Purpose of Special Issues

Special issues spotlight focused themes such as autonomous surgery, AI driven imaging, or safety validation. They bring together interdisciplinary teams and create high impact collections.

What to Include in a Proposal

Provide a clear theme, rationale, and target audience. Include expected topics and a list of potential contributors or guest editors.

• Working title and scope statement
• Key research questions and relevance
• Timeline and expected submission window
• Guest editor qualifications and affiliations

Editorial Review

The editorial board evaluates proposals for relevance, feasibility, and alignment with JRAI scope. Approved proposals receive editorial guidance and promotion support.

Research Visibility

Open access publication ensures that robotic surgery and AI research is available to engineers, clinicians, and health system leaders worldwide.

Quality Assurance

Every manuscript receives editorial screening and independent review to protect the integrity of technical and clinical claims.

Promotion and Visibility

Special issues receive dedicated landing pages, outreach, and targeted visibility to research networks.

Theme Rationale

Explain why the theme is timely, how it advances robotics and AI research, and which clinical challenges it addresses. A strong rationale improves approval speed.

Guest Editor Profile

List guest editor qualifications, editorial experience, and research focus. Diverse expertise helps manage interdisciplinary submissions effectively.

Proposed Timeline

Provide target dates for call for papers, submission deadlines, review milestones, and publication. Clear timing ensures a smooth workflow.

Target Contributions

Estimate the number of manuscripts and types of articles expected. Balanced contributions support a strong and cohesive collection.

Peer Review Standards

All special issue manuscripts follow the same ethical and peer review standards as regular submissions. Guest editors must ensure quality and transparency.

Call for Papers Draft

Include a draft call for papers with a concise theme description and topic list. This helps the editorial team align messaging and outreach quickly.

Review Workflow

Outline how reviewers will be recruited and how decisions will be managed. A clear workflow ensures consistency and timely decisions.

Promotion Plan

Describe planned outreach to conferences, societies, and research networks. Targeted promotion helps attract high quality submissions.

Diversity of Contributors

Encourage geographic and disciplinary diversity among contributors. Diverse perspectives strengthen the relevance and impact of the collection.

Scope Boundaries

Define what is in and out of scope to prevent misaligned submissions. Clear boundaries reduce review delays and maintain focus.

Initial Screening

Guest editors and the editorial office perform an initial screening for scope, completeness, and ethical compliance before peer review begins.

Guest Editor Duties

Guest editors coordinate reviewer invitations, monitor timelines, and provide decision recommendations. The editorial office supports compliance and production workflows.

Review Capacity

Confirm that the guest editor team has sufficient capacity to manage peer review workloads. Adequate coverage helps avoid delays and maintains quality.

Ethics and Compliance

Special issues follow the same ethics, conflict disclosure, and data transparency requirements as all JRAI publications.

Post Publication Activities

After publication, guest editors may help promote the collection through webinars, conference sessions, or research networks. Engagement supports citations and community uptake. These activities also help authors connect with industry partners and clinical adopters and highlight the collection in professional newsletters and lab meetings for broader community engagement and citation growth.