Special Issues – Biomedical Engineering International

Goals

Our aim is to produce a Special Collections that covers its topic effectively and reflects positively upon the Guest Editors and the journal. We regularly recruit potential Guest Editors via email for select topics suggested by the Editors-in-Chief and Editorial Board members.

Selecting a Special Issue

The topic of the Special Issue must be of high current interest, broad enough to attract a reasonable number of submissions, but at the same time narrow enough to keep a strong focus for the Special Issue.

Preparing a Proposal

Proposals for Special Issue should be submitted by the Guest Editor of the Special Issue at review@biomedicalengineering.international. You will be asked to provide the following:

The proposed topic (you may choose a suggested topic or propose your own)

Your name and Scopus ID/ORCID

Proposed Aims and Scope, giving an overview of the Special Issue’s intended focus and a list of the topics to be covered.

Six succinct keywords that reflect the key themes of the collection

A preferred timeline as set out in the timetable below.

Please use our template to prepare your proposal.

Download

Upon receipt of your proposal, the Editor-in-Chief will respond directly to confirm if the proposal is accepted and next steps.

Tasks of the Guest Editor

Recruitment of two to five additional Secondary Guest Editors (optionally).

The Guest Editor nominates authors to the Editor in Chief, and once they have been approved, invites them to submit papers for the special thematic issue which are of high quality in terms of science and presentation.

Papers submitted for the special or thematic issues are evaluated on the same strict criteria as regular contributed submissions. Each paper must be independently assessed by at least 2 (preferably 3) eminent experts in the field. Evidence for:

(a) the review process (including names, designations and email addresses of the referees)

(b) evidence for the appropriate modification of the papers as suggested by the referees, and

Guest editors take the initial decisions on the acceptance /rejection / revision and re-submission of manuscripts and relay the decision to the editorial office. In selected cases, the papers may be reviewed independently by Editor in Chief and the publisher retains the right to accept or reject the manuscripts. Papers will only be published if they clearly merit publication on the basis of their originality and overall importance of results. Final editorial decisions on all Special Issue submissions are generally taken by the Editors-in-Chief of the journal. The contributors should be eminent researchers able to give a current overview of the latest developments in the field.

A Guest Editor/Co-Guest Editor may be author or a co-author in several manuscripts. The guest Editor is also expected to write the Introduction/Editorial to the issue.

An invitation to submit a paper to a special or thematic issue does not imply guaranteed acceptance for publication. Some submissions may be rejected.

It is a condition of publication that manuscripts submitted to Biomedical Engineering International should not have been published and should not be simultaneously submitted or published elsewhere, and should conform to the ethical guidelines.

Peer Review of Special Issue Papers

Our editorial policy requires a minimum of two reviews for submitted articles.
A reviewer must hold a PhD degree and should normally have an h-index above 5.
Peer review of special/thematic issue papers should be conducted by eminent reviewers who are completely independent.
Reviewers cannot be selected from the contributing authors or from among the Guest Editors.
Final editorial decisions on all Special/Thematic Issue submissions will be decided by the Editors-in-Chief.
Editor in Chief may carry out independent peer review and reserves the right to reject articles on the basis of such peer review.

Benefits of the role

If you serve as a Guest Editor for a Special Collection, you will benefit from:

Valuable additional editorial experience on your CV

Visibility through a profile of each Guest Editor in the Guest Editorial, including an outline of career, current work, and contact details.

Following publication of the Special Collection online, recognition of Guest Editors on the journal’s Editorial Board webpage as a Special Collection Guest Editor. Editors-in-Chief may invite Guest Editors to join the Editorial Board at their discretion.

Timetable

The recommended schedule below is intended to allow Guest Editors to manage their work in relation to existing commitments. The Special Collection should be completed within the following timeframe, approximately 6 months in total.

Platinum open access

Platinum open access means permanent and free access to published scientific works for readers with no publication fees for the authors – 100% free. All articles are published under the most flexible reuse standard – the CC BY license. Authors are not charged article processing fees or publication fees – no fees whatsoever. Importantly, authors retain copyright of their work and allow it to be shared and reused, provided that it is correctly cited. Readers anywhere in the world may download, share or use the work, free of charge.

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