“Living Social Science” – a new concept

Aims and Scope

Sociopedia.isa is a new concept in the production and dissemination of knowledge. It combines the best of two worlds: the opportunities the internet offers for rapid publication and the scientific quality guaranteed by thorough and imaginative editing and peer review. While experienced editors and peer review ensure the highest possible quality, the internet makes it possible to provide the most recent ‘state-of-the-art’ assessments. Sociopedia.isa, then, offers ‘living social science’.

Sociopedia.isa is an online database with ‘state-of-the-art’ review articles in social sciences. It guarantees users that the reviews are up-to-date and will be updated on a regular basis. Each entry has a discussion section to supplement it.

Sociopedia.isa is an ISA project developed by four founders: Izabela Barlinska, Bert Klandermans, Kenji Kosaka and Michel Wieviorka. It is a joint venture of the International Sociological Association (ISA) and SAGE.

The founders are the first Editors of Sociopedia.isa and appoint Associate Editors and an Editorial Board consisting of senior and junior experts in the field. The Editors solicit entries and subject each to a peer review process. All entries in Sociopedia.isa will be subject to a rigorous procedure of double blind peer review.

Entries will be included on this basis. They can be submitted by the author or commissioned by the Editors. The Editors will ensure that updates are prepared on a regular base. If an author is unable or unwilling to provide an update, a new author may be solicited.

To each article an edited discussion section is added, which is open to readers. Commentaries will be refereed by the Editors and Associate Editors. Based on the discussion, they may ask the author to write an update of his/her entry or they may ask another scholar to write a commentary or a separate entry.