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Why publish your paper in a Special Issue? Hear from our authors

Authors | Researchers
Why publish your paper in a Special Issue? Hear from our authors

Evidence suggests that articles published in Special Issues get more visibility, benefiting from their interdisciplinary nature and the collaborative work that supports them. In this post, Hindawi authors talk about the key benefits of being involved in a Special Issue.


Special Issues, led by a dedicated Guest Editor team, are collections of articles that focus on a topical research area. By connecting researchers from across the world and providing a platform for them to work collaboratively, Special Issues can prove to be an engaging and impactful avenue for the dissemination of your research. 

Following from our recent post on “Key benefits of leading a Special Issue with Hindawi,” we asked some of our authors to share their thoughts on why researchers should consider publishing in a Special Issue. Here’s what they said:

Increase visibility of your research

“A Special Issue can be found by searching online or by word of mouth. It prompts scientists interested in your field of research to read the articles, including yours.”

- Prof. Daniel Ortuno, corresponding author of “Phytochemicals That Influence Gut Microbiota as Prophylactics and for the Treatment of Obesity and Inflammatory Diseases

“Assembling similarly-themed articles together in a Special Issue enhances visibility by emphasizing the significance of the specific area being highlighted in a Special Issue. Readers are more likely to discover work they might not otherwise encounter.”

- Dr. Ross Fitzsimmons, corresponding author of “Mesenchymal Stromal/Stem Cells in Regenerative Medicine and Tissue Engineering

“Special Issue research articles seem to be more frequently cited than regular ones. I think it is mostly because articles published in Special Issues are related to the latest research trend. An article in a Special Issue can be beneficial to an author’s citation score and can help increase the researcher’s visibility in the community. On top of that, one of the main benefits of a Special Issue is the rigorous yet rapid peer review process from submission to reaching a decision. The quick publication process can help researchers avoid getting scooped and ensure that you get credit for your original ideas.”

- Dr. Mangal Sain, corresponding author of “An Efficient Deep Learning Approach to Pneumonia Classification in Healthcare"

Help other researchers to expand their own work 

“In our review on multipotent stromal cells (MSCs) in regenerative medicine, we really sought to construct a review that would be helpful to both new and veteran MSC researchers alike. Our hope was that by providing historical context along with discussion of recent findings we could provide some clarity on a number of longstanding questions concerning MSCs in order to help guide future experiments by others. We also assembled a table of common cellular markers used for identifying MSCs which may aid future data interpretation and investigation into MSC heterogeneity and therapeutic efficacy.” 

- Dr. Ross Fitzsimmons, corresponding author of “Mesenchymal Stromal/Stem Cells in Regenerative Medicine and Tissue Engineering

Connect with researchers in your field

“Special Issues give you an opportunity to be in contact with other researchers that share your specific scientific interests.”

- Prof. Daniel Ortuno, corresponding author of “Phytochemicals That Influence Gut Microbiota as Prophylactics and for the Treatment of Obesity and Inflammatory Diseases

“Our review article in the Special Issue has led to multiple engaging conversations with a number of clinicians. It personally gave me a new appreciation for the value of dialogue between scientists and clinicians at all the stages of biomedical research.”

- Dr. Ross Fitzsimmons, corresponding author of “Mesenchymal Stromal/Stem Cells in Regenerative Medicine and Tissue Engineering

Exchange information, share knowledge and learn from each other 

Manuscripts submitted to a Special Issue are greatly cared for by our Guest Editors, as they want to ensure published articles are of high quality and fit within the scope of both the Special Issue and the journal. As they know best what is within the scope of their Special Issue, the Guest Editors will immediately recognize which manuscripts are suitable for consideration and will provide tailored advice for improvements. 

“While we were preparing our review article for Stem Cells International, we were fortunate to have the guidance of the Lead Guest Editor of the Special Issue we were interested in being a part of. Based on her suggestions of what type of review would best accompany the other articles in the issue, we expanded the scope of our review beyond experimental studies and increased our emphasis on clinical perspectives.

The process of writing this particular article was an invaluable experience as it gave me a better appreciation for the collaborative nature of science and has helped to identify where knowledge gaps exist. This has helped inform our research priorities and revealed several interesting avenues for future projects.”

- Dr. Ross Fitzsimmons, corresponding author of “Current Status and Perspectives of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy

How to get involved

If you are interested in submitting a manuscript for consideration in a Special Issue, please visit the “Open Special Issues” section of one of our journals. If you have any queries about the submission process, please reach out to help@hindawi.com

Alternatively, if you are interested in leading a Special Issue, feel free to submit a Special Issue proposal following our editorial guidelines.


This blog post is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC-BY). The illustration is by David Jury and is also CC-BY.

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