Requirements for Authors

There are three steps for submitting an article:

  1. Prepare the manuscript for peer review according to the guidelines, rules and conditions outlined below;
  2. Submit the article to the editors’ email;
  3. Submit the required files after publication acceptance.

Conditions for article submission:

As part of the paper submission process, authors are asked to check compliance with the following conditions:

  1. The contribution has not been published previously, nor was it sent to another journal. If the text is based on previously published results, the complete reference to the original text must be inserted in the References Section or as endnote.
  2. Text formatting complies with the requirements outlined below.
  3. Bibliographic references comply with the requirements

In case of non-compliance with these conditions the article will be returned to the author. Articles can be resubmitted when the conditions are met.

How to submit texts?

Interested authors are asked to send a message with the subject CfP: Name Surname, as well as a complete CV, including a list of publications and research interests at contact [at] inovatiasociala [dot] com. Please send any questions to Alexandra Gheondea at alexandra.gheondea [at] googlemail [dot] com.

Who can publish?

The Social Innovation online Journal (RIS) invites PhD students, young researchers, and accomplished researchers to join its efforts for the popularization of the social sciences. Interested authors can join by:
submitting stand-alone texts,
submitting section proposals and committing to send their contributions on a regular basis.
The frequency of publications will be mutually agreed (at least once every two months) for a period of one year.

What kind of articles can be published?

Texts can fall into the following categories:

  • a presentation of the the author’s or authors’ original work; answers to the following questions are recommended:
    • what is the original result and why is it relevant for a community of non-specialists and the general public;
    • how is it different from other results obtained for the same research questions and why is it more useful / effective, etc.;
    • how could it be used by people in general;
  • a critical presentation of an inaccessible (either physically or because of over-specialization) scientific publication (article or book) whose results could be interesting for the general public; answers to the following questions are recommended:
    • what is the original result and why is it relevant for a community of non-specialists and the general public;
    • how is it different from other results obtained for the same research question(s) and why is it more useful / effective, etc.;
    • how could it be used by people in general;
  • a critical discussion about a methodological topic that could impact the public understanding of science; answers to the following questions are recommended:
    • what is the methodological issue and why could this be of interest for the readers;
    • what could happen if this methodological issue is not clarified;
    • how could readers beware of the traps posed by such a methodological issue;
  • a critical analysis of a topic of interest based on 3-5 references; answers to the following questions are recommended:
    • what is the chosen topic and why would it be useful for non-specialized readers;
    • what are the main results obtained on this topic in the social sciences;
    • how could these results be useful for readers.
  • Extended replies (comments) to a text already published on the web-site; in this case the following are recommended:
    • the text or the title should include the reference to the text of concern;
    • a short presentation of the argument that makes the topic of the extended reply or comment and why does it require a reply or comment;
    • what is (are) the counter argument(s) of the author;
    • what is the utility for the general public.

 

How long should an article be?

Texts should be 600 words long (+/- 10%). They must rely on studies already published or on past presentations at scientific conferences. They must be written using a simple and accessible language. The readership concerned is one of non-specialists. Following the review process, the article may exceed 600 words (+/- 10%), but only with regard to the additions required in the reviewing process.
In general, an article will be reviewed by a researcher. In cases where the subject matter is deeply interdisciplinary, the text can be sent to two researchers from different fields.

How to format submitted articles?

Submitted texts should be written in English and should include relevant references (Harvard style, author-year). Texts are accepted if they use:

  • electronic format: .doc, docx, .rtf, .txt, .odt, .tex;
  • 11-point Calibri font, double spacing between paragraphs;
  • italics are used for highlighting; underlined characters are used for URL addresses;
  • tables or graphs are placed within the text, not at the end of the text;
  • footnotes are not recommended; they will be integrated within the text.

Citation

Citations must meet scientific rigour. The reason to preserve this practice is to give the reader the opportunity to identify the sources and to use them as such, if necessary. RIS recommends the Harvard citation style.

We shortly remind authors the academic citation rules:
Citation within text: author name, publishing year, all within parenthesis.
(Zamfir and Stoica, 2006)
Referencing quotes within text: author name, publishing year, page, all within parenthesis.
(Zamfir and Stoica, 2006: 93)

Quotation within a phrase: year mentioned within parenthesis (and page, if quote inserted).
… Zamfir and Stoica (2006: 93) …

Complete references should comply with the following rules.

Books:
Zamfir, C., Stoica, L. (eds.) (2006), O noua provocare: dezvoltarea sociala [A new challenge: social development], Ia?i: Polirom.

Book chapters:
Brewer, J.D. (2000), Chapter 3: The Research Process in Ethnography, in Brewer, J.D., Ethnography, Buckingham: Open University Press, pp. 45-56.

Sanguinetti, J. (2000), An adventure in ‘postmodern’ action research: Performativity, professionalism and power, în Garrick, J. and Rhodes, C., Research and Knowledge at Work: Perspectives, case-studies and innovative strategies, London: Routledge, pp. 232-249.

Journal Articles:
Meadows, R. (2005), The ‘negotiated night’: an embodied conceptual framework for the sociological study of sleep, The Sociological Review, vol. 53, no. 2, p. 215-239.

Online references:
ProVobis National Voluntary Centre (2007) History of volunteering in Romania, Available online: http://www.voluntariat.ro/ce_este_voluntariatul.htm#2 [Accessed 28 Dec 2007].
For books or articles in other languages, authors are encouraged to include the title translation to facilitate identification of sources if translations were published. However, finding the translations is at the discretion of the reader.
The list of publications is done under the title: References.

What are the article evaluation criteria?

Each contribution is assessed by one anonymous reviewer. However, she or he will know the identity of the author. The evaluation criteria for publishing texts take into account some general aspects. The referees will evaluate the degree to which the text is characterized by (in random order):

  • accessibility of the language used in providing the information;
  • clarity of arguments;
  • logic of the text structure;
  • critical evaluation of the presented arguments;
  • potential utility of scientific results.

What happens after publication is accepted?

After the publication is accepted, authors are asked to submit a short abstract (one or two sentences), the biographical description of the author (or an updated version of it), a photograph and/or image to accompany the text and/or biography (optional) and a translation of the text in Romanian (or another foreign language) or the agreement to translate the text in Romanian within the editorial office (optional, but recommended).

Abstract

The abstract consists of a short sentence (maximum two) that summarizes the topic of the text. This summary is aimed at gaining the reader’s attention. It can be a part from the text or a stand-alone phrase.

Biographical description   

Authors will be asked to send a brief biographical description of the author(s) of 200-250 words maximum per author, including the current occupation, institutional affiliation, research interests and other information considered relevant to readers. Do not insert in the biographical description references to the topic of one of the texts submitted for publication or lists of publications. The biographical description should start with the Author’s name. It will be written in literary style with no bullets/numbering.
Authors that contribute to a section in the journal are encouraged to send updates of the biographical description whenever the information provided previously has changed.

Typing, grammar, spelling and punctuation proofreading

In general, any text may contain typos. After accepting the publication, every text and every biographical description will be proofread for grammar, spelling and punctuation. For publication, the final version of the two texts must receive the consent of the author (via email).

Images accompanying the text and the biographical description

Accepted texts may be accompanied by an image. This may be the author’s picture or an image that visually suggests the content of the text. Adding a picture is optional, but recommended for improving the impact of the submitted article.

Publishing in Romanian

Language barriers are one of the factors that restrict public access to knowledge. To overcome these difficulties, the Social Innovation platform can accommodate both English and Romanian texts. After publication was accepted, authors may choose to publish the article in Romanian as well. This option is recommended for increasing the number of potential readers. If the author agrees to publish in Romanian, a deadline for sending the author’s translation is agreed upon. In the case of non-native Romanian authors, the text  may be translated by the editorial staff. The editorial staff will make every effort to ensure that the translation is as close as possible to its English meaning.

Editorial requirements for texts in Romanian

For Romanian, please use “Standard” and not “Legacy” keyboard.

Final graphical form of the text

The final graphical form of the text will be submitted to the author for the final publication agreement. This will be a .doc or .pdf file containing: the layout of the biographical description and its accompanying image, of the text and its corresponding image, in every foreign language in which the article will be published, as well as the table of contents of the journal, where the title of the article and the abstract will be visible.