Peer-Reviewed · Open Access · Multidisciplinary

Guest Editor Guidelines

Guest Editors play a key role in the editorial and peer-review process at the International Journal of Social World (IJSW). In taking on this role, Guest Editors are expected to act with independence, fairness, confidentiality, and academic integrity at every stage of manuscript handling. For special issues and collections addressing sociology, social research, community studies, social policy, human behaviour, and related fields, Guest Editors should ensure that manuscripts are assessed according to appropriate scholarly and ethical standards.

Editorial Independence and Impartiality

Every editorial decision should rest on the manuscript's academic merit — its originality, relevance, methodological rigor, and contribution to social-science knowledge. Personal, professional, financial, or institutional interests should never improperly influence that judgment.

Guest Editors should assess manuscripts objectively, regardless of the authors' institutional affiliations, professional status, personal backgrounds, or social and political perspectives.

If a Guest Editor has a conflict of interest with a manuscript, they must disclose it and step back from handling that submission where appropriate.

Conflicts of Interest

A conflict of interest can arise from any relationship — personal, professional, financial, academic, or institutional — that might reasonably influence editorial judgment. Common examples include:

• A recent or ongoing collaboration with one of the authors
• A close personal or professional relationship with an author
• A direct supervisory or institutional connection
• An unresolved academic or professional dispute
• A financial or commercial stake in the manuscript's subject matter
• A relationship with a community organization, research sponsor, or institution that could reasonably affect impartial assessment of the research

Confidentiality

Everything encountered during the editorial process — manuscripts, reviewer reports, correspondence, research data, and editorial discussions — is confidential. Guest Editors must not share this information with unauthorized parties or use it for personal, professional, financial, or competitive gain.

The Peer-Review Process

IJSW uses a structured double-blind peer-review process, with each manuscript typically evaluated by two or more independent reviewers with relevant expertise. Guest Editors are responsible for selecting appropriately qualified reviewers and ensuring the process runs fairly and confidentially, free from undue influence.

For manuscripts concerning sociology, social structures, community experiences, social inequality, demographic trends, social policy, surveys, interviews, or other forms of social research, Guest Editors should seek reviewers with suitable subject knowledge and methodological expertise.

Guest Editors should also consider relevant research-ethics issues, including informed consent, participant privacy, confidentiality, and appropriate ethical oversight, where applicable. Any concerns should be referred to the appropriate editorial authority for consideration.

What Reviewers Assess

Manuscripts are evaluated, where applicable, on:

• Originality and contribution to the field
• Methodology and research design
• Validity of data, analysis, and conclusions
• Clarity and organization
• Quality and relevance of cited references
• Ethical compliance, including relevant considerations for human-participant research
• Appropriate interpretation and reporting of survey results, interview findings, and other social research evidence, where applicable

Editorial Decisions

Based on reviewer feedback and the Guest Editor's overall assessment, a manuscript may receive one of the following recommendations:

• Accept
• Minor Revisions
• Major Revisions
• Reject

Authors asked to revise their work should receive clear guidance and a reasonable window to resubmit.

Guest Editors should ensure that recommendations are supported by the manuscript's scholarly quality, the reviewers' assessments, and relevant ethical considerations. Manuscripts should not be recommended for acceptance or rejection on the basis of personal relationships, commercial interests, or unrelated institutional pressures.

Publication Ethics and Misconduct

Guest Editors are expected to safeguard research and publication integrity, and to flag any concerns — including plagiarism, duplicate publication, data fabrication or falsification, authorship disputes, peer-review manipulation, undisclosed conflicts of interest, or improper AI use — in line with IJSW policy.

For social research, concerns may also involve misrepresentation of survey findings, inappropriate handling of interview data, questionable participant consent, unauthorized disclosure of identifiable information, or other issues affecting research ethics and integrity.

Depending on the circumstances and available evidence, concerns may lead to a request for clarification, rejection, correction, retraction, or other appropriate editorial action in accordance with the journal's applicable policies.

Reviewer Responsibilities

Reviewers are expected to:

• Keep all manuscript information confidential
• Give objective, constructive feedback
• Disclose any conflicts of interest
• Never use confidential review material for personal benefit
• Complete reviews within the agreed timeframe
• Handle participant-related information and sensitive social research data confidentially
• Assess research methods, findings, and ethical considerations fairly and within their area of expertise

Responsible Use of the Editorial System

Anyone using the IJSW submission and review platform must not manipulate the peer-review process, submit false reviewer information, access manuscripts without authorization, improperly share peer-review information, or otherwise interfere with editorial decisions or system operations.

Guest Editors should ensure that editorial system access is used only for authorized purposes and that manuscript files, reviewer details, correspondence, and other confidential information are handled responsibly.

Editorial Records

IJSW may retain editorial and peer-review records for legitimate purposes related to quality control, publication ethics, and recordkeeping, consistent with applicable privacy and data-protection requirements and the journal's Privacy Policy.

Such records may include editorial recommendations, reviewer reports, manuscript correspondence, and relevant documentation concerning research integrity or ethical concerns. Records containing personal or sensitive research information should be handled with appropriate confidentiality.