Special Issues and Guest Editors

1. Introduction

Magistra Andalusia: Jurnal Ilmu Sastra (MAJIS) recognises that special issues and guest-edited collections can provide an effective scholarly platform for addressing emerging themes, focused areas of literary studies, interdisciplinary questions, and topics of particular academic or social significance.

Special issues may bring together articles addressing a common theme while maintaining the journal's established standards of scholarly quality, peer review, publication ethics, editorial independence, and transparency. MAJIS may therefore publish special issues or themed collections when the proposed topic is consistent with the journal's scope and contributes meaningfully to literary studies and related fields.

MAJIS currently publishes research articles and conceptual papers in areas including literary studies, literary criticism, literary history, literary theory, literary teaching, and related interdisciplinary fields. The journal is published by Andalas University and operates as an open-access journal.

Special issues are subject to the same fundamental publication-ethics principles that apply to the journal's regular publications. A special issue must not be used to bypass the journal's normal editorial standards, peer review requirements, conflict-of-interest safeguards, authorship requirements, or procedures for addressing publication misconduct.

MAJIS developed this policy with reference to relevant principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and, in particular, the COPE Discussion Document Best Practices for Guest Edited Collections. Because that document is a COPE discussion document rather than a formal COPE guideline, it is used as a source of recommended good practice rather than represented as a mandatory COPE rule.

The journal also recognises the importance of maintaining editorial independence when guest editors are involved. Guest editors may contribute specialist expertise and thematic leadership, but ultimate responsibility for the journal's publication standards and editorial governance remains with the Editor-in-Chief and the journal's established editorial structure.

2. Description

2.1 Special Issues

A Special Issue is a collection of scholarly articles published within the journal and organised around a defined academic theme, research question, literary phenomenon, methodological approach, or interdisciplinary topic.

A special issue may be initiated by:

  • the Editor-in-Chief;

  • members of the editorial board;

  • the journal's editorial team;

  • qualified scholars proposing a thematic collection;

  • academic institutions or scholarly networks in collaboration with the journal; or

  • other appropriate scholarly initiatives approved by the journal.

A special issue must remain within the journal's aims and scope.

A special issue may be published as part of a regular issue or, where the journal determines that the publication structure permits it, as a clearly identified themed collection.

2.2 Guest Editors

A Guest Editor is a scholar appointed by MAJIS to provide thematic and editorial expertise for a special issue.

Guest editors may assist with:

  • developing the theme;

  • preparing the call for papers;

  • identifying potential contributors;

  • recommending qualified reviewers;

  • coordinating the review of manuscripts;

  • evaluating reviewer reports;

  • communicating with authors regarding revisions;

  • preparing introductory material for the collection; and

  • recommending manuscripts for further editorial consideration.

Guest editors do not replace the authority of the Editor-in-Chief.

The Editor-in-Chief retains ultimate responsibility for ensuring that:

  • the special issue is consistent with the journal's scope;

  • publication-ethics standards are applied;

  • conflicts of interest are managed;

  • peer review is conducted appropriately;

  • editorial decisions are independent;

  • publication misconduct is addressed; and

  • the integrity of the scholarly record is protected.

2.3 Relationship Between the Editor-in-Chief and Guest Editors

Guest editors operate within the editorial governance structure established by MAJIS.

The Editor-in-Chief may:

  • approve or reject a special-issue proposal;

  • appoint or decline to appoint guest editors;

  • define the responsibilities and authority of guest editors;

  • require additional peer review;

  • reassign manuscripts;

  • intervene where ethical or procedural concerns arise;

  • review or overturn a guest editor's recommendation where necessary; and

  • make the final publication decision where appropriate.

Guest editors must not represent their recommendations as final editorial decisions unless authority has explicitly been delegated by the Editor-in-Chief.

2.4 Scholarly Independence

The scholarly content of a special issue must be determined by academic merit rather than personal, institutional, political, commercial, financial, or other inappropriate interests.

Guest editors must not use their position to:

  • favour close colleagues;

  • favour members of their own institution;

  • promote their own publications;

  • increase their own citation counts;

  • create a predetermined publication outcome;

  • require unnecessary citations;

  • exclude legitimate scholarly perspectives;

  • manipulate peer review; or

  • publish material that would not satisfy the journal's normal editorial standards.

COPE identifies special and guest-edited collections as areas requiring particular attention to conflicts of interest, peer-review manipulation, excessive endogeny, citation manipulation, and inadequate ethical oversight.

3. Policy

3.1 Eligibility of Special Issues

MAJIS may consider a special issue when the proposed collection:

  1. falls within the journal's aims and scope;

  2. addresses a coherent and academically meaningful theme;

  3. has sufficient scholarly justification;

  4. is expected to attract appropriate scholarly contributions;

  5. can be managed within the journal's editorial capacity;

  6. can undergo appropriate peer review;

  7. does not compromise the journal's editorial independence; and

  8. can be managed consistently with the journal's publication-ethics policies.

A special issue proposal may be declined where the proposed theme is outside the journal's scope, lacks sufficient scholarly justification, creates unacceptable conflicts of interest, or cannot be managed with adequate editorial and peer-review oversight.

3.2 Approval of Special-Issue Proposals

No special issue should be publicly announced as an official MAJIS special issue before it has received appropriate editorial approval.

The proposal should normally contain:

  • proposed title or theme;

  • academic rationale;

  • relationship to the journal's aims and scope;

  • proposed guest editor(s);

  • institutional affiliations of guest editors;

  • proposed editorial responsibilities;

  • expected number of submissions;

  • proposed timetable;

  • proposed peer-review arrangements;

  • potential conflicts of interest;

  • proposed call-for-papers information; and

  • any other information requested by the Editor-in-Chief.

The Editor-in-Chief may request revisions to the proposal before approval.

3.3 Selection and Appointment of Guest Editors

Guest editors should be selected based on relevant scholarly expertise, professional integrity, editorial capacity, and familiarity with the proposed subject.

Potential guest editors should disclose:

  • current institutional affiliation;

  • relevant editorial appointments;

  • significant professional relationships;

  • relevant research collaborations;

  • financial or commercial interests;

  • relationships with likely contributors;

  • relationships with potential reviewers; and

  • other circumstances that could reasonably create a conflict of interest.

Appointment as guest editor is subject to approval by the Editor-in-Chief.

MAJIS may appoint one or more guest editors depending on the breadth and complexity of the special issue.

3.4 Guest Editor Responsibilities

Guest editors are expected to:

  • understand and comply with MAJIS publication policies;

  • maintain confidentiality;

  • disclose conflicts of interest;

  • promote appropriate scholarly contributions;

  • avoid discriminatory or preferential treatment;

  • assist in identifying suitable reviewers;

  • protect the integrity of the peer-review process;

  • assess reviewer reports carefully;

  • identify potential publication-ethics concerns;

  • communicate professionally with authors and reviewers;

  • avoid inappropriate citation practices;

  • avoid unnecessary concentration of articles from their own networks; and

  • cooperate with the Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Office.

Guest editors must not promise authors acceptance before peer review and editorial assessment have been completed.

3.5 Editorial Independence of Guest-Edited Collections

The involvement of guest editors does not alter MAJIS's editorial independence.

The journal's editorial decisions must not be determined by:

  • commercial sponsors;

  • funding arrangements;

  • institutional pressure;

  • conference organisers;

  • guest editors' personal preferences;

  • prospective authors;

  • citation objectives; or

  • anticipated publication volume.

Where the interests of a guest editor conflict with the journal's editorial standards, the Editor-in-Chief has authority to intervene.

3.6 Peer Review of Special-Issue Manuscripts

All manuscripts submitted to a special issue must be assessed according to MAJIS's established peer-review policy.

MAJIS currently uses a double-anonymous peer-review process, in which authors and reviewers are kept anonymous from one another. The journal's published peer-review policy states that manuscripts passing initial editorial assessment are assigned to at least two independent expert reviewers.

Participation in a special issue does not exempt a manuscript from peer review.

Guest editors must not:

  • personally guarantee acceptance;

  • bypass peer review;

  • select reviewers solely because they are likely to recommend acceptance;

  • pressure reviewers toward a predetermined outcome;

  • alter substantive reviewer recommendations without legitimate editorial justification; or

  • disclose confidential reviewer information.

Where a guest editor has a conflict of interest with a manuscript, the manuscript should be handled by an independent editor designated by the Editor-in-Chief.

3.7 Reviewer Selection

Reviewers for special issues should be selected according to the same standards applied to regular MAJIS submissions.

Reviewers should:

  • possess relevant expertise;

  • be sufficiently independent;

  • have no significant conflict of interest;

  • be capable of providing an objective assessment; and

  • be able to complete the review within the required timeframe.

Guest editors should not systematically select reviewers from their immediate professional networks.

Particular care should be taken where:

  • the guest editor has co-authored with a potential reviewer;

  • the guest editor and reviewer belong to the same institution;

  • the reviewer has a close professional relationship with the authors;

  • the reviewer has a competing research interest; or

  • the reviewer is directly involved in the special issue.

3.8 Guest Editor Manuscripts

Guest editors may submit their own manuscripts to a special issue only where permitted by the Editor-in-Chief and where an appropriate independent editorial and peer-review process can be guaranteed.

A guest editor must not:

  • handle their own manuscript;

  • select the reviewers for their own manuscript;

  • make the editorial decision on their own manuscript;

  • influence reviewers;

  • access confidential reviewer identities; or

  • use their guest-editor position to obtain preferential treatment.

The Editor-in-Chief or an independent editor designated by the Editor-in-Chief should handle such submissions.

The manuscript should be evaluated according to the same scholarly criteria as other submissions.

3.9 Articles by Members of the Guest Editor's Network

Special issues should avoid excessive concentration of articles authored by:

  • guest editors;

  • their close collaborators;

  • their current institutional colleagues;

  • former or current students or supervisors;

  • members of the same research group; or

  • other closely connected professional networks.

A legitimate concentration of expertise around a specialised topic does not automatically constitute misconduct. However, unusual levels of endogeny should be reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief to determine whether they could compromise the independence or credibility of the collection.

COPE's guest-edited collection discussion document specifically identifies excessive endogeny as one of the risks requiring attention in special issues.

3.10 Conflicts of Interest

All guest editors must disclose actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest.

Conflicts may arise from:

  • financial relationships;

  • institutional relationships;

  • recent co-authorship;

  • research collaboration;

  • supervisory relationships;

  • close personal relationships;

  • professional competition;

  • shared grants;

  • commercial interests;

  • strong intellectual commitments; or

  • other circumstances that may reasonably affect editorial impartiality.

Where a conflict exists, the guest editor must recuse themselves from the relevant editorial decision.

The Editor-in-Chief will appoint an alternative editor where necessary.

This requirement is consistent with MAJIS's broader Conflict of Interest Policy, which requires authors, reviewers, and editors to disclose relevant conflicts and recuse themselves where appropriate.

3.11 Authorship and Contributorship

Guest editors must not influence authorship decisions improperly.

All authors of special-issue manuscripts must satisfy MAJIS's authorship requirements.

Guest editors must not:

  • require authorship as a condition of acceptance;

  • offer authorship in exchange for favourable review;

  • add honorary authors;

  • remove legitimate contributors without appropriate justification; or

  • manipulate contributor statements.

Any authorship dispute must be handled according to the journal's Authorship and Contributorship Policy.

3.12 Citation Practices

Guest editors and contributors must not use the special issue to manipulate citations.

Citation recommendations must be based on legitimate scholarly relevance.

The following practices are prohibited:

  • requiring authors to cite the guest editor's work without scholarly justification;

  • requiring excessive citations to articles in MAJIS;

  • coordinating citations among contributors;

  • creating citation exchanges for metric manipulation; and

  • encouraging citations primarily to increase the visibility or ranking of the special issue.

Relevant literature should be cited because it contributes substantively to the manuscript.

3.13 Call for Papers

A call for papers for a special issue should provide sufficient information for prospective authors to understand:

  • the special-issue theme;

  • its relationship to MAJIS's scope;

  • types of manuscripts invited;

  • submission requirements;

  • submission deadline;

  • peer-review process;

  • expected publication schedule, where known;

  • guest editor identities;

  • relevant ethical requirements; and

  • the fact that submission does not guarantee acceptance.

The call for papers must not contain language implying guaranteed acceptance.

3.14 Invitations and Solicited Manuscripts

Guest editors may invite scholars to submit manuscripts to a special issue.

An invitation does not constitute an acceptance decision.

Invited manuscripts must:

  • meet the journal's submission requirements;

  • fall within the approved theme;

  • undergo appropriate editorial assessment;

  • undergo peer review where applicable; and

  • comply with all MAJIS publication-ethics policies.

Invitation alone must not result in preferential editorial treatment.

3.15 Research Integrity and Publication Misconduct

Special-issue manuscripts are subject to the same standards concerning:

  • plagiarism;

  • redundant publication;

  • text recycling;

  • fabrication;

  • falsification;

  • inappropriate image manipulation;

  • authorship misconduct;

  • citation manipulation;

  • undisclosed conflicts of interest;

  • unethical research;

  • peer-review manipulation; and

  • other forms of publication misconduct.

MAJIS's existing Publication Ethics policy expressly identifies peer-review manipulation, authorship issues, citation manipulation, plagiarism, and other forms of misconduct as matters subject to investigation.

Suspected misconduct must be referred to the Editor-in-Chief or the designated research-integrity function rather than being handled informally by the guest editor.

3.16 Peer-Review Manipulation

Because special issues may involve concentrated networks of authors, reviewers, and editors, MAJIS will take particular care to identify possible peer-review manipulation.

Potential warning signs may include:

  • unusual reviewer suggestions;

  • reviewers using unverifiable identities;

  • repeated use of the same reviewers for unrelated manuscripts;

  • reviewer email addresses that cannot be independently verified;

  • unusually similar reviewer reports;

  • suspiciously rapid reviews;

  • coordinated reviewer recommendations;

  • strong reviewer-author connections that were not disclosed; or

  • other evidence suggesting manipulation.

Where concerns arise, the Editor-in-Chief may:

  • suspend the affected review process;

  • appoint new reviewers;

  • exclude compromised reviews;

  • require additional editorial assessment;

  • investigate the matter under the journal's Allegations of Misconduct Policy; or

  • take other appropriate action.

COPE identifies systematic manipulation of peer review as a particular risk in guest-edited collections.

3.17 Special-Issue Editorial Introduction

A special issue may include an editorial introduction or introductory article explaining:

  • the purpose of the collection;

  • the scholarly theme;

  • the relationship between the contributions;

  • the significance of the topic; and

  • the principal scholarly contribution of the collection.

Any such editorial contribution must be clearly identified as an editorial or other appropriate article type.

Where a guest editor authors the introduction, the contribution should disclose the guest editor's role and any relevant conflicts of interest.

3.18 Generative AI

Guest editors, reviewers, and authors participating in a special issue must comply with MAJIS's Generative AI Usage Policy.

In particular:

  • confidential manuscripts must not be uploaded to unauthorised external AI systems;

  • guest editors must maintain human oversight of editorial decisions;

  • AI systems must not replace scholarly editorial judgment;

  • authors must disclose relevant generative-AI use in accordance with the journal's policy;

  • AI tools cannot be listed as authors; and

  • confidential reviewer information must not be exposed to external AI systems.

MAJIS's current AI policy establishes human accountability, transparency, confidentiality, and protection of manuscript and peer-review materials as core principles.

3.19 Special-Issue Titles and Branding

Special-issue titles should clearly indicate the relationship between the collection and MAJIS.

The use of MAJIS's name, logo, or other journal branding must follow the journal's established intellectual-property and editorial requirements.

Guest editors must not represent an independently organised collection as an official MAJIS publication before formal approval has been granted.

3.20 Publication Schedule

MAJIS is published twice annually, in March and September.

Special issues should therefore be planned in coordination with the journal's publication schedule.

Any proposed publication date is subject to:

  • completion of editorial assessment;

  • completion of peer review;

  • satisfactory revision;

  • final acceptance;

  • production requirements; and

  • resolution of any outstanding ethical or administrative concerns.

A special issue should not be rushed into publication merely to meet a previously announced date.

3.21 Withdrawal or Cancellation of a Special Issue

MAJIS may postpone, modify, merge, or cancel a proposed special issue when:

  • insufficient suitable manuscripts are received;

  • the manuscripts do not meet the journal's standards;

  • peer review cannot be conducted adequately;

  • serious ethical concerns arise;

  • a guest editor becomes unavailable;

  • conflicts of interest cannot be appropriately managed;

  • the proposed theme is no longer appropriate;

  • the collection falls outside the journal's scope; or

  • other circumstances threaten the integrity of the publication.

Where a special issue is cancelled after manuscripts have been submitted, affected authors should be informed and, where appropriate, offered the opportunity to have their manuscripts considered through the journal's regular editorial process.

3.22 Corrections, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern

Articles published in a special issue remain part of the permanent scholarly record and are subject to MAJIS's normal post-publication policies.

Where a published special-issue article requires:

  • a correction;

  • an editorial note;

  • an Expression of Concern;

  • a retraction; or

  • another post-publication action,

the journal will apply its established Post-Publication Discussions and Corrections and Retraction and Expression of Concern policies.

The fact that an article appeared in a special issue does not create a separate or less rigorous standard for post-publication correction.

4. Technicalities to Achieve and Materialise the Policies

A. Special-Issue Proposal

A prospective special issue should be submitted to the Editor-in-Chief using a proposal containing, at minimum:

  1. Proposed special-issue title.

  2. Academic rationale.

  3. Description of the central theme.

  4. Relationship to MAJIS's aims and scope.

  5. Names and affiliations of proposed guest editors.

  6. Relevant scholarly expertise of the proposed guest editors.

  7. Proposed types of manuscripts.

  8. Expected number of contributions.

  9. Proposed call-for-papers timetable.

  10. Proposed review timetable.

  11. Potential conflicts of interest.

  12. Proposed publication schedule.

  13. Any relevant institutional or funding relationships.

The Editor-in-Chief may request additional information before making a decision.

B. Guest Editor Appointment

Before appointment, each guest editor should provide:

  • full name;

  • institutional affiliation;

  • professional contact information;

  • relevant academic expertise;

  • current editorial appointments;

  • relevant publication record;

  • declaration of conflicts of interest; and

  • confirmation of willingness to comply with MAJIS editorial and publication-ethics policies.

The appointment should be documented by the Editorial Office.

C. Guest Editor Agreement

MAJIS may require appointed guest editors to acknowledge the following responsibilities:

Guest Editor Declaration

I agree to comply with the editorial, peer-review, publication-ethics, confidentiality, conflict-of-interest, authorship, copyright, and research-integrity policies of Magistra Andalusia: Jurnal Ilmu Sastra (MAJIS).

I understand that my role as Guest Editor does not replace the authority of the Editor-in-Chief and that all manuscripts remain subject to the journal's established editorial and peer-review standards.

I will disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest and will recuse myself from relevant editorial decisions where appropriate.

I will not promise acceptance to prospective authors, manipulate peer review, require inappropriate citations, or provide preferential treatment to colleagues, collaborators, institutional affiliates, or other contributors.

I will maintain the confidentiality of manuscripts, reviewer identities, editorial correspondence, and other information obtained through the editorial process.

I will report suspected publication misconduct or research-integrity concerns to the Editor-in-Chief and will cooperate with any subsequent investigation.

I understand that the Editor-in-Chief retains ultimate responsibility for the integrity and editorial standards of the special issue.

D. Call-for-Papers Approval

Before publication, the call for papers should be reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief or a designated editorial representative.

The Editorial Office should verify:

  • accuracy of the journal's name;

  • accuracy of the journal's scope;

  • identity and affiliation of guest editors;

  • submission procedures;

  • submission deadline;

  • peer-review information;

  • absence of guaranteed-acceptance language;

  • consistency with MAJIS policies; and

  • appropriate contact information.

E. Manuscript Submission

Manuscripts submitted to a special issue should enter the journal's established submission system.

Each manuscript should be assigned a unique editorial record.

The Editorial Office should identify the manuscript as belonging to the relevant special issue while maintaining the same standards of manuscript screening and editorial record keeping applied to regular submissions.

F. Editorial Screening

Before peer review, the manuscript should undergo the journal's normal initial assessment, including where applicable:

  • scope assessment;

  • originality and plagiarism screening;

  • basic manuscript-compliance checking;

  • ethical screening;

  • conflict-of-interest assessment;

  • authorship assessment; and

  • assessment of whether the manuscript is suitable for peer review.

The existence of a special issue must not prevent the manuscript from being rejected at the editorial screening stage when it does not meet the journal's requirements.

MAJIS currently uses Turnitin for plagiarism screening and states that manuscripts reaching a similarity level of 25% or higher are rejected.

G. Reviewer Assignment

Reviewer selection should consider:

  • expertise;

  • independence;

  • availability;

  • conflicts of interest;

  • prior collaboration with authors;

  • institutional relationships;

  • prior involvement in the special issue; and

  • potential peer-review manipulation risks.

Where the guest editor proposes reviewers, the Editor-in-Chief or Editorial Office may independently verify their suitability.

H. Manuscripts Authored by Guest Editors

For manuscripts authored or co-authored by a guest editor:

  1. The guest editor must disclose the conflict.

  2. The guest editor must not handle the manuscript.

  3. An independent editor must oversee the manuscript.

  4. Reviewers must be selected independently.

  5. The guest editor must not have access to confidential reviewer identities.

  6. The final decision must be made by the independent handling editor or Editor-in-Chief.

The same principle should apply to manuscripts involving close professional collaborators where the guest editor's impartiality could reasonably be questioned.

I. Monitoring for Endogeny

The Editorial Office should monitor the proportion of manuscripts involving:

  • guest editors;

  • their institutions;

  • close collaborators;

  • members of the same research group; or

  • other closely connected networks.

A high concentration should not automatically be treated as misconduct. However, it should trigger editorial review of whether the collection remains sufficiently independent and representative of the relevant scholarship.

J. Monitoring for Citation Manipulation

The Editorial Office and guest editors should monitor unusual citation patterns, including:

  • systematic citation of guest editors' publications;

  • unusually high concentration of MAJIS citations;

  • reciprocal citation arrangements;

  • citations with little substantive relevance; and

  • instructions to authors to cite specific publications without scholarly justification.

Where such practices are suspected, the Editor-in-Chief should assess the matter independently.

K. Ethical Escalation

Guest editors should immediately refer serious concerns to the Editor-in-Chief rather than attempting to resolve them privately.

Concerns that should be escalated include:

  • suspected fabrication or falsification;

  • substantial plagiarism;

  • duplicate publication;

  • authorship disputes;

  • peer-review manipulation;

  • suspicious reviewer identities;

  • undisclosed conflicts of interest;

  • unethical research;

  • inappropriate image manipulation;

  • suspicious citation practices; and

  • other publication-integrity concerns.

The journal's Allegations of Misconduct Policy should govern formal investigation.

L. Final Editorial Approval

Before publication of the special issue, the Editor-in-Chief or designated senior editor should verify:

  1. that all included manuscripts have undergone appropriate editorial assessment;

  2. that required peer reviews have been completed;

  3. that conflicts of interest have been addressed;

  4. that publication-ethics concerns have been resolved;

  5. that authorship information is complete;

  6. that required revisions have been satisfactorily completed;

  7. that publication metadata are accurate;

  8. that the special issue remains within the approved scope; and

  9. that the collection is ready for publication.

Final publication should not be authorised solely by the guest editor.

M. Disclosure of Guest Editors

The journal should publicly identify guest editors associated with an approved special issue.

The disclosure should normally include:

  • guest editor name;

  • institutional affiliation;

  • editorial role; and

  • special-issue title or theme.

The journal should not disclose confidential information about peer reviewers or editorial deliberations.

N. Record Keeping

The Editorial Office should retain appropriate records relating to each special issue, including:

  • approved proposal;

  • guest-editor appointment;

  • conflict-of-interest declarations;

  • call-for-papers materials;

  • manuscript records;

  • reviewer records;

  • editorial decisions;

  • correspondence;

  • ethical investigations, where applicable;

  • final publication records; and

  • post-publication actions.

Records should be maintained in accordance with the journal's general record-retention and publication-ethics procedures.

O. Guest Editor Replacement

The Editor-in-Chief may replace a guest editor when the guest editor:

  • becomes unavailable;

  • fails to fulfil agreed responsibilities;

  • fails to disclose a relevant conflict;

  • breaches confidentiality;

  • attempts to manipulate peer review;

  • engages in inappropriate citation practices;

  • violates MAJIS publication-ethics policies; or

  • otherwise compromises the integrity of the special issue.

Where possible, the journal should ensure continuity of the editorial process without disadvantaging authors whose manuscripts are already under consideration.

P. Special-Issue Completion

A special issue should be considered complete only after:

  • all included articles have received final editorial approval;

  • publication metadata have been verified;

  • ethical concerns have been resolved;

  • the guest editor's introductory material, where applicable, has been approved;

  • articles have been prepared for publication; and

  • the collection has been formally released through the MAJIS publication platform.

5. Relationship with Other MAJIS Policies

This policy should be read together with the following MAJIS policies:

  • Journal Management and Editorial Independence

  • Peer Review Process

  • Reviewer Ethics and Responsibilities

  • Conflicts of Interest

  • Authorship and Contributorship

  • Allegations of Misconduct

  • Plagiarism, Redundant Publication, and Text Recycling

  • Ethical Oversight

  • Generative AI

  • Intellectual Property, Copyright, and Licensing

  • Post-Publication Discussions and Corrections

  • Retraction and Expression of Concern

  • Complaints and Appeals

Where another MAJIS policy establishes a more specific requirement, that policy should be applied to the relevant matter.

6. Final Statement

Special issues and guest-edited collections are valuable mechanisms for developing focused scholarly discussions and bringing together research on emerging or specialised themes. However, the thematic nature of a collection must not reduce the editorial, peer-review, or publication-ethics standards applied by Magistra Andalusia: Jurnal Ilmu Sastra.

All special-issue manuscripts remain subject to the journal's established editorial assessment and peer-review requirements. Guest editors are entrusted with specialist editorial responsibilities but remain accountable to the journal's editorial governance structure and must operate independently, transparently, and ethically.

Particular attention should be given to conflicts of interest, reviewer independence, excessive concentration of contributions from closely connected networks, inappropriate citation practices, peer-review manipulation, and other forms of publication misconduct. These risks do not mean that special issues are inherently problematic; rather, they require appropriate safeguards to preserve confidence in the scholarly record.

The Editor-in-Chief retains ultimate responsibility for ensuring that special issues are consistent with the journal's aims, scope, publication-ethics standards, and editorial independence.

MAJIS developed this policy with reference to relevant COPE resources, including the COPE Discussion Document: Best Practices for Guest Edited Collections. The journal recognises that this resource is a discussion document intended to encourage development of good practice and should not be represented as a formal COPE policy or as evidence of COPE endorsement or certification.

The policy will be reviewed periodically and revised when necessary to reflect developments in scholarly publishing, publication ethics, editorial practice, and the journal's own publishing operations.

Relevant COPE Resources

  • Best Practices for Guest Edited Collections — COPE Discussion Document, Version 1, May 2023.

  • Guidance on Editorial Board Participation — COPE Guideline, including responsibilities of editors involved in special issues and management of editorial conflicts.

  • Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing — relevant to transparency of editorial governance, peer review, and publishing practices.