We need a new "Special Issue" lexicon

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TLDR: "Watercooler" and "Frankenstein" Special Issues are very different things. We should really be distinguishing them from each other. It's publishers that profit off of free guest editor work that want us to view all things called "Special Issues" as similar products. They aren't, and we need terms that define a spectrum for what goes into editing a "Special Issue."

Figure: Special Issue (red) and Regular Issue (blue) articles by publisher from The strain on scientific publishing.

Author note: I refer to "groups like MDPI" in this blog. While MDPI is a poster child for Special Issue publishing, they are by no means alone. Those comments apply to all groups  engaging in such practices.

This blog is the first in a series of reflections on special issue publishing

So you may have read a preprint recently: "The strain on scientific publishing." I found the topic fascinating; heck, I was lead author. In that preprint, we highlighted two mechanisms of publisher growth that generates strain, one of which was the use of "Special Issues" (emphasis on the air quotes). Some publishers have adopted Special Issues as an outlet for publishing guest-edited articles en masse. Now, our preprint took off across the globe, being covered in English, Spanish, Arabic, and Swahili... just to name a few. Somewhat as a result, we've even been attacked by Frontiers Media for somehow being "anti-special issue," which is the topic of today's post: am I anti-special issue? I don't think so. After all, I just finished editing one.

But I do have to say... there are some things you realise when you're on the inside looking out. Editing this special issue only convinced me that the conversation around modern day "Special Issues" needs a serious update. We don't need to stop funding the publishing of Special Issue articles (SNSF, 2023), we just need to "make Special Issues special once again" (Priem, 2007).

So what do I mean? Well...

Hanson, Westlake, & Schrankel (2024)

What is a journal?
OR: The rules of publishing changed

Before I get to Special Issues, I think it's important to discuss where they're published. Even more important to understanding their value, I think it's also worth talking about "when."

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