All submissions must be original manuscripts that should not be under consideration for publication elsewhere. Proofreading will not be undertaken by the JSIJ. Submitted manuscripts should be in good, grammatically correct English and free of typographical errors. Authors agree that reviewed and accepted manuscripts will be formatted and published according to the Japan Social Innovation Journal’s style.
For detailed guidelines manuscript submissions, please download the appropriate templates.
1. Format. The preferred file type for submitted manuscripts is MS Word with page numbers. Please use Times New Roman (10.5 point font size) and submitted manuscripts subject to peer review must not be more than 5,000 words. (However, invited manuscripts have no length restrictions.) Contributions for the "Research notes" section should not exceed 5,000 words. However, the final length limit will depend on the quality of the submitted manuscript and is at the discretion of the Editors.
2. Abstract. Submitted manuscripts must include an abstract (40-60 words) specifying the purpose, (analytical method, if applicable) and findings of the study.
3. Keywords. Please specify three to five keywords (3-5 tags) related to the main idea and findings of the article.
4. JEL Classification. Provide the appropriate Journal of Economic Literature (JEL) code/s for your research. The JEL alphanumeric codes (consisting of a letter and two digits that represent subject categories) will facilitate online search using the IDEAS archive. (For the complete list of JEL codes, see http://ideas.repec.org/j)
5. Tables/Illustrations/Data. For manuscripts which include (a) tables and graphs: please indicate table/figure numbers, notes, captions, sources; (b) diagrams, maps, illustrations and pictures: please write figure or photo numbers in the respective headings. The editors will contact the author about additional guidelines regarding size and image resolution matters. The author is responsible for obtaining a letter of copyright permission for illustrations, photos, artwork taken from other sources. Without obtaining the proper permission, the said photos/artwork by other authors will not be published.
6. Citations and References. The JSIJ uses a format that is based on the APA style guide. Please see the downloadable guide or template above for some bibliographic entries for common types of reference materials such as books, journal articles, news reports, electronic sources, translated books or articles written in a language other than English, etc. All entries must be in alphabetical order.
7. Author/s profile. A short description about the author/s should include institute/organization affiliation, position, research interests or professional activities (maximum 50 words).
8. Submission. Please send the following documents to jsij.editors@gk.u-hyogo.ac.jp and write “For JSIJ submission” in the email subject line:
- The final version of your file (preferably in MS-Word)
- The original table/figures files (preferably in MS-Excel)
- The individual image files (in JPEG, TIFF or PNG formats)
B. Screening and review or evaluation process
Submitted manuscripts are subject to a preliminary screening based on paper quality and theme suitability. Those that clear the initial screening then undergo a double-blind peer review process. No fewer than two reviewers are assigned by the Guest Editor/s to conduct the review based on these evaluation criteria. Based on the evaluation of the reviewers, the Guest Editor/s and the editorial team makes the final decision on whether to accept a manuscript.
There are mainly five possible decisions:
1. Accept (for the peer-reviewed articles section): Acceptance without revision. The paper is ready for publication.
2. Accept (for the research notes section): Authors are informed that the JSIJ accepts the submitted manuscript as a research note. The research notes section is for manuscripts which discuss a topic related to the theme of the JSIJ issue and reports significant findings based on a conceptual framework. Research notes present original research similar to full-length research articles but in a shortened format. (However, the length of the final draft will depend on the quality of the manuscript and is at the discretion of the Editors.)
3. Accept subject to revision (for the peer-reviewed articles section): This is for manuscripts that are relevant to the audience of the JSIJ; have significant and original contributions, and either technical quality and/or presentation needs revision, or additional data and clarification of results are needed to prepare the paper for publication.
4. Accept subject to revision (for the research notes section): Authors are instructed to further revise their submitted manuscripts for possible publication in the research notes section.
5. Reject: For articles that do not fit the criteria outlined above based on originality, significant contribution to the field, sound methodology, etc.
In case of a split-decision between the two reviewers, a third referee will be assigned to read and evaluate the manuscript. A specialist well-versed in the relevant research topic or theme, this referee shall be tasked with the impartial evaluation of the manuscript and decision of the matter.
Only submissions that pass the preliminary screening based on theme suitability and paper quality as well as the subsequent blind review system will be published by the JSIJ.
C. Open access and copyright policies
The JSIJ is the first peer-reviewed open-access electronic journal specializing in the multidisciplinary field of social innovation. All articles published by the JSIJ are made freely accessible online immediately upon publication, without any need for subscription or registration fees.
The publisher of the JSIJ (Institute for Policy Analysis and Social Innovation of the University of Hyogo) decided to adopt the Open Access Policy and amendments to its copyright policy on June 1, 2012. Henceforth, all articles submitted to and accepted by the JSIJ for publication will be published under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 3.0) license that allows reuse subject only to the use being non-commercial and to the article being fully attributed Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License.
1. Authors retain copyright of their article/s and grant the JSIJ the right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial License (full license in detail). Under this license, authors have granted to any third party the right to use, reproduce or disseminate the article, according to the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (full license in detail) with an acknowledgment of the work’s authorship and initial publication in the JSIJ.
2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the JSIJ’s published version of the work with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in the JSIJ.
3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in their personal websites, respective institutional repositories or archives, etc.) as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as greater citation of the original work published in the JSIJ. The Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 3.0) license should appear on the hosted version of the article along with a DOI link to the citable final edited and typeset version of record on J-STAGE. (See The Effects of Open Access)
4. By agreeing to have the final version published, the authors declare that, in their contribution, rights of third parties have not been infringed upon anywhere in the document, including tables, graphs, illustrations, pictures and other graphics. If the authors wish to republish the article, they are kindly asked to cite the JSIJ as the place of first publication.
Parties who wish to resolve copyright issues concerning a JSIJ article are requested to contact the respective authors.
5. Open access articles can be identified by the Creative Commons copyright statement that appears at the end of each article and takes the following form:
“Open Access Article. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License. To view a copy of this license, please see Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License”.
D. Publication, revision and retraction policies
The authors are fully responsible for checking the accuracy of information and contents of their manuscripts prior to publication.
Upon receiving approval of final version and subsequent publication of manuscripts online, changes are not allowed. Published articles will remain in the same form as published without any amendments.
An article, however, may be retracted or withdrawn to correct errors noted subsequently in its published form. Retraction of published articles on grounds of ethical violations such as plagiarism, reporting of fraudulent data, violation of publisher's and/or author's rights etc. will be carefully considered by the Journal editors to uphold the integrity of scientific discipline and academic standards.
E. Privacy Statement
The names and email addresses provided to the JSIJ will be used exclusively for facilitating the processing of manuscripts for review, evaluation and publication and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.
F. Disclaimer
Japan Social Innovation Journal Open Access articles posted in repositories or websites are without warranty from the Institute for Policy Analysis and Social Innovation, University of Hyogo (henceforth known as "the publisher"). To the maximum extent permitted by law, the publisher disclaims all warranties in of any kind, either express or implied, including, but not limited to, warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement.
In no event shall the publisher be liable for any damages whatsoever (including, without limitation, incidental, indirect, special or consequential damages or injury, damages for loss of profits, business interruption, loss of information or other pecuniary loss) resulting from, or in connection with the use of, or loss of use of the contents.
Japan Science and Technology Infomation Aggregator, Electronicn
