The Social Scholarly Process:

1. Submission

Authors can submit their work directly to Social Scholarly or transfer a preprint from trusted preprint servers. Detailed submission instructions are available in the author guide on our website.

2. Peer Review

Social Scholarly editors, all active researchers in their respective fields, assess new submissions and determine which will undergo peer review. Our editors use a set of transparent criteria to select articles, as outlined in our editorial policies.

Each article is reviewed by experts in the field who provide a Public Review, offering insights into strengths, weaknesses, and suggested improvements. The editor and reviewers will also produce a Social Scholarly Assessment, summarizing the significance and quality of the research.

We charge a publication fee of $2,000, payable during the peer review stage, though this fee can be waived for authors facing financial hardship upon application.

3. Reviewed Preprint Publication

Once peer review is complete, the article is published as a Reviewed Preprint. This includes the original preprint, the Social Scholarly Assessment, the Public Reviews, and a response from the authors (if available). This new type of publication allows authors to receive immediate feedback while maintaining the transparency of expert evaluation.

Reviewed Preprints are fully citable using their DOI, and the citation includes both the authors and the Social Scholarly Assessment.

4. Revised Version Publication

Authors are free to revise their work at any time after publication. When a revised version is submitted, the editor and peer reviewers update the Social Scholarly Assessment and Public Reviews to reflect the changes. The second version of the Reviewed Preprint will include the revised preprint, updated reviews, and any new responses from the authors.

5. Version of Record (VOR)

Once an article has completed the review and revision stages, the authors can choose to publish it as a Version of Record (VOR). This final version marks the end of the review and publication process.

Our VORs comply with all major funding agency requirements for open access publication, and we ensure that each VOR is indexed by services like Google Scholar, Scopus, and PubMed, though different services may have specific criteria for indexing.

Additional Features of Our Process:

• We encourage all authors to submit preprints for early feedback and dissemination.

• Social Scholarly does not limit the number of articles we review or publish; we are committed to fostering an open academic environment.

• During the peer review process, editors and reviewers collaborate closely, especially when drafting the Social Scholarly Assessment.

• Social Scholarly Assessments provide clear evaluations on a scale ranging from "landmark" to "useful," summarizing the significance of the findings and the strength of the evidence.

• Public Reviews evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each article, offering detailed feedback on the data and conclusions.

• Our approach ensures that recommendations for improving the article are included in the final Version of Record, enhancing the quality and impact of the research.

Submit Your Research

Publishing with SocialScholarly.com combines the accessibility and immediacy of preprints with the rigorous, transparent peer review process conducted by experts in the field.

Our Approach to Publishing

At SocialScholarly.com, we embrace an inclusive and transparent publishing model. Every paper we peer review is published on our platform as a Reviewed Preprint.

A Reviewed Preprint includes the original preprint, an expert assessment from SocialScholarly, public reviews, and an optional author response.

You maintain control over how and when to revise your work, deciding when it’s ready to be finalized as a Version of Record.

We welcome submissions across all areas of the social sciences, sports, and related disciplines, and work closely with authors to make selected submissions available as preprints.

Publication Fees and Submission Options

Our standard publication fee is $2,000, which supports a thorough and transparent peer review process. We are committed to inclusivity, and this fee can be waived for authors unable to afford it upon application.

Submissions for Review Articles, Feature Articles, and Scientific Correspondence should be made through our legacy submission system.

For a limited time, authors seeking a traditional accept-or-reject decision can submit Research Articles via the legacy submission system, where a publication fee of $3,500 applies.

At SocialScholarly.com, we strive to support researchers with flexible options to share their work with the global academic community.