EPJ Topical Collections Editorial Guidelines
- Details
- Published on 24 June 2024
Guest Editors of Topical Collections (TC) published in The European Physical Journal are requested to prepare an Editorial to introduce and contextualize the topic and articles to the readers.
The editorial should be prepared once all papers in the Topical Collection have been accepted for publication and it should be sent to the editorial office of the relevant journal.
By default, all Editorials are made freely accessible at Springer, so when requested to specify the publishing model for the Editorial during production, the guest editors should choose the “subscription model” to avoid being charged for Open Access.
Additional guidance might be given by the editorial office of the journal in which the collection is being published.
Review-style Editorial
This is the encouraged format for TC editorials, featuring an in-depth introduction that covers the current state of the field and how the articles in the Topical Collection address the open questions.
If the TC is based on a meeting, Guest Editors may mention its scope, goals and the community it serves. When referring to the meeting, Guest Editors should emphasize that all articles have undergone careful peer-review to make sure they meet the same high-standard of any other paper published in the journal.
Editorials should follow the Bibliography Guidelines below.
Examples of review-style editorials are:
Editorial: Quo vadis, cold molecules? Doyle, J., Friedrich, B., Krems, R.V. et al. Eur. Phys. J. D 31, 149–164 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1140/epjd/e2004-00151-x
Ultrafast phenomena from attosecond to picosecond timescales: theory and experiments. Poisson, L., Lépine, F. Eur. Phys. J. Spec. Top. 232, 1995–2000 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1140/epjs/s11734-023-00966-7
Short Editorial
Shorter editorials are also acceptable given that they provide a good overview of the topics covered in the Topical Collection and how they fit within the scope of the journal.
If relevant, a paragraph discussing the scope of the meeting on which the Topical Collection is based might be included. When referring to the meeting, Guest Editors should emphasize that all articles have undergone careful peer-review to make sure they meet the same high-standard of any other paper published in the journal.
Editorials should follow the Bibliography Guidelines below.
Example of short editorials are:
Tissue mechanics. Kabla, A., Ladoux, B. & Di Meglio, J.M. Eur. Phys. J. E 45, 90 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1140/epje/s10189-022-00240-z
Topical issue on quantitative AI in complex fluids and complex flows: challenges and benchmarks. Biferale, L., Buzzicotti, M. & Cencini, M. Eur. Phys. J. E 46, 102 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1140/epje/s10189-023-00356-w
Bibliography Guidelines
- Guest Editors can cite the articles published in their Topical Collection. For TCs with a large number of articles, especially if the editorial is published in the year following the rest of the papers, Guest Editors should consult with the publishers.
- Guest Editors should refrain from adding citations to their own work, especially if unwarranted.
To submit a proposal for a focus point to EPJ Plus
- Details
- Published on 15 June 2012
A focus point is a collection of typically 4-6 articles, devoted to a particular aspect of the journal's aims and scope. To submit a proposal, please
- propose a sufficiently specific working title
- give name(s) and affiliation(s) of all guest editor(s)
- provide a short rationale for putting such a focus point together
- provide a (tentative) list of contributions (contributing authors, titles, abstracts)
Proposals will be assessed by the editorial board on the basis of their quality and relevance. If accepted – possibly with revisions - please revise resp. complete the proposal to the degree applicable. In particular, all finalized abstracts for the contributions are required at this stage. The abstracts must explicitly mention the article type (original article, technical report, minireview) and clearly show how the paper is going to address and meet the aims of the focus point.
When the revised/completed proposal is finally accepted, a deadline for the submission of the papers is decided in agreement with the guest editor(s).
The collecting and refereeing of the individual contributions will be the responsibility of the guest editor(s), who will further ensure that the quality of contributions meets the standards expressed in the proposal. The finally submitted focus point will be assessed again by the Editorial Board and compared to the accepted proposal. The Editorial Board can request changes if the submitted set of papers significantly differs from the accepted proposal.
Authors are asked to submit their paper electronically through the website http://www.editorialmanager.com/epjp/, specifying in their cover letter that their paper belongs to the focus point. The instructions for the authors are available here. Manuscripts should be written preferably in LaTeX, using the style file that can be downloaded on the left column of this page: Authors / LaTeX Macros.
Please submit your proposal to:
EPJ Plus Editorial Office
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To view Focus Point issues already published please click here.
Editorial Guidelines for EPJ ST "Discussions and Debates"
- Details
- Published on 15 June 2012
The European Physical Journal - Special Topics (EPJ ST) - a journal dedicated to the publication of special/topical issues only - will incorporate, starting in 2010, "Discussions and Debates" (DD) issues.
The aim of the DD issues is the balanced critical presentation of the unsolved problems, controversial topics, rival theories, alternative methodologies, and negative results of interest at the cutting edge of scientific and technological development.
Contributions to DD issues should typically contain one or more of the following:
- substantiated critiques of established research methodologies;
- a presentation/assessment of alternative approaches/concepts compatible with experimental status quo;
- a report, assessment and analysis of negative results;
- substantiated and educated guesses about future developments.
Internal cross-refereeing (independently of an external refereeing procedure) is encouraged and is expected to lead to useful comments fueling the scientific debate, either in the form of Comments-and-Reply or in the form of separate mutually referred papers exposing complementary or contradictory points of view.
The issue editors will ensure, in cooperation with the authors, that the collection of articles included in the issue gives balanced presentation of current views.
An Editorial or a summary paper, written by the issue editor(s), putting the issue in the context of ongoing research will complete such a special issue. The Editorial should be written on a level that can be understood by the general physical audience unfamiliar with the specific topic under discussion. It is desirable that at least introductory parts of other contributions be accessible to a non-specialist reader.
EPJ ST invites proposals for DD issues, which have to satisfy the above general requirements. Joint proposals by prospective guest editors holding complementary views, yet a compatible attitude towards the proposed topic are encouraged. The proposals will be considered by the DD Editorial Board affiliated to EPJ ST, which will appoint, with the approval of the publisher, guest editor(s) in charge of a specific journal issue.
To submit a formal proposal for EPJ ST (edited volumes)
- Details
- Published on 13 June 2012
Please propose a sufficiently specific title, give names and affiliations of all volume editors and provide a short rationale for putting such a special issue together.
Please submit a list (even if partially tentative), giving the abstracts of the contributions, as well as names and affiliations of the contributing authors and (important) the article type for each contribution, see below:
Article types:
a) Minireview: A typically 10-15 pages contribution, where approximately half of the material is in form of representative mini-review of the entire subtopic/subfield, followed by, approximately of the same length, a short review of own past and present work, coherently summarized and explained in the broader context of the first part.
b) Tutorial Review: A 15+ pages tutorial review (lecture) on a broader topic that adds significantly more introductory and background material to make this reasonably self-contained reading for graduate students and non-specialists from related areas.
c) Original Paper (v1): A typically 5-10 pages contribution, which contains a significant fraction of original material e.g. because it is a follow up paper of a recently published letter or rapid communication providing more background and details and/or possibly an update re results.
d) Original Paper (v2) : A short study, typically 3-5 pages containing predominantly new material, on a very specific aspect of some broader research published elsewhere.
Not accepted are the following paper categories:
e) Only review of own recent work
f) Summaries and/or condensates of recently published (or to be published) material
No a priori restrictions regarding the mix of categories a)-d) above are given from the side of EPJ ST. The abstracts must clearly and explicitly reflect the article type.
Proposals will be refereed and thereby either accepted or rejected on the basis of the quality and completeness of such a proposal. The subsequent refereeing of the individual contributions will be in the responsibility of the guest editors. The finally submitted issue will be assessed by the editorial board and compared to the accepted proposal. The Editorial Board can request changes if the accepted proposal and the set of finally submitted manuscript differ.
Please submit your proposal to:
either:
Sandrine Karpe
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Vijala Kiruvanayagam
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EDP Sciences
or:
Sabine Lehr
Springer
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EPJ Topical Collections Procedure
The European Physical Journals encourage the submission of Topical Collections proposals.
A Topical Collection (TC) is a set of articles devoted to a particular aspect of a journal's aims and scope. Collections can be proposed and defined by Guest Editors - which may or may not belong to the editorial board of the journal.
Topical Collections may emerge from a dedicated workshop, from ongoing or newly formed research collaborations, or on any other occasion where the rapid and collective publication of a number of articles on a particular subject matter is considered timely and relevant for the research community concerned.
Topical Collections proposals are assessed and reviewed by the Editorial Board of the journal of choice and the final decision on whether or not to accept the proposal rests with Editor-in-Chief or with the appointed Editorial Board member.
1. Proposal Submission and Evaluation
Topical Collection proposals should be sent to the journal Editorial Office contact using this template.
For additional options and journal specific rules, please consider consulting the journal website at https://www.epj.org/.
In case of doubt on which journal to approach, please send the proposal to Sabine Lehr at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
A Topical Collection proposal should include:
- Title and, if applicable, subtitle
- Name(s), affiliation(s) and institutional email addresses of all guest editor(s)
- Rationale for the collection with a focus on how it fits within the journal aim and scope
- List of topics covered
- Tentative list of invited contributions (contributing authors, affiliations, titles, abstracts)
- Explicit statement that all guest editors have read and endorsed the “General Rules” listed in section 3 of this document
Collections can be by invitation only or open to unsolicited contributions. Depending on journal and proposal, the best format will be decided together with the Editors-in-Chief, Managing Editors or appointed Editorial Board member.
Regardless of the format of choice, only complete proposals including a list of invited contributions will be considered.
Proposals will be assessed – possibly through several rounds of revision – by the journal’s editorial board on the basis of their quality and relevance.
Typical reasons for rejection can be, but are not limited to:
- Proposals being too broad or generic: Collections should be focused on a specific subject matter that allows for a limited set of papers that reasonably covers both the topic and the relevant research community.
- Guest editors not having themselves published relevant papers in the fields proposed: Proposals should be centered around the Guest Editors' own fields of expertise.
- Guest editors proposing too many co-authored papers: The contributors list should be diverse and representative of the topic, not limited to the Guest Editors' own research networks.
In view of the very many proposals received, the journal reserves the right to reject proposal without providing justification. It is not possible to appeal rejection decisions.
Should you not receive a positive response from the journal team within 4 weeks, you can assume that your proposal has not been accepted.
2. Accepted Proposals
Once the proposal has been accepted, all Guest Editors will be required to sign a letter of agreement.
At this stage, the list and order of guest editors is final and cannot be changed.
Guest Editors and Editors-in-Chief/Managing Editors will agree on and define:
- The timeline for the collection - including the opening date and the deadline for submission
- Whether the collection will be by invitation only or open to unsolicited contributions (and advertised with a public call for papers on the EPJ portal and via relevant social media channels)
Before opening submissions to the collection, the journal will typically request a finalized list of invited contributions including authors, titles and abstracts.
Should this list deviate significantly from the list in the accepted proposal, the journal reserves the right to reassess the updated proposal before committing, if warranted, on continuing the submission process.
3. General Rules
1) As for any regular paper submitted to an EPJ journal, each and every article submitted to a Topical Collection will be checked for suitability. Articles deemed to be 'out of scope' or below the journal’s standards of publication will be desk-rejected.
2) All articles that have passed the initial screening process will be peer-reviewed according to the very same high standards as any regular article submitted to an EPJ journal (this applies according to article type: original paper, review article,…).
This explicitly rules out the publication of proceedings where the quality assessment of the individual contributions typically remains in the hands of the conference organization.
3) Collections are led by a team of expert Guest Editors assembled for the occasion. The Guest Editors team might include external editors but also Editorial Board Members. It is intended that, collectively, the diversity and complementarity of each Guest Editors’ expertise will cover the intended scope of the Topical Collection in its integrality.
4) Depending on journal and proposal, the role of guest editors may go beyond proposing the collection and inviting contributing authors.
The Guest Editors’ involvement in the handling of papers and the relative decision making process will be agreed on a case-by-case basis and depends on the specific journal. Please refer to Section 4: “Guest Editor Tasks and Responsibilities”.
5) The final decision on each and every article submitted to a Topical Collection will always rest with the Editors-in-Chief of the journal or with the appointed Editorial Board member.
6) Guest Editors may co-author papers submitted to their own Topical Collection but this is expected to be strictly limited in numbers. Articles authored by Guest Editors will be assigned and handled by an independent editor selected by the Editor-in-Chief or by the appointed Editorial Board member.
7) Prospective Guest Editors are required to comply with the COPE Code of Conduct for Journal Editors
For further information, see the webpages of the EPJ Publishers:
4. Guest Editor Tasks and Responsibilities
Guest Editors must ensure the timely submission of invited contributions.
Depending on the journal, Guest Editors might or might not be involved in the refereeing of collection articles (both invited and unsolicited).
Some EPJ journals will appoint Lead Guest Editors, whose primary role will be to dispatch articles among all members of the Guest Editor’s team once the articles start to be submitted.
The specifics will be agreed on a case-by-case basis with the journal editors or will be described in detail in the editorial guidelines provided by the Editorial Office.
Guest Editors responsibilities might include:
- Handling some or all collection papers (as long as there is no conflict of interest)
- Making recommendations for publication that will be approved by the Editor-in-Chief / Managing Editor / appointed Editorial Board Member
- Suggesting relevant referees for collection papers
- Preparing an Editorial upon closing the Collection
- Preparing a short descriptive paragraph, aimed at promoting the Collection on our EPJ portal
