AMQ occasionally publishes special issues on topical research themes.

The highest level of editorial support will be given to special issues throughout the review and publication processes. Thematic proposals for future special issues in AMQ are welcome at any time, and the editors will evaluate all proposals based on scientific themes and interest to our readership.

A special issue proposal should include a general introduction to the topic and why it is important in the frame of Quaternary Sciences, a tentative list of article titles including author names (also include abstracts, if available), name or names of potential guest editor(s), definition of roles within guest editors (who is the lead guest editor), time-table including the desired month of publication, statement of risk/backup if things do not go as planned. Plan to submit the proposal 12–18 months ahead, to allow the inclusion of the special issue within the editorial program.

The proposal should be sent to the editor-in-chief Ilaria Mazzini (ilaria.mazzini@igag.cnr.it). The guest editor (s) must be approved by the Editors-in-Chief, that also take all final publication decisions.

Handling papers submitted to Special Issue

Special Issue articles follow the same peer review process as other articles in AMQ. The entire editorial process will be handled by AMQ peer review system.

The role of guest editors

Guest Editors serve as coordinators for submissions to the Special Issue, that will be handled by members of the Editorial Board of AMQ. Guest Editors are responsible for the tasks such as proposing the appropriate reviewers for submitted papers, and they will be involved in the final decision of accepting or rejecting a manuscript based on the reviewer reports.

Guest Editors team may publish a maximum of 3 articles in their own Special Issue, in addition to an Editorial article should the Issue be successful.

Conflicts of interest

Although special issues are handled by members of the Editorial Board of AMQ, it is important to consider the risk of any potential conflicts of interest. AMQ aims to avoid assigning papers to Editors who might have conflicts, but we also expect our Editors to declare any conflicts. If a conflict exists when you are notified about a paper, you should refuse to handle the manuscript and notify the Editor in Chief so the manuscript can be assigned to an alternative editor. This is to ensure the impartiality of the peer review process.

In addition, it is important that the reviewers you suggesting do not present any potential conflicts of interest. The above considerations should also be made when selecting reviewers to assess a manuscript.

Avoiding citation manipulation

As Guest Editor, you must not promote the inclusion of references merely to increase citations to your own or an associate’s work, to the journal, or to another journal you are associated with. In addition, manuscripts should not be submitted with the main purpose of increasing the number of citations to a given author’s work, or to articles published in a particular journal, and such articles may incur sanctions.

Publication of articles in a Special Issue

Manuscripts may be submitted as soon as the Special Issue opens. Accepted articles are immediately published on-line in the Special Issue.

We allow four to six months for accepting the submissions. After the deadline, the Special Issue will no longer accept new submissions, but new articles will continue to appear in the Special Issue as manuscripts make their way through the review process.

Once all manuscripts have passed peer review, we will ask the Guest Editor(s) to write an Editorial that introduces the Special Issue, unless it is presented as a normal manuscript and then goes through the ordinary peer-review process.

If Guest Editors wish to provide financial support for the printed issue, either themselves or via a third party, this must declared in the proposal for the Special Issue. If approved, this may necessitate mention in the articles’ Conflicts of Interest statements and must be declared in the editorial that accompanies the Special Issue.