1. Who do I contact if I have a question?

Your inquiries should be directed toward our e-mail address, as listed on this web site: isq@unt.edu. If you have an urgent issue, you may also call us at (940) 565-2801. If we are not in, leave a message and we will return your call as soon as possible.


2. How many physical copies of my manuscript should I submit?

None, if you have access to e-mail and the ability to send electronic copies. (See below.) If you feel uncomfortable with sending electronic copies via e-mail, you may still send us hard copies of your manuscript, but we ask that, in this eventuality, you include an electronic copy on a diskette, too.


3. Can I submit only an electronic copy?

Yes!!!! Please do!!!!

Starting with the Editorial Change in October of 2003, virtually all manuscripts we have received have been submitted electronically. We have gone electronic in an effort to make ISQ more efficient and to decrease our turnaround time. We prefer that you submit your manuscripts using the electronic means made available on this webpage. Simply click on "SEND MANUSCRIPT", above. You must submit two copies of each manuscript, one of which is complete with contact information on the title page, and the other with all self-identifying references removed from the manuscript.

We prefer to receive PDF documents. We have found that tables and figures are mixed up a bit when word-processing files are called up on a different computer, and this can cause problems in the review process. However, we will continue to accept Microsoft word and Wordperfect documents, should you be unable to provide us with a PDF version.


4. When I submit a manuscript I am asked a question about my gender, and also the subfield that the manuscript. Why should I provide this information? Must I?

These pieces of information will have no bearing on the consideration of your manuscript, whatsoever. They are items that we will record for use in our annual report.

We realize that the categories overlap. They are the categories that have been used in past Editors' reports, and we will continue to use them, at least for the time being, for the sake of continuity. We would like to develop and begin a better coding scheme that is less ambiguous, (i.e., is mutually exclusive and exhaustive) some time during our editorial term. If anyone has ideas on how this might be done, we would welcome your input.

We do not require you to fill in these fields, in case for some reason you find this to be objectionable. (But in that case, you are simply passing the buck to us.)


5. What can I expect out of the review process? How long will it take to review my manuscript?

In the vast majority of cases we will provide you with three reviews and a decision within in ninety days. During the first three years we have had a mean response time of 80 days or less, and we hope to maintain that record or improve it in 2007 and 2008.

In a few instances we will make decisions based on two reviews and our own reading of the manuscript, if our chosen third reviewer is slow in responding. This will only be done if we believe there is sufficient information to make a fair, well-informed decision, and if it is highly unlikely that a third review will change the decision. Any additional reviews received after the decision will be forwarded to the author.


6. My work is on (fill in the blank)? Would you consider it for review in International Studies Quarterly?

In most instances the answer to the above question will be "yes", if it is work that is on a topic of interest to the International Studies community. We hope that International Studies Quarterly will be representative of the diversity of work conducted by members of the Association during our term in office. That being said, successful contributors will want to steer away from purely journalistic treatments of their subjects, instead focusing on adding to a theoretical understanding of the phenomena being studied.

Also, during our term in office, successful submissions should be of interest to the broad readership of ISQ, not just specialists in a particular narrow subdiscipline. Successful authors should communicate the importance of their subject and their study's contribution to the broad readership of ISQ.