Voicing Rivers: Editorial

Welcome to this Special Issue, entitled Voicing Rivers. As an editorial group (Figure 1), it has been a great privilege to read and consider responses to our call for contributions and share with readers, authors and reviewers involved in this journey. We invited proposals for articles and creative work to focus on stories of, by, from and for rivers, from a variety of perspectives. This Special Issue has been a collaborative project involving nearly 20 rivers and over 50 people. We thank contributors, reviewers and the River Research and Applications journal editor and staff.

Scientific Writing and Publishing

Knowing how to prepare, write and publish high-quality research papers can be challenging for scientists at all stages of their career. This manual guides readers through successfully framing and presenting research findings, as well as the processes involved in publishing in learned journals. It draws on the author's wealth of practical experience, from working in academic research for over 40 years and teaching scientific writing in over 20 countries, to gaining insights as a journal editor. Well-written and logical, it provides clear step-by-step instructions to enable readers to become more effective at writing articles, and navigating difficulties related to journal submission, the review process, editing and publication. It comprehensively covers themes such as publication ethics, along with current topics including Open Access publishing and pre-print servers. This is a useful, user-friendly guide for graduate students, early career scientists, and more experienced researchers, particularly in the life and medical sciences.

The Grand Theory Is Alive: An Interview with Jonathan H. Turner

Jonathan H. Turner is the Distinguished Professor of Sociology at the University of California at Riverside and, for many decades, the world’s leading authority on sociological theory, with research interests in many other areas such as human and societal evolution, social stratification and inequality, philosophy of science, and historical sociology. Professor Turner has authored, co-authored, edited, or co-edited a number of works, including more than 43 influential books, which have been published in twelve different languages, including The Structure of Sociological Theory, The Emergence of Sociological Theory, and many others. He is a member of the American Sociological Association and a former president of the Pacific Sociological Society and the journal editor for Sociological Theory. Professor Turner received a B.A. with honors from University of California at Santa Barbara, a M.A. and a doctorate in sociology from Cornell University. The interview is Professor Turner’s critical reply to the arguments raised in the article “Against Grand Theories: A (Cautionary) Tale of Two Disciplines,” which presents the view that universally accepted grand theories in social sciences are not achievable because of the lack of a common methodology or a theoretical core which results in their multiparadigmatic nature, value-leadenness and insufficient objectivity. The interview took place on March 23, 2021 online.

Correction to: Milani, G., Demattè, G., Ferioli, M., Dallagà, G., Lavezzi, S., Basaglia, N., & Straudi, S. (2021). Telerehabiltation in Italy During the COVID-19 Lockdown: A Feasibility and Acceptability Study . International Journal of Telerehabilitation

In the metadata for Milani, G., Demattè, G., Ferioli, M., Dallagà, G., Lavezzi, S., Basaglia, N., & Straudi, S. (2021). Telerehabiltation in Italy During the COVID-19 Lockdown: A Feasibility and Acceptability Study . International Journal of Telerehabilitation, 13(1). https://doi.org/10.5195/ijt.2021.6334, acceptability was misspelled in the title (i.e., acceptability) by the journal editor. The metadata for the original article has been corrected.

The Difficult Way to Publish a Research Paper

BACKGROUND: The authors aim to publish the results of their studies in peer-reviewed targeted international journals with a high impact-factor as possible, but they are also exposing to “predatory” publishers. AIM: The aim of the study was to offer some advices for authors to help to identify relevant medical journals, avoid “predatory” journals and publishers, use intermediary services, know a journal policy, and expectations of good journal editor(s). RECOMMENDATIONS: During the publication process authors should find suitable journals, assume a risk to encounter “predatory” or “hijacked” journals, know the advantages and disadvantages of using intermediary publishing services, understand expectations of editor(s), and make payment for article processing. CONCLUSIONS: The advices can help many researchers to publish their papers in relevant journals with cited indexes, and avoid many problems within the publication process.