Submission Guidelines

At the GJSS, we receive many submissions from academics just starting out in their careers. In order to help beginning scholars facilitate the journal submission process and to be more successful in future applications, we have developed a list of general guidelines for submission to the GJSS, which is broad enough to be adapted for submission to any journal. We welcome feedback on this list. If you have any comments or suggestions, please contact us at: gjss.editors@lse.ac.uk

First Steps

Before submitting to any journal, you should first investigate the background of the journal. If this is a journal that you use frequently in your own work, then you will be likely to easily answer the below questions. If you are not familiar with the journal, these questions should help you decide whether or not your work fits within the overall aims of the journal’s goals.

  • Who is on the board of the journal?
  • What is the history of the journal?
  • What is the journal’s mission statement?
  • Was the journal formed to fill a gap in current scholarship at the time?
  • Was it formed in response to another journal?

Also, take a look at past editions of the journal.

  • Has the journal addressed the issues that you are addressing in the past?
  • Do you include articles from the journal (or longer debates which the journal showcases) into account in your piece?
  • Is there a way that you can incorporate past work and/or ongoing debates from the journal?

Format

Format the article to the style of the journal to which you are applying – this includes the citation style, footnote style, from British to American English or vice versa, etc. Double check your article for style mistakes, including spelling and grammatical mistakes. Ask a friend or colleague to read over your paper before submission.

Follow-up

If your article is not accepted and you are not given any feedback, write a polite response to the person who contacted you asking them for more information. Critique is part of the academic process – we are all on a continuous journey to be better scholars. Please note, however, that larger journals might not have the time to get back to you with substantial feedback if your article is rejected.