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International Journal of Nutrology

Special Issues

The International Journal of Nutrology (IJN) may publish special issues devoted to a clearly defined theme that advances Nutrological Science or Nutrological Health. Special issues form part of the journal's scholarly record and are subject to the same standards of scope, editorial independence, peer review, research ethics, authorship, conflicts of interest, corrections, licensing, and transparency as comparable content published in regular issues.

Definitions and distinction between publication types

  • Regular issue: an issue in the journal's normal quarterly publication sequence containing articles on different subjects within the IJN Aim & Scope.
  • Special issue: a separately identified thematic collection of scholarly articles commissioned through an approved proposal or call for papers. A special issue may be coordinated by one or more approved Guest Editors under the supervision of the Editor-in-Chief.
  • Supplement: a separately identified publication that may contain conference or symposium material, abstracts, sponsored content, or other related material. A supplement is not automatically produced for every regular issue and is not interchangeable with a special issue.

Scope requirements

Every special issue must fall within the IJN Aim & Scope. Each scholarly manuscript must make a direct, explicit, and substantial contribution to nutrology, nutrition, metabolism, dietary care, or nutrition-related human health. Nutrological Science or Nutrological Health must be a central element of the objectives, methods, results, and conclusions.

Studies from Agricultural and Biological Sciences, including Food Science and agronomy; Medicine, including Medicine (miscellaneous) and all medical specialties; Nursing; Nutrition and Dietetics; Dentistry; and related health, biomedical, and life-science fields are eligible only when they satisfy this central nutrological or nutritional requirement. General health, agricultural, industrial, laboratory, educational, or product-development studies without a direct nutritional or human-health outcome are outside the scope of IJN, including when proposed for a special issue.

Proposal and approval

A special-issue proposal must be submitted to the Editorial Office and approved by the Editor-in-Chief before any public call for papers or invitation to authors. The proposal must include:

  • the proposed title, purpose, scientific rationale, and relevance to the IJN Aim & Scope;
  • the subjects to be covered and the types of manuscripts expected;
  • the names, affiliations, ORCID iDs when available, qualifications, editorial experience, and conflict-of-interest declarations of the proposed Guest Editors;
  • the proposed call for papers, submission timetable, and expected publication schedule;
  • any conference, society, institution, funder, sponsor, or commercial organization connected with the collection; and
  • any proposed financial, administrative, editorial, or production support.

Approval of a proposal or publication of a call for papers does not guarantee acceptance of any manuscript or completion of the special issue. IJN may modify, postpone, transfer, or discontinue a proposed collection when necessary to protect editorial quality, integrity, feasibility, or the scholarly record.

Selection and responsibilities of Guest Editors

Guest Editors are selected for subject expertise, scholarly record, editorial competence, independence, and absence of disqualifying conflicts of interest. IJN verifies their identity, affiliation, qualifications, publication record, and relevant relationships before appointment. Guest Editors must agree in writing to follow all IJN policies and must disclose any actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest.

Guest Editors may advise on the theme, call for papers, preliminary scope assessment, and selection of suitable independent reviewers. They must preserve confidentiality, avoid citation or peer-review manipulation, treat authors fairly, maintain complete editorial records, and recuse themselves whenever impartiality may reasonably be questioned. Guest Editors may recommend an editorial outcome but cannot guarantee acceptance or override the responsible IJN editor.

Editorial oversight and independence

The Editor-in-Chief retains full responsibility for the policies, procedures, integrity, and published content of every special issue. The Editor-in-Chief or an assigned independent member of the Editorial Board supervises the Guest Editors, monitors conflicts of interest and review quality, and retains authority to reject a proposal or manuscript, obtain additional review, replace a Guest Editor, or discontinue the collection.

Final acceptance or rejection is made by the Editor-in-Chief or an authorized, unconflicted IJN editor. Editorial decisions must not be influenced by Guest Editors, sponsors, institutions, conference organizers, advertisers, Article Processing Charges, waiver requests, citation targets, or commercial considerations.

Submission and peer review

Manuscripts for a special issue must be submitted through the IJN submission system and must comply with the Instructions to Authors. Special-issue submissions are screened for scope, originality, methodological adequacy, ethical compliance, reporting quality, authorship, conflicts of interest, permissions, registration, and data availability.

Scholarly research and review manuscripts that pass editorial screening undergo the same double-blind peer-review process as comparable submissions to regular issues. At least three independent external reviewers with relevant expertise are invited. Reviewers are selected by the responsible editor after conflict-of-interest checks, and reviewer recommendations are advisory. Abstract collections and other non-research content must be clearly identified and may undergo editorial review appropriate to the content type.

Manuscripts authored by Guest Editors

A manuscript authored or co-authored by a Guest Editor must be handled by an independent IJN editor who has no relevant conflict of interest. The author-editor must have no access to reviewer selection, reviewer identities, confidential reports, deliberations, or the editorial decision. Articles authored by Guest Editors must not constitute more than 25% of the total articles in the special issue.

Funding, sponsorship, and Article Processing Charges

All funding, sponsorship, institutional support, publication support, and the role of each supporting organization must be disclosed in the special issue and, when applicable, in individual articles. Sponsors and funders may not select or reject manuscripts, appoint reviewers, control editorial decisions, suppress findings, restrict authors' access to data, or delay publication for commercial reasons.

Any Article Processing Charge is governed exclusively by the IJN Article Processing Charges Policy. Payment, sponsorship, or eligibility for a waiver does not guarantee publication and must remain separate from peer review and editorial decision-making.

Identification and metadata

Special issues must be clearly distinguishable from regular issues and supplements on the journal website, table of contents, article pages, PDFs, and bibliographic metadata. The issue record must identify the special-issue title, publication year, Guest Editor or Guest Editors, and relevant funding or sponsorship.

The OJS and Crossref records must use the journal's approved SI designation for a special issue, such as SI4, and must not duplicate the issue number of a regular issue. Article titles, authors, affiliations, abstracts, dates, pagination or electronic identifiers, licenses, and DOI metadata must be deposited accurately and consistently.

Research integrity and post-publication responsibilities

Special-issue content is subject to the Publication Ethics, Malpractice and Generative AI Policy, the Authorship and Contributorship Policy, and the Corrections, Retractions and Withdrawals Policy. Concerns involving a Guest Editor, sponsor, or member of the Editorial Board must be assessed by an independent editor. Corrections, expressions of concern, retractions, and other post-publication actions are handled in the same manner as for regular IJN content.

Standards followed

This policy uses the COPE guidance on guest-edited collections, the DOAJ Guide to Applying, the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing, and the ICMJE recommendations for supplements, theme issues, and special series. Use of these resources does not imply membership, certification, or endorsement by the organizations that developed them.

Questions and special-issue proposals should be sent to the IJN Editorial Office at [email protected].

Last updated: August 2026.