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 submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration (or an explanation has been provided in Comments to the Editor).
The submission file is in Microsoft Word-readable .doc format
A non-structured abstract of no more than 300 words appears in your main document (directly below the title).
The text is single-spaced; uses a 12-point font; employs italics, rather than underlining (except with URL addresses); and all illustrations, figures, and tables are placed within the text at the appropriate points, rather than at the end.
The paper is no longer than 8,000 words (not including references).
You agree to obtain written permission to reprint any copyrighted materials (e.g., images) prior to publication.
Have you specified whether you wish your paper to be considered for the Surveillance Studies Network annual prize for Early Career Researchers? (Please note in the box for additional comments to Editor)
Have you specified whether this submission is intended for a special issue? (Please note in the box for additional comments to Editor)
Author Guidelines
Background
Surveillance & Society invites work on any aspect of surveillance in contemporary societies from all academic disciplines and beyond.
We particularly welcome innovative transdisciplinary contributions.
We encourage submission of work that would benefit specifically from the electronic format, i.e.: work featuring images, video or audio.
We welcome work that challenges divides between the academic and wider society.
We recognize the labor that goes into producing academic and creative work, but we are unable to provide payment for any pieces included in the journal.
General Guidelines for Written Submissions
All submission should be submitted via the online submission system – except in the case of artistic presentations (see below):
The author(s) should send articles as MS Word-readable .doc files (preferable); Final published written pieces will be available in .pdf.
It is the responsibility of the author to ensure submissions are free of viruses, worms, etc. Files containing any such programs will be destroyed.
Graphics should be placed where they are intended to go in the text. Copies of any graphical material should also be included separately in a high-quality web-ready graphical format.
Submission should be in English, although we will also accept articles in English accompanied by a translation in another major language. Though we may be able to find non-English reviewers, we cannot guarantee this, so please assume that only the English version will be refereed. It is the author's responsibility to make sure that any suggested changes are also made to the non-English version.
Articles should be written clearly and be accessible to a readership beyond academic circles.
Submission should not be already under review by, or submitted for review to, any other refereed journal while under consideration by Surveillance & Society. We co-operate fully with other journals in opposing this practice, and any infractions will result in a bar on submissions to this and others journals involved.
Submissions should not draw upon large language models (e.g., ChatGPT) for authorship or writing assistance.
Sexist, racist, ageist, homophobic, and libellous language is not acceptable.
The text of the article should be single-spaced, and typed in a font size of 12 pt or above.
Major subheadings should be in Bold. Headings for subsections within those sections should be in Italics.
Any footnotes within the document should be kept to a minimum.
If you want working hyperlinks in the final text, you must provide them (e.g., starting "http://" if web addresses; internal footnotes linked correctly, etc.).
We also expect you to perform copy-editing and proofreading tasks. As a free-to-access journal, we do not have the resources for this and take no responsibility for authors' errors and omissions.
References should follow the Surveillance & Society style guide, which draws upon the Chicago Style Guide, author-date system, sometimes known as Chicago B. For in-text citations, please use a colon before page numbers (e.g., Foucault 1977: 200). Adherence to our style guide is a necessary condition for publication—even after a formal acceptance has been issued.
A full list of references should be provided on a separate page or pages at the end of the document.
Authors must ensure that they have secured the necessary reproduction rights with the rights holder for any third party material used in their submission, including images and figures, prior to submission.
Articles
We welcome standard academic articles on all issues around surveillance. Articles should be:
between 4,000 and 8,000 words (not including references);
otherwise follow the general guidelines.
Review Articles
Reviews of policy, technical, regional, or other developments in surveillance will be considered by the Editors. They should:
be between 2000 and 5000 words in length (not including references);
aim to summarise and critique developments in a particular area;
not be overly theoretical in nature;
otherwise follow the general guidelines.
Opinion Pieces / Research Notes
Opinion pieces are shorter writings designed to provoke discussion. They should:
be 1000-3000 words in length (not including references);
have a minimal number of references;
be provocative;
otherwise follow the general guidelines.
Responses
Responses are argumentative pieces written in direct response to any other piece published by the journal. They should:
be between 1000 and 3000 words in length (not including references);
address a particular published piece;
otherwise follow the general guidelines.
Book Reviews
Surveillance & Society does not accept unsolicited reviews. If you wish to be considered as a book reviewer, or you are a publisher with a book you wish Surveillance & Society to review, please contact the Book Review Editor:
Dr. Ciara Bracken-Roche , Maynooth University, School of Law and Criminology, 201 New House, Co. Kildare, Ireland. Tel: (+353) (01) 708 6572, Email: Ciara.BrackenRoche@mu.ie
Book review submissions should follow the journal's Book Review Guidelines. (Please note that reviews should not exceed 1500 words in length.)
Artistic Presentations
Surveillance & Society encourages submissions that make use of the possibilities offered by the electronic medium. We therefore welcome creative engagements with surveillance in the form of photography, video, multimedia, hypertext prose/poetry, codework, etc.
However please note that we cannot act as curators, and would generally expect only prepared pieces that have not previously been available online or in this form, with any accompanying explanatory text and guidance for the viewer / reader to be provided or arranged for by the creator(s).
Please contact the Editor-in-Chief if you wish to submit such a piece.
Art Review
Surveillance & Society is dedicated to art and creative practice as unique and productive ways to engage with topics related to surveillance. As such, the journal welcomes the inclusion of written reviews that critically address creative engagements with surveillance. In addition to soliciting work, we accept proposals for writing that could fit into the following three formats:
Art in Process Published works about art primarily examine the piece after its completion. Here, we would like to include writing by artists about their process, the ways in which creative thinking, research, and production come together in the making of the artworks.
Art in Conversation We encourage discussion pieces between artists, curators, and scholars discussing the state and place of art as a mode of surveillance address.
Artwork or Exhibition Review Artwork or Exhibition Reviews should examine a contemporary creative work—either a single piece or a larger exhibition—in relation to the larger contexts of surveillance themes.
We also invite requests from artists or curators who would like to have their work reviewed. Please note that it is the author’s responsibility to obtain permission to reprint any included images.
In general, art review submissions should:
be no more than 2500 words in length (not including references);
The author. The author licenses the article to the Surveillance Studies Network (SSN) for inclusion in Surveillance & Society (S&S), right of first publication. The copyright to the article remains with the author and any subsequent commercial reuse must be agreed by both parties.
Non-commercial Users. SSN authorises all persons to use material published in S&S in any manner that is not primarily intended for or directed to commerical advantage or private monetary compensation, also provided that it is not modified and retains all attribution notices.
Commercial Users. SSN retains the right to benefit from commerical reuse, in each specific case subject to the agreement of the author, and payment to SSN of a standard per-page fee (set by a vote of the Network and Editorial Board) by the Commercial User.
Surveillance & Society supports open access archives and the free distribution of the results of academic work. Authors are encouraged to place copies of the final published version of their article in their university and / or other open access archives. We only ask that you make sure to include a link to the original published version on the Surveillance & Society website.