Journal Scope

OJBS: Online Journal of Bahá'í Studies is an international electronic journal for rapid publication on the broad topics of Bahá'í Studies including Babi Religion, Shaykiyya, Imami Shi'ism, history, philology, Qajar studies, theology, inter-religious dialogue, law, sociology, arts, philosophy, science, economics, ecology, women's studies, cultural studies and interdisciplinary studies. The journal is particulalrly interested in voices from Latin and South America, Africa Asia and Oceania being represented in the journal.

The journal will publish original peer reviewed articles, essays and opinions, provisional translations, research notes, bibliographical materials, book and material reviews and other materials such as photographs, poetry and art. From time to time the Editor's may publish guest or invited editorials, Papers may be sent directly to the Editor in Chief of the journal or they may be directly solicited by the Editors to individuals or a general Call for Papers may be issued and published on the journal site.

Peer Reviewed Research Articles

Authors may specifically submit papers for peer review but the editors reserve the right to decline or withdraw a paper from peer review. Peer reviewed papers typically represent original unpublished research with a high degree of originality and novelty of approach, methodology, theoretical framework or which report quantitative or qualitative research which has been  subject to open or in some cases blind peer review.  Authors may also request publication in the non peer reviewed section however the editors reserve the final right to submit a paper for peer review and subsequently publish in the appropriate section.

Essays Opinions and Provisional Translations

The journal has a section which allows for non-peer reviewed materials to be published. These are typically essays, opinion pieces, impressionistic reports, obituaries, provisional translations and other pieces. However this is not a hard and fast rule. Translations which include extensive analysis and commentary or which attempt critical editions of complex manuscripts and their variants may well be better suited to the peer reviewed category. Extensive analytical reviews of specific texts and papers or detailed topical reviews involving new correlations and insights may also have a better fit in the peer reviewed category. The journal especially encourages dialogue between scholars and because of the progressive nature of the  journal's publishing formal responses to papers in the journals are encouraged.

Research Notes Bibliographia and Miscellanea.

Initial research questions, brief reports, early research findings, conference reports, requests for scholalry assistance, bibliographical research, errata and corrigenda and materials which otherwise don't fit into the above two categories may be suited here. This section is specifically for scholarly materials and research notes which otherwise have difficulty being published.

Book reviews
Scholarly output depends heavily on the printed word despite the electronic revolutions. OJBS: Online Journal of Bahá'í Studies encourages the publication of book reviews. These books can come from a broad constituency of thought and ideals so long as the reviewer can demonstrate connection and relevance to Bahá'í Studies. The journal maintains a list of book s for which it is seeking unsolicited book reviews

Subsequent print publication

Any article published in OJBS: Online Journal of Bahá'í Studies may be subsequently published in a printed medium so long as a prominently placed footnote identifies the first place of publication as OJBS:Online Journal of Bahá'í Studies and the appropriate URL is given. This includes revised versions of papers.