About the Journal
Aims & Scope
What BORJSS publishes, the subjects it covers, and the kinds of manuscript it accepts.
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Aims
The Blue Ocean Research Journal for Social Sciences (BORJSS) publishes peer-reviewed research across the social sciences. The journal exists to give scholars — particularly those working in and on the Global South — a rigorous, openly accessible venue for work that speaks beyond a single discipline.
We aim to:
- Publish methodologically sound research that advances understanding of social, economic and institutional questions.
- Provide a fair, timely and transparent double-blind review process, with a median time to first decision of around six weeks.
- Make every published article free to read and reuse under a Creative Commons licence, with no charge to readers.
- Encourage work that connects rigorous analysis to policy and practice, including research addressed to regional and local audiences.
Subject coverage
The journal welcomes empirical, theoretical and methodologically innovative work in the following areas. This list is indicative rather than exhaustive; interdisciplinary submissions that span two or more of these areas are particularly welcome.
Economics & Development
Development finance, labour, poverty, inequality, trade
Sociology & Anthropology
Social structure, family, community, migration, identity
Political Science & Governance
Institutions, public policy, governance, political behaviour
Education
Policy, pedagogy, access, assessment, educational technology
Public Administration
Service delivery, bureaucratic reform, local government
Psychology & Behavioural Science
Social and applied psychology, behavioural interventions
Media & Communication
Journalism, digital media, public discourse
Gender & Development
Women's participation, gendered outcomes, household dynamics
Urban & Regional Studies
Urbanisation, housing, planning, regional disparity
Environment & Society
Climate adaptation, resource governance, environmental justice
Manuscript types
Word counts are indicative and exclude references, tables and appendices. Manuscripts substantially outside these ranges should be discussed with the editorial office before submission.
Research Articles
6,000–9,000 words
Original empirical or theoretical work presenting new findings, with a clear methodology and contribution to the literature.
Review Articles
7,000–10,000 words
Systematic or critical reviews that synthesise an existing body of scholarship and identify gaps worth pursuing.
Conceptual Papers
5,000–8,000 words
Theoretical or framework-building contributions that advance how a problem is understood, without new primary data.
Case Studies
4,000–7,000 words
In-depth examination of a specific context, programme or institution, with explicit lessons for theory or practice.
Book Reviews
1,000–2,000 words
Critical assessment of a recent scholarly book relevant to the journal's scope.
Out of scope
To set expectations clearly, the following are normally declined at desk review:
- Work in the natural sciences, engineering or clinical medicine with no substantive social-science component.
- Purely descriptive reports with no analytical framing or engagement with existing literature.
- Manuscripts under simultaneous consideration elsewhere, or substantially overlapping with the authors’ already-published work.
- Opinion pieces, advocacy documents and commercial or promotional content.
Readership
BORJSS is read by academic researchers, postgraduate students, policy analysts and practitioners in government and the development sector. Authors should write for an informed but cross-disciplinary audience: define specialist terminology, and state the significance of findings in plain language.
For questions about whether a specific manuscript falls within scope, contact the editorial office at ceoborjss@gmail.com.