NOP Nordic Journal of Social Research - An Open-Access Journal of the Nordic Countries

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 present ing 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 coun terparts. 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 acce ss 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 mate rial 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.