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Invitation to Submit Proposals for Special Issues to the Asian Journal of Computer Science and Technology

The Asian Journal of Computer Science and Technology (AJCST) invites experienced researchers and scholars with a strong track record in specific areas of computer science and technology to serve as Guest Editors and propose Special Issues or Article Collections. Proposed collections should align closely with the journal’s Aims and Scope and should feature timely, high-quality scholarship capable of advancing academic discussion in computer science, software engineering, information technology, computational methodologies, intelligent systems, and emerging technologies.

AJCST expects every Special Issue to follow the same standards of editorial independence, scholarly quality, research integrity, and transparent peer review that apply to regular submissions. The journal’s approach is consistent with its Peer Review Process and Publication Ethics & Publication Malpractice Statement. These expectations also reflect widely recognised scholarly-publishing principles, including the COPE Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing and the DOAJ guidance for journals publishing Special Issues.

Guidelines for Submitting Special Issue Proposals

1. Scope and Focus

  1. Special Issues should align with the themes and scope of the Asian Journal of Computer Science and Technology. Proposals may address areas across computer science, software engineering, information technology, computational methods, artificial intelligence, data science, computer networks, cybersecurity, information systems, cloud and distributed computing, human-computer interaction, and other emerging computational technologies described in the journal’s Aims and Scope.
  2. The proposed Special Issue should address a clearly defined and timely topic within these fields, with emphasis on recent advances, emerging trends, unresolved research questions, innovative methods, or novel areas of scholarly and technological development.
  3. The proposed theme should be sufficiently focused to provide a coherent scholarly collection while remaining broad enough to attract high-quality contributions from an appropriate international research community.

2. Guest Editor Responsibilities

Guest Editors are expected to:

  1. Identify and encourage qualified researchers and authors to contribute high-quality manuscripts relevant to the approved theme.
  2. Support the journal in communicating the scope and objectives of the Special Issue to the scholarly community.
  3. Ensure that all manuscripts submitted to the Special Issue are handled in accordance with AJCST’s double-blind peer-review process and are subject to the same standards of reviewer independence, confidentiality, editorial scrutiny, and scholarly quality as regular submissions.
  4. Oversee the academic coherence and relevance of the collection while respecting the authority of the Editor-in-Chief and the journal’s Editorial Board.
  5. Follow AJCST’s requirements concerning publication ethics, conflicts of interest, authorship, research integrity, confidentiality, and responsible use of artificial intelligence, including the Publication Ethics & Publication Malpractice Statement and Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy.
  6. Actively promote the approved Special Issue through appropriate academic and professional channels in order to improve its visibility and reach among relevant researchers and practitioners.
  7. Avoid any action that could compromise editorial independence, peer-review integrity, or the impartial treatment of submitted manuscripts.

3. Proposal Content

A Special Issue proposal should include the following information:

  1. Title of the Special Issue: A concise and informative title that accurately reflects the proposed content, scope, and research theme.
  2. Rationale and Objectives: A clear explanation of the significance of the proposed topic, its current relevance, the scholarly need for the collection, and the principal objectives of the Special Issue.
  3. Themes and Topics: A structured list of the main themes, research areas, questions, methods, or subtopics that the Special Issue will address.
  4. Potential Authors: An outline of possible contributors and their areas of expertise, where applicable. The identification of potential authors does not guarantee manuscript acceptance; all submissions remain subject to editorial assessment and peer review.
  5. Guest Editors: The names, institutional affiliations, contact details, areas of expertise, and short professional biographies of the proposed Guest Editor or Guest Editors.
  6. Expected Timeline: A proposed schedule covering the call for papers, manuscript submission period, peer review, revision, editorial decision-making, and anticipated publication.
  7. Target Audience: A description of the intended readership, such as researchers, academics, computer scientists, software engineers, data scientists, information-technology professionals, educators, practitioners, or policymakers, as appropriate to the theme.

4. Submission Process

  1. Special Issue proposals should be submitted by email to editor@crijournals.org.
  2. The proposal will be reviewed by the journal’s editorial team and, where appropriate, members of the Editorial Board to assess relevance, scholarly value, feasibility, Guest Editor expertise, and alignment with AJCST’s scope and publication standards.
  3. Proposers will normally be notified of the decision on the Special Issue proposal within 10 days.
  4. Acceptance of a Special Issue proposal does not constitute acceptance of any individual manuscript. Each submitted paper will be assessed independently according to AJCST’s editorial and peer-review requirements.

5. Publication Timeline

Once a Special Issue proposal is accepted, AJCST will work with the Guest Editor or Guest Editors to establish an appropriate timeline for manuscript submission, editorial screening, peer review, revision, final decision, production, and publication.

Authors contributing to an approved Special Issue should prepare manuscripts in accordance with the journal’s Author Guidelines and use the journal’s Submit Manuscript process. Publication timelines depend on manuscript quality, reviewer availability, revisions, and completion of editorial and production requirements.

6. Peer Review Process

All manuscripts submitted to a Special Issue will undergo AJCST’s double-blind peer-review process to support the quality, originality, relevance, and integrity of the published scholarship. Special Issue manuscripts are not exempt from standard editorial screening or peer review.

Guest Editors must respect reviewer independence and confidentiality and must disclose any actual or potential conflicts of interest. Ethical concerns will be handled under AJCST’s Publication Ethics & Publication Malpractice Statement and, where necessary after publication, the Post-Publication and Accountability Policy.

7. Editorial Independence and Research Integrity

AJCST retains editorial oversight of all Special Issues and Article Collections. The Editor-in-Chief or an authorised editor retains responsibility for final editorial decisions, and Guest Editors do not have authority to bypass the journal’s peer-review, ethical, or editorial requirements. This principle is consistent with recognised guidance for guest-edited collections and with AJCST’s published Peer Review Process and Editorial Board structure.

Any manuscript involving a Guest Editor, a close collaborator, or another relationship that could create a conflict of interest must be handled independently. All authors and editors are expected to comply with AJCST’s policies on research integrity, authorship, competing interests, confidentiality, and responsible scholarly conduct.

Articles accepted for publication in an AJCST Special Issue are published in accordance with the journal’s Open Access Policy and Copyright & Licensing Policy. Authors should also review the current Article Processing Charges & Waivers information. Any applicable Article Processing Charge is separate from editorial decision-making and does not influence acceptance, rejection, peer review, or the scholarly assessment of a manuscript.

9. Questions and Contact

For questions concerning Special Issue proposals, Guest Editor responsibilities, or the submission process, please contact AJCST at editor@crijournals.org. Additional journal contact information is available on the Contact page.