Inaugural Editorial

Abstract

We have the great pleasure to publish the inaugural issue of the Nordic Journal of Social Research. The NJSR is an open-access, net-based journal that publishes peer-reviewed articles shortly after they are accepted following the review process. In this issue, we present three original, peer-reviewed articles. Among these is a contribution from Thomas Scheff of the University of California, Santa Barbara, whose works have had a lasting impact on sociological theory worldwide. Professor Scheff has generously offered us his latest article as a sign of his close cooperation with Nordic scholarship on social research. The other two originate from Sweden, with one by Björn Blom and Lennart Nygren of Umeå University and the other by Carolina Jernbro, Ulla-Britt Eriksson, and Staffan Janson of Karlstad University. The Nordic countries, with their unique historical development and social conditions and their distinctive traditions of social welfare, offer a rich basis for social research. Accordingly, the main purpose of the NJSR is to establish an arena for presenting Nordic social research, and research where Nordic cases or contexts are seen in a comparative perspective. There have been calls for a journal with this focus, and a net-based, open-access journal is a solution suited both for this purpose and for the future academic journals. This format makes it possible for the NJSR to publish manuscripts of high quality that address topics within with the journal's scope, and to do so on an ongoing basis, unhindered by the restrictions inherent to its printed counterparts. As a net-based journal has no limits to the number of pages or issues, we shall publish papers shortly after they are accepted. Researchers thus have the opportunity to present their material without any delay. Moreover, the immediate, open access to the material will facilitate the dissemination of the material, and therewith a greater number of citations. Although there are a growing number of journals in the social sciences, many researchers still lack a suitable arena for testing their material up against rigorous publishing standards. The NJSR can serve as such an arena for both Nordic and International scholars. In our statements about focus and scope, we have expressed the ambition of being a window into Nordic social science for readers beyond our borders. This aim implies that accepted articles should have a Nordic connection, empirically or theoretically. We do not think this will be a difficult limitation, since comparative works including the Nordic countries also will be accepted. The ‘Nordic-window' approach is also our reason for inviting scholars to offer critical reviews in English of important works written in the Nordic languages for an international audience. The responses to our efforts to establish this journal have been most encouraging. We have been fortunate to have highly qualified researchers willing to be reviewers. We also hope we can develop the journal in collaboration with our readers. We hope readers will contribute to the journal's continuous improvement by giving us comments and proposals. The NJSR is a non-profit journal. For the start-up period we have received a grant from Lillehammer University College. Our aim is to run the journal with contributions from a number of colleges and institutes in order to avoid the need to impose publication fees onto the authors. As the NJSR is a new journal, we welcome article submissions, critical reviews of scholarly works, and letters. Moreover, we hope readers will inform their colleagues and prospective writers about the NJSR. NJSR Editorial Board