Special Issues are collections of articles advancing a novel debate, idea or field. Ideas for new Special Issues may come from a variety of sources, like suggestions of the editorial board or scientists working in the field. Scholars who are interested in publishing a Special Issue with us are advised to consider the following guidelines.

Proposal of a Special Issue

All Special Issues must receive initial approvals from the Editor-in-Chief. Guest Editors should provide a proposal of the Special Issues for the Editor-in-Chief's consideration. The proposal format must contain:

• A CV of the Guest Editor;
• The title, brief abstract (about 200-300 words) and 3-8 keywords of the Special Issue;
• A statement of the Special Issue's significance to the field and attractiveness to authors;
• An outlined timeframe;
• A list of potential contributions and abstracts if possible.

Responsibilities of Guest Editors

Guest Editors are expected to:

• provide a short introduction, an image and other necessary information for the Special Issue;
• provide a table of contents for the Special Issue if possible;
• draft a Call for Papers invitation;
• recommend and/or invite contributors;
• oversee the peer review process, and make decisions on Special Issue articles to ensure the quality of the Special Issue publication;
• write an Editorial to summarize the content and rationale of the Special Issue.

Special Issue articles undergo the same high-standard editorial procedure as other submissions.
Regarding Special Issue paper, after passing the initial check of the Managing Editor, the manuscript will be successively assigned to the Assistant Editor, Guest Editor, and then to the Editor-in-Chief or an Editorial Board member in the case of a conflict of interest for the Editor-in-Chief to review. The Editor-in-Chief or Editorial Board member may reject manuscripts that they deem highly unlikely to pass peer review without further consultation. Once the manuscript has passed the editorial assessment, the Assistant Editor will start to organize peer-review.

Notices for Authors

Authors who are invited or intend to publish in a Special Issue should pay attention to the following items:

• Read Editorial Policies and Author Instructions carefully, ensuring the manuscript meets all requirements before submission;
• Submit the manuscript by the deadline. Overdue submissions may be excluded from the Special Issue and processed as regular submissions;
• Submit the manuscript via the Online Submission System;
• Indicate "This article is for the Special Issue XXXX" in cover letter when submitting;

Note that being invited to contribute a paper to a Special Issue is not a guarantee of publication. Special Issue articles undergo the same high-standard editorial procedure as other submissions.

Peer-Review and Editorial Procedure

All Special Issue articles are subject to rigorous and impartial peer-review like other regular submissions. Guest Editors supervise the editorial process of all Special Issue articles and make recommendations on them comprehensively on the basis of all review comments. Guest Editors are welcome to recommend reviewers for submissions before peer review. Manuscripts with conflicts of interest with Guest Editors are sent to other science editors for decision. For more information of OAE editorial handling, please refer to Peer Review Guidelines and Editorial Process.