Submissions

Submission Preparation Checklist

As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission's compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors that do not adhere to these guidelines.

The manuscript has not been published; nor is it under consideration elsewhere.
Preferred file format is Word/rtf.
The manuscript is double-spaced, Times New Roman 12.
If you want to emphasize the content, then please use indentation.
Tables and figures are embedded in the text.
The text conforms to academic language use (terminology, style & grammar).
Contact details are included on the title page (author’s name and affiliations and contact details (e-mail) for the correspondent author).
To facilitate blind review, a fully anonymised second file with the title, the abstract (a maximum of 200 words) 3-5 keywords, and the main text should also be submitted.
All submissions must conform to the standards of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th edition, also see https://apastlye.org/ )
Please also consider our mission and ethical guidelines
(https://journals.lib.pte.hu/index.php/szocialisszemle/Mission
https://journals.lib.pte.hu/index.php/szocialisszemle/Ethics

Author Guidelines

Charges

Publication in this journal is free of charge. The journal does not charge submission fees, review fees, publication fees / APCs (Article Processing Charges), page charges, colour figure charges or withdrawal fees.

Review policy

The journal operates a two-level review process. The editors of the current issue assess the submitted manuscript and either accept it for review, request further modifications, or reject the manuscript. Following editorial acceptance, the manuscript enters an anonymous, double-blind review process in which the author(s) and reviewer(s) do not know each other’s identities.

For interviews, professional reflections and book reviews, the first, editorial level of review is often sufficient, but the Editorial Board may decide that an additional external review is needed.

For theoretical or empirical studies, two independent reviewers are asked to assess the scientific quality of the manuscript.

Use of artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence may be used for language and stylistic checking, as well as for preparing graphs, diagrams and figures.

Current AI tools do not replace independent literature searches – for this, we continue to recommend, for example, Google Scholar –, literature reviews, research design or analytical tasks.

AI should never be used when the author cannot fully verify the accuracy of the result. The author, not AI, is responsible for the submitted manuscript.

Substantial, non-transparent use of AI may constitute a publication ethics issue. For more information, please see: https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/resources/publishing-tips/policy-generative-ai

Average time between article submission & publication

On average, 12–14 weeks pass between manuscript submission and publication. Please also consider the following:

The journal follows a fixed publication schedule and is published twice a year, on 30 June and 31 December. Therefore, the time between submission and publication depends on the date of submission and is also strongly influenced by the quality of the submitted manuscript. If only one review round is necessary and the reviewers accept the manuscript without major modifications, the process may be shortened to as little as four weeks. However, if several rounds of review are required, publication may take a year or even longer. To avoid unnecessary delays, authors are advised to read the author guidelines carefully and, where possible, use the Open Journal Systems platform available for submission (https://journals.lib.pte.hu/index.php/szocialisszemle/about/submissions).

Conflict of Interest Statement
Authors should include a statement at the end of the manuscript indicating whether any conflict of interest may exist, for example: “The author declares that no external interest influenced the preparation of this publication.” If the research or publication was funded by a third party, authors should indicate whether 1. the funder agreed to the publication of the results, and 2. the funding may have led to any authorial bias and, if so, what was done to eliminate it.

Authorship Statement
Each author made a substantial contribution to the manuscript by participating in at least one significant stage of the work, including the development of the concept or research design, the review of the relevant literature, the collection, analysis or interpretation of data, or the drafting or substantive revision of the manuscript. All authors approved the final version and accept responsibility for the content of the submitted manuscript.

Theoretical and review studies

These are conceptual analyses that make a significant contribution to social work’s professional knowledge, including innovative theoretical discussions and critical-reflective reviews of the recent professional literature. Expected length is between 20,000-50,000 characters, with spaces.

Empirical studies

These studies are the reports on new research findings in social work. Expected length is between 20,000-50,000 characters, with spaces.

Case studies

These intensive, in-depth studies on individuals’, groups’, or communities’ social problems are about practitioners’ experiences, dilemmas, and methodological developments. Expected length is between 20,000–50,000 characters, with spaces.

Professional reflections

Opinion pieces on professional contexts, processes, developments and events written by social practitioners, other professionals active in social work, or policy-making. Expected length is between 20,000–30,000 characters, with spaces.

Interviews

Interviews with social professionals, service users, policy-makers or with any other concerned parties active in social work. Expected length is between 20,000-30,000 characters, with spaces.

Reports

A brief but comprehensive summary on a scientific or professional event in social work. Expected length is between 10,000 and 20,000 characters, with spaces.

Conference articles

A brief publication comprising the preliminary results of a presentation, workshop, or poster, not published elsewhere. Expected length is between 20,000-30,000 characters, with spaces.

Book reviews

Book reviews or reviews on a thematic issue of a journal in social work. Expected length is between10,000 and 20,000 characters, with spaces.

Privacy Statement

The names and email addresses submitted to this site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of the journal and will not be used for any other purpose or shared with any third party.