Current Sociology

This Journal is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics

Please read the guidelines below then visit the Journal’s submission site http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/cso to upload your manuscript. Please note that manuscripts not conforming to these guidelines may be returned.

Only manuscripts of sufficient quality that meet the aims and scope of Current Sociology will be reviewed.

There are no fees payable to submit or publish in this Journal. Open Access options are available - see section 3.3 below.

As part of the submission process you will be required to warrant that you are submitting your original work, that you have the rights in the work, that you are submitting the work for first publication in the Journal and that it is not being considered for publication elsewhere and has not already been published elsewhere, and that you have obtained and can supply all necessary permissions for the reproduction of any copyright works not owned by you.

If you have any questions about publishing with Sage, please visit the Sage Journal Solutions Portal

1. What do we publish?
   1.1 Article types
   1.2 Writing your paper
2. Editorial policies
   2.1 Peer review policy
   2.2 Authorship
   2.3 Acknowledgements
   2.4 Funding
   2.5 Declaration of conflicting interests
   2.6 Research ethics and patient consent
   2.7 Clinical trials
   2.8 Reporting guidelines
   2.9 Data
3. Publishing policies
   3.1 Publication ethics
   3.2 Contributor's publishing agreement
   3.3 Open access and author archiving
4. Preparing your manuscript
   4.1 File types
   4.2 Journal Style
   4.3 Reference style
   4.4 Manuscript preparation
5. Submitting your manuscript
   5.1 ORCID
   5.2 Information required for completing your submission
   5.3 Permissions
6. On acceptance and publication
   6.1 Sage Production
   6.2 Online First publication
   6.3 Access to your published article
   6.4 Promoting your article
7. Further information

 

1. What do we publish?

1.1 Article Types

Current Sociology publishes peer-reviewed articles in all areas of sociology - theories, methods, concepts, substantive research, and national/regional developments of interest to sociologists internationally.

The journal is also soliciting articles reviewing emergent and challenging issues: substantive, conceptual, theoretical, and methodological. Its interest will be specifically in developments and controversies in fields and areas of sociological inquiry.

The Editors of Current Sociology also welcome proposals for special sub-sections of the journal. To find out more please click here.
 

Current Sociology Monograph Issues:

Current Sociology monograph issues were introduced in 2001, as two additional issues per year of the journal Current Sociology. Current Sociology Monographs highlight both original and novel themes and problematics within the discipline. Each issue has a single or joint guest editor(s), and presents a selection of papers reflecting (but not limited to) global concerns and critical debates within and outside ISA's Research and National Associational networks and conferences. The papers should include a strong introduction and/or conclusion exploring and developing the theme of the issue.

Current Sociology monograph issues are published in English and should include abstracts in French and Spanish. Each monograph issue is typically up to 90,000 words (this is a compulsory constraint) including references; abstracts with translations, contributors list etc. and will therefore be approximately 72,000 words of actual text. Editor(s) may like to have short and long papers to ensure the maximum word length as mentioned above.

FIRST STEP: MONOGRAPH PROPOSALS MUST BE SENT TO cs-monographs@isa-sociology.org 

For the initial refereeing process, all submitted proposals should contain:

1. A brief synopsis (1000-2000 words) describing the main features of the issue, as well as the proposed volume’s conceptual and/or empirical significance.
2. A statement on how this issue is to be organized. This includes:
   • Proposed time frame. Please indicate if the proposed volume is based on a conference or workshop, if it will be an open call, or a hybrid of the two.
   • How the guest editors plan to support epistemic diversity and inclusivity.
   • If applicable: an indicative list of names and affiliations of the contributors. A ‘paper by paper synopsis ’is preferable, although not required.
3. Short biographies of all guest editors, including their relevant academic and/or editorial experiences.

All monograph proposals are refereed. Guest editor/s will be informed of the outcome within 6 weeks of the submission of the proposal.

SECOND STEP: ONCE THE PROPOSALS ARE ACCEPTED, all authors should submit their individual manuscripts through ScholarOne (https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/cso)

Each manuscript will be evaluated through a double-blind peer review process, following the standard reviewing procedures of Current Sociology.

The final manuscript will be published on the basis of a successful review and due revisions in order to ensure rigor and scientific quality of papers.

Once a monograph is completed, the Current Sociology Monographs issue will be published first online and subsequently in hard copy as per calendar availability.

Please submit your proposal to:

Editor: Professor Joy Y. Zhang
Assistant Editor: Meher Basit
Centre for Global Science and Epistemic Justice
School for Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research
Cornwallis East Building
University of Kent
Canterbury, Kent. CT2 7NF
United Kingdom
cs-monographs@isa-sociology.org
Phone: +44 (0) 1227 827574

1.2 Writing your paper

The Sage Author Gateway has some general advice and on how to get published, plus links to further resources. Sage Author Services also offers authors a variety of ways to improve and enhance their article including English language editing, plagiarism detection, and video abstract and infographic preparation.

1.2.1 Make your article discoverable

When writing up your paper, think about how you can make it discoverable. The title, keywords and abstract are key to ensuring readers find your article through search engines such as Google. For information and guidance on how best to title your article, write your abstract and select your keywords, have a look at this page on the Gateway: How to Help Readers Find Your Article Online.

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2. Editorial policies

2.1 Peer review policy

All papers submitted to Current Sociology are acknowledged quickly and reviewed as rapidly as possible. They are initially scrutinised by the editor who decides whether they meet the scientific and editorial standards of the journal, and fit within the aims and scope of the journal. Those papers that pass this initial scrutiny are sent out to referees who are carefully selected on the basis of their expertise in the themes of the paper. All papers undergo double-anonymize refereeing. Normally, at least two referees are used. Authors cannot resubmit a paper that has received a reject decision from the journal unless the editors directly invite the author to revise and resubmit. In the case of special issues of the journal, the invited editor shares the responsibility of administering the double anonymize refereeing process, using at least two referees for each paper, and submits names of the referees to the journal editor. Also in this case, papers should be submitted through Sage Track.

In the case of papers specifically invited by the journal editor (for example, to participate in a dialogue), either one or two referees will be used. Once suitable referees are identified and accept the commission, they are normally asked to reply within a month. The editors target for an initial response to authors of papers that have been sent out to referees is three months, although this cannot be guaranteed in every case. Authors may contact the editor at any time for information on the progress or status of their papers.

2.2 Authorship

All parties who have made a substantive contribution to the article should be listed as authors. Principal authorship, authorship order, and other publication credits should be based on the relative scientific or professional contributions of the individuals involved, regardless of their status. A student is usually listed as principal author on any multiple-authored publication that substantially derives from the student’s dissertation or thesis.

2.3 Acknowledgements

All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in an Acknowledgements section. Examples of those who might be acknowledged include a person who provided purely technical help, or a department chair who provided only general support.

Please supply any personal acknowledgements separately to the main text to facilitate anonymous peer review.

2.3.1 Third party submissions

Where an individual who is not listed as an author submits a manuscript on behalf of the author(s), a statement must be included in the Acknowledgements section of the manuscript and in the accompanying cover letter. The statements must:

•    Disclose this type of editorial assistance – including the individual’s name, company and level of input 
•    Identify any entities that paid for this assistance 
•    Confirm that the listed authors have authorized the submission of their manuscript via third party and approved any statements or declarations, e.g. conflicting interests, funding, etc.

Where appropriate, Sage reserves the right to deny consideration to manuscripts submitted by a third party rather than by the authors themselves.

2.3.2 Writing assistance

Individuals who provided writing assistance, e.g. from a specialist communications company, do not qualify as authors and so should be included in the Acknowledgements section. Authors must disclose any writing assistance – including the individual’s name, company and level of input – and identify the entity that paid for this assistance.

It is not necessary to disclose use of language polishing services.

2.4 Funding

Current Sociology requires all authors to acknowledge their funding in a consistent fashion under a separate heading.  Please visit the Funding Acknowledgements page on the Sage Journal Author Gateway to confirm the format of the acknowledgment text in the event of funding, or state that: This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

2.5 Declaration of conflicting interests

Current Sociology encourages authors to include a declaration of any conflicting interests and recommends you review the good practice guidelines on the Sage Journal Author Gateway.

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3. Publishing Policies

3.1 Publication ethics

Sage is committed to upholding the integrity of the academic record. We encourage authors to refer to the Committee on Publication Ethics’ International Standards for Authors and view the Publication Ethics page on the Sage Author Gateway.

3.1.1 Plagiarism

Current Sociology and Sage take issues of copyright infringement, plagiarism or other breaches of best practice in publication very seriously. We seek to protect the rights of our authors and we always investigate claims of plagiarism or misuse of published articles. Equally, we seek to protect the reputation of the journal against malpractice. Submitted articles may be checked with duplication-checking software. Where an article, for example, is found to have plagiarised other work or included third-party copyright material without permission or with insufficient acknowledgement, or where the authorship of the article is contested, we reserve the right to take action including, but not limited to: publishing an erratum or corrigendum (correction); retracting the article; taking up the matter with the head of department or dean of the author's institution and/or relevant academic bodies or societies; or taking appropriate legal action.

3.1.2 Prior publication

If material has been previously published it is not generally acceptable for publication in a Sage journal. However, there are certain circumstances where previously published material can be considered for publication. Please refer to the guidance on the Sage Author Gateway or if in doubt, contact the Editor at the address given below.

3.2 Contributor's publishing agreement

Before publication, Sage requires the author as the rights holder to sign a Journal Contributor’s Publishing Agreement. Sage’s Journal Contributor’s Publishing Agreement is an exclusive licence agreement which means that the author retains copyright in the work but grants Sage the sole and exclusive right and licence to publish for the full legal term of copyright. Exceptions may exist where an assignment of copyright is required or preferred by a proprietor other than Sage. In this case copyright in the work will be assigned from the author to the society. For more information please visit the Sage Author Gateway.

3.3 Open access and author archiving

Current Sociology offers optional open access publishing via the Sage Choice programme and Open Access agreements, where authors can publish open access either discounted or free of charge depending on the agreement with Sage. Find out if your institution is participating by visiting Open Access Agreements at Sage. For more information on Open Access publishing options at Sage please visit Sage Open Access. For information on funding body compliance, and depositing your article in repositories, please visit Sage’s Author Archiving and Re-Use Guidelines and Publishing Policies.

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4. Preparing your manuscript for submission

4.1 Formatting

Only electronic files conforming to the journal's guidelines will be accepted. Preferred formats for the text and tables of your manuscript are Microsoft Word or RTF.

4.2 Journal Style

Current Sociology conforms to the Sage house style. Click here to review guidelines on Sage UK House Style.

4.3 Reference style

Current Sociology adheres to the Sage Harvard reference style. Click here to review the guidelines on Sage Harvard to ensure your manuscript conforms to this reference style.

If you use EndNote to manage references, download the Sage Harvard output style and save to the appropriate folder (normally for Windows C:\Program Files\EndNote\Styles and for Mac OS X Harddrive:Applications:EndNote:Styles). Once you’ve done this, open EndNote and choose Select Another Style... from the dropdown menu in the menu bar; locate and choose this new style from the following screen.

4.4 Manuscript preparation

Standard length of papers is 6-8000 words including, abstract, text, appendices, footnotes and references. The text should be double-spaced throughout and with a minimum of 3cm for left and right hand margins and 5cm at head and foot. Text should be standard 10 or 12 point.

All submissions, including self-references, citations and acknowledgments, must be anonymised.

Please note that manuscripts that are not anonymised or do not meet the length guidelines will be returned for amendment.

4.4.1 Your Title, Keywords and Abstracts: Helping readers find your article online

An abstract of 100-200 words and 3-5 keywords should also be provided. The title, keywords and abstract are key to ensuring readers find your article online through online search engines such as Google. Please refer to the information and guidance on how best to title your article, write your abstract and select your keywords by visiting Sages Journal Author Gateway Guidelines on How to Help Readers Find Your Article Online.

4.4.2 Corresponding Author Contact details

Provide full contact details for the corresponding author including email, mailing address and telephone numbers. Academic affiliations are required for all co-authors. These details should be presented separately to the main text of the article to facilitate anonymous peer review.

4.4.3 Guidelines for submitting artwork, figures and other graphics

For guidance on the preparation of illustrations, pictures and graphs in electronic format, please visit Sage’s Manuscript Submission Guidelines.

If, together with your accepted article, you submit usable colour figures, these figures will appear in colour online regardless of whether or not these illustrations are reproduced in colour in the printed version. If a charge applies you will be informed by your Sage Production Editor. For specifically requested colour reproduction in print, you will receive information regarding the costs from Sage after receipt of your accepted article.

4.4.4 Guidelines for submitting supplemental files

Current Sociology does not currently accept supplemental files.

4.4.5 English Language Editing services

Non-English speaking authors who would like to refine their use of language in their manuscripts might consider using a professional editing service. 

Visit http://www.uk.sagepub.com/journalgateway/msg.htm for further information.

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5. Submitting your manuscript

Before submitting your manuscript, please ensure you carefully read and adhere to all the guidelines and instructions to authors provided above. Manuscripts not conforming to these guidelines may be returned.

Current Sociology is hosted on Sage Track, a web based online submission and peer review system powered by ScholarOne™ Manuscripts. Visit http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/cso to login and submit your article online.

IMPORTANT: Please check whether you already have an account in the system before trying to create a new one. If you have reviewed or authored for the journal in the past year it is likely that you will have had an account created.  For further guidance on submitting your manuscript online please visit ScholarOne Online Help.

All papers must be submitted via the online system. If you would like to discuss your paper prior to submission, please refer to the contact details below.

Proposals for monograph issues should be submitted to Professor Eloísa Martin (csmonographs@gmail.com).

5.1 ORCID

As part of our commitment to ensuring an ethical, transparent and fair peer review process Sage is a supporting member of ORCID, the Open Researcher and Contributor ID. ORCID provides a unique and persistent digital identifier that distinguishes researchers from every other researcher, even those who share the same name, and, through integration in key research workflows such as manuscript and grant submission, supports automated linkages between researchers and their professional activities, ensuring that their work is recognized.

The collection of ORCID iDs from corresponding authors is now part of the submission process of this journal. If you already have an ORCID iD you will be asked to associate that to your submission during the online submission process. We also strongly encourage all co-authors to link their ORCID ID to their accounts in our online peer review platforms. It takes seconds to do: click the link when prompted, sign into your ORCID account and our systems are automatically updated. Your ORCID iD will become part of your accepted publication’s metadata, making your work attributable to you and only you. Your ORCID iD is published with your article so that fellow researchers reading your work can link to your ORCID profile and from there link to your other publications.

If you do not already have an ORCID iD please follow this link to create one or visit our ORCID homepage to learn more.

5.2 Information required for completing your submission

You will be asked to provide contact details and academic affiliations for all co-authors via the submission system and identify who is to be the corresponding author. These details must match what appears on your manuscript. At this stage please ensure you have included all the required statements and declarations and uploaded any additional supplementary files (including reporting guidelines where relevant).

5.3 Permissions

Please also ensure that you have obtained any necessary permission from copyright holders for reproducing any illustrations, tables, figures or lengthy quotations previously published elsewhere. For further information including guidance on fair dealing for criticism and review, please see the Copyright and Permissions page on the Sage Author Gateway.

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6. On acceptance and publication

6.1 Sage Production

Your Sage Production Editor will keep you informed as to your article’s progress throughout the production process. Proofs will be sent by PDF to the corresponding author and should be returned promptly.  Authors are reminded to check their proofs carefully to confirm that all author information, including names, affiliations, sequence and contact details are correct, and that Funding and Conflict of Interest statements, if any, are accurate.

6.2 Online First publication

Online First allows final articles (completed and approved articles awaiting assignment to a future issue) to be published online prior to their inclusion in a journal issue, which significantly reduces the lead time between submission and publication. Visit the Sage Journals help page for more details, including how to cite Online First articles.

6.3 Access to your published article

Sage provides authors with online access to their final article

6.4 Promoting your article

Publication is not the end of the process! You can help disseminate your paper and ensure it is as widely read and cited as possible. The Sage Author Gateway has numerous resources to help you promote your work. Visit the Promote Your Article page on the Gateway for tips and advice. 

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7. Further information

Any correspondence, queries or additional requests for information on the manuscript submission process should be sent to the Current Sociology editorial office as follows:

Zarine L. Rocha (Managing Editor)
E-mail: currentsociology@gmail.com

Joy Y. Zhang (Editor CS Monograph Issues and SSIS Book Series)
Email: Y.Zhang-203@kent.ac.uk