Special issues (or theme issues) are sets of closely related papers that are considered of sufficient importance to be published as a group. Frequently, special issues consist of invited manuscripts written specifically to focus on aspects of emerging subdisciplines or issues in a specific field, which the editor would like to showcase. Other special issues may highlight papers from particularly meritorious conference sessions that were not published as proceedings. Special issues should be carefully chosen, ideally to benchmark the state of the art of the discipline they represent.
Most special issues are guided by a special issue editor, whose duty is to knit the contributions into a coherent whole. The special issue editor is also responsible for working closely with both the journal editor and the ASCE journal services staff to ensure that every paper in the special issue receives the same rigorous review and meets the same submission requirements as every other article published in ASCE journals.
This section outlines the role and specific responsibilities of the journal editor and the special issue editor in the production of a special issue. Journal editors considering special issues should inform the Journal Services staff immediately; likewise, special issue editors should contact the Managing Editor, Journals, as soon as they begin work on the special issue.
Role of the Journal Editor
In most instances, the journal editor conceives the special issue and develops a plan in cooperation with ASCE journals staff to bring the issue to fruition. In addition, the journal editor is responsible for overseeing all stages of implementation of the issue’s timeline. A journal editor may act as the special issue editor or may delegate this responsibility to a special issue editor. If the candidate to be special issue editor is not already an associate editor or member of the editorial board for that journal, then the journal editor also must appoint a member of the board to work with the special issue editor and function as co-editor, in practice if not in title. The planning stages for a special issue normally involve both the journal editor and special issue editor.
Duties of the Journal Editor
Given the complexity of producing special issues, a journal editor should inform the Managing Editor, Journals, of plans for special issues about two years in advance. This lead time is essential to ensure that all of the following tasks are completed efficiently and in proper order.
- ASCE staff must send author-information packages to the special issue editor for distribution to potential contributors, thereby ensuring that manuscripts are prepared in proper format and that authors have provided essential contact information early in the production cycle.
- ASCE staff will reserve space in the journal. Staff begin to schedule issues 4 to 5 months in advance of publication, so without proper planning the most desirable time slot may be unavailable.
- The page budget for the sponsoring journal may need to be increased to accommodate a special issue, particularly if a backlog of papers already is awaiting publication. ASCE journal staff submits final page budgets in March for the coming year to the Board Publications Committee for approval. Note that special issues are not conference proceedings — they must fit within a normal-sized issue unless otherwise approved by ASCE in advance.
- ASCE Publications' Marketing Department occasionally wishes to market a special issue as a book. Enough lead time must be given to enable Marketing to develop a marketing plan and the associated literature.
See also the Journal Editor's Checklist for Special Issues and the Timeline for Special Issues.
Role of the Special Issue Editor
The special issue editor functions like the journal editor, overseeing the development and review of articles for the special issue. Special issue editors are bound by the same ethical responsibilities as the editor, as outlined in Ethical Standards for ASCE Journals. Special issue editors who are not also journal editors should consult other resources for editors on this Web site.
Duties of the Special Issue Editor
Working in conjunction with the journal editor and the Managing Editor, Journals, the special issue editor develops a timeline for acquiring and reviewing manuscripts and for producing the special issue.
Once the timeline is established, the journal editor or special issue editor invites authors to submit manuscripts and provides authors with instructions for manuscript preparation and a production schedule with deadlines. (A sample invitation letter can be provided by ASCE.) The invitation letter should direct authors to the journal's Web site for submission guidelines and instructions for preparing manuscripts. Failure to comply with submission instructions will delay assignment of manuscripts to reviewers.
As authors complete their manuscripts, they will submit them as PDF files through an eroom or the online submission system, depending on the sponsoring journal. At this point, manuscripts will be assigned a tracking number and assessed for quality control purposes. The tracking number is absolutely necessary so that ASCE Journal Services can monitor the progress of manuscripts through review and prompt editors and authors if a paper falls behind schedule.
Once the tracking number has been assigned, the manuscripts will be turned over to the special issue editor, who will coordinate and oversee their peer review. Note that when special issue editors are submitting manuscripts for the special issue, their papers must be assigned to the journal editor or the special issue co-editor for review.
During review and acceptance of papers, the special issue editor is responsible for the following tasks:
- Recording manuscripts as they come in from ASCE journals staff. A simple Excel spreadsheet can track the progress of each manuscript through review.
- Selecting two or three reviewers for each manuscript, according to the journal’s custom. With three reviewers, split decisions are avoided because there is always a tiebreaking review. Soliciting three reviews can tie up more reviewers than necessary, however. Reviewers should be given a deadline for submission of their reviews.
- Obtaining prompt reviews — ASCE aims to to have reviews performed in 90 days.
- Checking reviews to see that reviewers followed ASCE policies and procedures and evaluating the results. Two positive reviews are required to accept a paper, and two negative reviews to reject it.
- Submitting an Editor's Summary Review Form that is consistent with the individual reviews for each manuscript. Decisions may be mailed, faxed, or emailed to ASCE journals staff. The decision package for each paper should include the summary review, individual reviews, and any marked manuscripts to ASCE for transmission to the author.
- Working closely with ASCE journals staff as papers are marked for acceptance. This is crucial for timely production of the special issue, because ASCE journals staff performs a formatting and integrity check of the manuscript when it is accepted for publication. When ASCE sends the reviews and acceptance notification, they also enclose a checklist of required corrections and instructions for preparing and submitting a revised or final manuscript.
- Arranging rereview of manuscripts, when necessary. ASCE will forward revised manuscripts to the special issue editor, along with the author’s response to the reviewers’ criticisms.
See also the Special Issue Editor's Checklist and the Author's Checklist for Final Manuscripts.
Special issue editors have one final task: writing an introductory paper that identifies the special issue’s purpose and describes how the papers fit the theme. This introductory paper should review the current state of knowledge on the topic, explain how the issue’s contents advance that knowledge, and point out needed or likely future lines of research.
Scheduling Publication
Once all the manuscripts for a special issue are in final form, Managing Editor, Journals, will schedule a publication date. All manuscripts must be in final form before the special issue can be scheduled to avoid the risk of a special issue failing to materialize at the last minute, thus requiring the hasty substitution of replacement papers.