Author Guidelines

Contents

1. Types of Articles
2. Criteria for Publication
3. External Proofreadings Services
4. Production Workflow
5. Policy on Post-dissemination Corrections

 

History of Science in South Asia invites contributions on the history of science, technology and medicine, primarily in South Asia but also in other geographical areas in so far as they have a bearing on the developments in South Asia. In addition to original reports of research and theory, HSSA welcomes also feature articles that reflect on methodological issues, especially in the context of non-Western sciences.

Contributions should focus on questions relevant to the field of the history of science in South Asia. These questions should be pointed and may also have implications for broader history of science problems, regionally or globally. Contributions should show an awareness of the contemporary state of international academic research in the field that they address.

1. Types of Articles

Research Articles

Contributions reporting original research using qualitative and/or quantitative historical data related to the history of science should include a literature review and/or theoretical/conceptual framework, methods, and analysis sections. The methods need to be clearly outlined and should match the research question or stated purpose of the contribution. Please include a brief description of any methodologies that are less familiar to the history of science research community.

Features

HSSA welcomes feature submissions that report on, or present opinions about, topical issues in the history of science in South Asia; present analyses of debates and controversies in the field; present new ideas or theories about the history of South Asian science, in short essay form; or present reflections on the history of South Asian science in the context of current issues. Feature articles are meant to be different from traditional research contributions. Therefore, features need not contain literature reviews or extensive descriptions of methodology. However, feature articles should do much more than just present personal anecdotes and opinions. Features should demonstrate well-informed and factually sound interpretations of educational issues that advance knowledge in the discipline and/or improve practice in the field.

Book and Media Reviews

HSSA publishes reviews of books and other media related to the field. Books and other media for review (one copy each) should be sent to the editor.

2. Criteria for Publication

Significance and Impact

Contributions should focus on questions relevant to the field of the history of science in South Asia. These questions should be pointed and may also have implications for broader history of science problems, regionally or globally. Contributions should explicitly state their contributions, whether theoretical or historical.

Advancement of the Field

The contribution should push existing theory in a new direction, and/or extend or bring a new perspective to current literature.

Clarity and Style

Contributions should be well written in clear, concise language and be as free as possible of technical jargon. HSSA strives for all articles to be widely accessible to non-experts with university-level skills in other fields. Previously published HSSA articles can serve as examples of the style of writing appropriate for our audience. We understand that the specific organization of a contribution may differ according to discipline and the author’s aesthetic sense.


3. External Proofreading Services

If, before you submit, your paper needs more style correction than the you are able to provide, or for multi-author papers that need harmonization, we recommend that you use a commercial editing services.  The following companies are mentioned only as examples:  we have no experience with them, and there are many other companies that provide similar services.

4. Production Workflow

Each paper follows a slightly different pathway, but the following steps are the norm.

1. Submissions are sent for anonymous peer review by two different field specialists.
2. On being accepted for publication, the referees' reports will be sent to the author.  The author will be invited to resubmit an updated version of the paper that takes the referees' comments into account as appropriate.
3. When received, the updated submission will be considered to be the final, finished submission.  It will proceed to copy-editing and formatting. 
4. The copyedited proofs will be sent to the author for final approval.  Minor corrections to the copyediting or formatting can be accepted at this time.  Substantive changes cannot be accepted.
5. As a courtesy, the typeset page proofs will be sent to the author before publication for final approval.  No changes to the text are accepted at this point unless the typesetters have themselves introduced gross errors that will seriously mislead readers and misrepresent the author's intention.
6. The paper is published.

5. Policy on Post-dissemination Corrections

HSSA adopts the policy as laid out in detail in the Érudit policy statement.  In brief, once a paper has been published, changes will normally not be possible.  Authors are urged to proofread the copyedited proofs of their paper carefully, perhaps inviting colleagues or professional proof-readers to participate in avoiding post-publication problems.  In exceptional circumstances and at the discretion of the Editorial Board, an erratum can be published as described in the Érudit policy above.