have a track record of producing cutting-edge research?
    - Is their timetable realistic?
    - Have they explained how they will steer and manage the development of the Special Issue?
    - Do they have the time and capacity to dedicate the required level of attention to this project?


The editorial process
If a proposal is accepted, a time-line and memorandum of agreement will be established (based on previous successful practice in Policy Press journals). It is vital that agreed timelines are met. 

Guest editor(s) will be expected to manage the process of:
a) Initially considering papers.
b) Identifying peer reviewers and, using the journal’s ‘Editorial Manager’ (EM) system, sending papers out to review, in consultation with IJCC’s editors, (training in using EM will be provided).
c) Communicating peer reviewers’ comments to the authors, via the EM system.
d) Deciding whether revised papers need to be reviewed again.
e) Making a provisional decision to accept or reject and conveying this, via EM, to the Editor in Chief.

The Editors will aim to publish the Special Issue according to the original agreed timeline, but proposers should note, and inform all potential contributors, that IJCC’s Editors may decide to:

  • Run the Special Issue in a later issue than originally planned.
  • Accept only some of the papers and put them instead in a Themed Issue that also includes papers from elsewhere.
  • Accept only one or two papers and present them as regular contributions to the journal.
  • Decide that none of the papers meets the quality standards or targeted content of the journal.


ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FOR PROPOSERS

Past Special or Themed Issues of the International Journal of Care and Caring have focused on:

2018: Variations and Innovations in Care and Care Work: critical perspectives, [Themed Issue] guest edited by Karen Christensen and Yueh-Ching Chou

2018 SI: The Care Ethics Moment: international innovations, guest editor Maurice Hamington

2019 SI: Cross-cultural Contexts of Eldercare and Caring: theory, research and policy, guest editors Ruth Katz and Ariela Lowenstein

2020 SI: Care Ethics Thinks the Political, guest edited by Sophie Bourgault and Fiona Robinson

2021 SI: The Changing Character of Care Work: new risks and responses, guest edited by Janette Dill and Katherine Ravenswood

2022 SI: Care, Caring and the Global COVID-19 Pandemic, guest edited by Joan Tronto and Michael Fine - (double) Special Issue

2023 SI: Family Caregiving of Older People in Southern African Countries (in preparation)

IJCC has also published themed sections in other IJCC issues on the topic:

Care and Caring in Global Perspective: migration, care deficits and new understandings of 'care'. 

_______________________________________________________________________________

We welcome proposals on any topic relevant to IJCC’s remit for the 2024 and 2025 Special Issues.

Decisions will be taken based on the selection committee’s judgment of the overall merit of each proposal, the contribution it would be likely to make to the broad field of care and caring, and to IJCC’s reputation and international standing.

Proposals addressing the following topics are particularly encouraged.

  • Care and technology
  • Young and/or young adult carers
  • Transnational care
  • Care relationships
  • The public and private costs of care
  • Care inequalities
  • Care and migration

Informal queries prior to submission of a proposal may be sent to the Editors via the journal’s email address: ijcc@sheffield.ac.uk. [Please do NOT send proposals or queries to individual Editors.]

Prof Sue Yeandle, PhD FAcSS, Editor-in-Chief, International Journal of Care and Caring, March 2022.