Review of Religious Research (RRR) publishes empirical social-science research on religion, primarily in sociology and social psychology, and scholarly literature reviews of religious research in these fields.
In keeping with its mission, the Religious Research Association (RRA), which sponsors RRR, encourages research that has practical implications for denominations and religious bodies.
RRR provides a forum for applied and academic research across multiple disciplines and approaches, including research on the following topical areas: Clergy; Church programs; Comparative analyses of religious denominations and institutions; Denominational and congregational growth, decline, and vitality; Denominational and congregational conflict, competition, and cooperation; Ethnicity/race and religion; Generational and personal religious change; New religious movements; Personal spiritual and religious beliefs and practices; Religion and attitudes; Religion and family; Religion and gender, Religion and social behavior; Religion and well-being; and Research methodology.
Four types of articles are included in this Call for Papers:
- Original Research Articles
- Research Notes
- Review Articles, and
- Applied Research Abstracts.
Original Research Article: This type of article must be a scholarly and methodologically sophisticated empirical study that provides a comprehensive literature review of the relevant topics related to the research question, and it should have a strong theoretical foundation. The final section of the manuscript should be labeled Conclusions and Implications. A 250-350 word structured Abstract is also required, which contains the following five section headings: Background, Purpose, Methods, Results, and Conclusions and Implications, especially implications for religious organizations and/or practitioners when appropriate. Submitted manuscripts should be double-spaced and be no more than 10,000 words, excluding the title page, abstract, tables, figure captions, and references.
Research Note: This type of article must also be a scholarly and methodologically sophisticated empirical study, but its research question does not have to be theory based, and its literature review should be shorter and more focused. The final section of the manuscript should be labeled Conclusions and Implications. A 250-350 word structured Abstract is also required, which contains the following five section headings: Background, Purpose, Methods, Results, and Conclusions and Implications, especially implications for religious organizations and/or practitioners when appropriate. Submitted manuscripts should be double-spaced and be no more than 7,500 words, excluding the title page, abstract, tables, figure captions, and references.
Review Article: Authors should send an email directly to the RRR Editor-in-Chief (kjflannelly@gmail.com) describing the nature and scope of a proposed literature review to see if it is suitable for publication in RRR before they submit it. The final section of the manuscript should be labeled Conclusions and Implications. A 250-350 word structured Abstract is also required, which contains the following five section headings: Background, Purpose, Methods, Results, and Conclusions and Implications, especially implications for religious organizations and/or practitioners when appropriate. The manuscript should also contain a methodology section that explains how the literature search was conducted and how articles were selected for inclusion in the review. Submitted manuscripts should be double-spaced and be no more than 10,000 words, excluding the title page, abstract, tables, figure captions, and references.
Applied Research Abstract: This type of article consists of a 350-550 word summary (without any references) of an applied research study in the form of a structured abstract with the following five section headings: Background, Purpose, Methods, Results, and Conclusions and Implications, followed by 3-4 keywords. The author(s) may include a footnote that states: (a) whether a complete report exists and how it can be obtained; (b) whether the raw data are available in electronic form and how they can be obtained if the authors wish to make them available to other researchers; and/or (c) whether the authors would like to collaborate with other researchers to further analyze the data and write a full report for possible journal publication as a peer-reviewed manuscript.
GUIDELINES
- Statistical Methodology – Original Research Articles/Research Notes: Quantitative studies should use the most appropriate statistical procedures needed to answer the research question, which include adequate statistical controls (e.g., using demographic variables as covariates that are known to be associated with the religious variables in the study).
- Sampling Methodology – Original Research Articles/Research Notes: Both quantitative and qualitative studies should meet sociological standards of representativeness (RRR does not publish studies based solely on convenience sampling). Therefore, qualitative studies published in RRR must employ more systematic and representative approaches to sampling than most qualitative studies do. Convenience sampling can only be employed during the last step in the sampling process, usually after (a) drawing random samples from national or regional surveys, or datasets maintained by religious or other kinds of organizations, or (b) sampling congregations from different cities, states, or regions, or (c) selecting church programs, denominations, congregations, or other social groups that meet specified inclusion criteria.
Editorial Decision-making Process
All four types of manuscripts are initially read by the Editor-in-Chief to determine if they are generally appropriate for publication in RRR based on the guidelines described in this Call for Papers. All manuscripts that are deemed to be appropriate, except Applied Research Abstracts, then undergo blind peer-review by two or more qualified researchers. The Editor-in-Chief is solely responsible for publication decisions about Applied Research Abstracts. Editorial decisions are based on whether a manuscript: (a) poses a clear and valid research question; (b) makes a meaningful contribution to the field; (c) provides appropriate evidence or reasoning for its conclusions; (d) is written in an intelligible fashion in standard English; and (e) conforms to the guidelines described herein.
Your manuscript should be submitted at https://www.editorialmanager.com/rorr/default.aspx
After you login and select “New Manuscript Submission,” you need to select the appropriate type of article and follow the rest of the directions.
Manuscript Submission and Processing Fee: Authors who are not RRA members are required to pay a $35 manuscript processing fee before their manuscript undergoes peer-review. This fee can be paid by joining the RRA, whose annual membership is $35.
- Authors must submit a cover letter with their submission that covers: (a) RRA membership and this fee; (b) the topical areas with which the manuscript fits; (c) and some other items about the manuscript.
- Please see the “Cover Letter” and “Fee” sections of the RRR “Instructions for Authors” for more details (https://www.springer.com/journal/13644/submission-guidelines#Instructions%20for%20authors ), including examples of cover letters.