Guide for Authors

Państwo i Społeczeństwo / State and Society welcomes original, methodologically rigorous, and intellectually relevant manuscripts in the fields of health sciences, social sciences, management and quality sciences, public administration, pedagogy, psychology, communication and media studies, architecture, and urban planning.

The journal publishes original research articles, review articles, case studies, editorials, and commentaries. Submissions should contribute to scholarly knowledge, professional practice, public policy, institutional development, or the interdisciplinary understanding of contemporary societies.

Before submitting a manuscript, Authors are requested to ensure that the article fits the journal’s aims and scope and complies with the editorial, ethical, formal, and technical requirements listed below.

Article Types

The journal accepts the following types of manuscripts:

Original Research Articles

Original Research Articles present the results of empirical, experimental, observational, theoretical, comparative, or analytical research. They should include a clearly formulated research problem, appropriate methodology, coherent presentation of results, critical discussion, and well-supported conclusions.

Recommended structure:

• Introduction
• Materials and Methods / Methods
• Results
• Discussion
• Conclusions

Review Articles

Review Articles provide a critical, systematic, narrative, scoping, or integrative analysis of current knowledge in a defined field. They should not be limited to a descriptive summary of previous publications, but should identify trends, gaps, controversies, theoretical developments, methodological limitations, and future research directions.

Recommended structure:

• Introduction
• Thematic sections relevant to the topic
• Summary / Conclusions

Where applicable, Authors are encouraged to follow recognised reporting standards for review articles, including PRISMA guidelines for systematic reviews and scoping reviews.

Case Studies

Case Studies present in-depth analyses of specific cases, institutions, interventions, practices, events, clinical or organisational situations, or policy solutions. They should clearly explain the relevance of the case, its context, analytical value, and broader implications.

Recommended structure:

• Introduction
• Case Description
• Discussion
• Summary / Conclusions

Where applicable, clinical case reports should follow recognised reporting standards, such as CARE guidelines.

Editorials and Commentaries

Editorials and Commentaries provide scholarly reflection, expert interpretation, or critical discussion of current scientific, social, institutional, health-related, educational, managerial, or policy issues. They should be concise, evidence-informed, and relevant to the journal’s readership.

General Requirements

Manuscripts submitted to Państwo i Społeczeństwo / State and Society should meet the following general requirements:

• the manuscript must be academic in nature;
• the topic must align with the aims and scope of the journal;
• the manuscript must present original content and must not constitute unjustified repetition, compilation, duplication, or recycling of previous works, including the Author’s own publications;
• the manuscript must not have been previously published;
• the manuscript must not be under consideration by another journal or publisher;
• the title should accurately reflect the content of the article;
• the objectives, research problem, and methodology should be clearly defined;
• conclusions should be logical, original, and supported by the material presented in the manuscript;
• the language should be clear, precise, and suitable for academic publication;
• the cited literature should reflect the current state of knowledge in the relevant field;
• the manuscript should be prepared in accordance with the journal’s formatting and referencing requirements.

Manuscript Length and File Format

The recommended maximum length of original research articles, review articles, and case studies is 40,000 characters, including spaces.

Manuscripts should be submitted in Microsoft Word format:

• .doc
• .docx

The text should be prepared in Times New Roman, 12-point font, with 1.5 line spacing.

Foreign terms and expressions, as well as titles of articles, books, journals, legal acts, and other works, should be written in italics. Authors should avoid using bold or underlined text for emphasis.

Abbreviations should be used consistently throughout the manuscript. When an abbreviation is used for the first time, it should be explained in full.

Files Required at Submission

Authors are required to submit the following files:

1. Title Page

The title page should include:

• full name and surname of each Author;
• academic degree or title of each Author, where applicable;
• affiliation of each Author, including the name of the university, hospital, research institute, public institution, organisation, or other entity with which the Author is affiliated;
• country of affiliation;
• ORCID iD of each Author, where available;
• e-mail address of the corresponding Author;
• contribution of each Author to the manuscript, preferably using the CRediT taxonomy;
• declaration concerning the use of artificial intelligence tools;
• funding statement;
• conflict of interest statement;
• information on ethics approval or bioethics committee approval, where applicable;
• information on informed consent, where applicable;
• data availability statement or information on access to detailed data from the corresponding Author.

2. Main Manuscript File

The main manuscript file should be anonymised and should not contain information that directly identifies the Authors.

The manuscript file should include:

• title of the article in English;
• title of the article in Polish, where applicable;
• abstract in English;
• abstract in Polish, where applicable;
• 3–5 keywords in English;
• 3–5 keywords in Polish, where applicable;
• main text of the article;
• references;
• tables, figures, charts, and illustrations placed close to their first mention in the text.

Abstracts should be concise, informative, and should clearly present the purpose of the article, methods or approach, main findings, and conclusions. Keywords should be specific and searchable; they should not simply repeat words used in the title.

3. Cover Letter

A cover letter signed by the corresponding Author should be submitted as a separate file. The cover letter should confirm that the manuscript is original, has not been published previously, is not under consideration elsewhere, and has been approved by all Authors.

Abstracts and Keywords

Each manuscript should include an abstract and keywords.

The abstract should be between 250 and 500 words. It should clearly summarise the purpose of the study, methods or analytical approach, main findings, and conclusions.

Authors should provide 3–5 keywords. Keywords should be specific, searchable, and relevant to the manuscript. They should not merely repeat words used in the title.

For manuscripts submitted in Polish, Authors should provide the title, abstract, and keywords in both Polish and English. For manuscripts submitted in English, Polish metadata may be provided where applicable or requested by the Editorial Office.

References

References and in-text citations should be prepared according to the APA 7th edition style.

Authors are responsible for the accuracy, completeness, and consistency of all references. All sources cited in the text must appear in the reference list, and all references listed at the end of the manuscript must be cited in the text.

Recommended maximum number of references:

• Original Research Articles: up to 30 references;
• Case Studies: up to 15 references;
• Review Articles: up to 60 references.

The reference list should reflect the current state of knowledge in the field and should include relevant, reliable, and up-to-date scholarly sources.

Tables, Figures, Charts, and Illustrations

Tables, figures, charts, photographs, and illustrations should be numbered separately and consecutively.

Each table, figure, chart, or illustration must have a clear title or caption and must be referred to in the main text.

Figures and photographs should be inserted into the manuscript close to the place where they are discussed. They should also be provided as separate graphic files with a resolution of at least 300 dpi, preferably in one of the following formats:

• .jpg
• .png
• .tif
• .tiff

Charts should be clear, readable, and preferably prepared in greyscale. Three-dimensional charts should be avoided, as they reduce readability. Where applicable, charts should also be provided as separate editable files, for example in Microsoft Excel format.

Each table and chart must include a source note. Acceptable source notes include, for example, “own work” or “own work based on…”.

Notes to tables should be placed directly below the table. Explanations relating to figures or charts should be placed below the figure or chart.

Units of measurement should be provided in square brackets.

Tables should preferably be formatted without vertical lines. Horizontal lines may be used at the top and bottom of the table, below the column headings, and where necessary to improve readability.

All graphic elements should include alternative text, where technically possible, to improve accessibility.

Ethical Requirements

Authors are expected to comply with the journal’s ethical standards and with internationally recognised principles of research and publication ethics.

By submitting a manuscript, Authors confirm that:

• the manuscript is original;
• the manuscript has not been published previously;
• the manuscript is not under consideration by another journal or publisher;
• all Authors have approved the submitted version of the manuscript;
• all persons who made a significant scholarly contribution are listed as Authors;
• the contribution of each Author has been properly disclosed;
• the manuscript does not infringe copyright, personal rights, or other rights of third parties;
• all sources have been properly cited;
• all necessary permissions have been obtained for third-party material;
• any conflicts of interest have been disclosed;
• funding sources have been disclosed;
• ethics approval and informed consent have been obtained where required.

For research involving human participants, patients, personal data, medical records, vulnerable groups, or other ethically sensitive material, Authors must provide information on approval by an appropriate ethics or bioethics committee, where applicable.

The journal may screen submissions for plagiarism, text recycling, redundant publication, inappropriate image manipulation, fabricated references, and other forms of research or publication misconduct.

Use of Artificial Intelligence Tools

Authors are required to disclose any use of artificial intelligence tools in the preparation of the manuscript.

Generative artificial intelligence tools must not be listed as Authors or co-Authors. Authorship is limited to persons who are able to take responsibility for the integrity, accuracy, originality, and scientific content of the manuscript.

The use of AI tools to generate the entire manuscript, substantial parts of the manuscript, fabricated data, misleading images, false references, or non-existent sources is not permitted.

If AI-based tools were used for language editing, technical assistance, data analysis, coding, image processing, or other research-related purposes, this use must be clearly described in the appropriate section of the manuscript or in the declaration submitted with the title page.

Authors remain fully responsible for the content of the manuscript, including the accuracy of references, originality of the text, integrity of data, and compliance with ethical and legal standards.

Reporting Standards

Where applicable, Authors are encouraged to follow recognised reporting guidelines appropriate to the type of study, including, for example:

• CONSORT for clinical trials;
• STROBE for observational studies;
• PRISMA for systematic reviews and scoping reviews;
• CARE for case reports;
• COREQ for qualitative research.

The use of such guidelines improves transparency, methodological quality, and reproducibility of research.

Data Availability

Authors should include a data availability statement in the title page or in the manuscript, where applicable.

The statement should indicate whether the data supporting the findings of the study are publicly available, available in an institutional or subject repository, available from the corresponding Author upon reasonable request, or not available due to ethical, legal, confidentiality, or privacy restrictions.

Where research data are deposited in a repository, Authors should provide the repository name and, where possible, a persistent identifier such as a DOI.

Conflict of Interest

Authors must disclose any financial, institutional, personal, professional, or other relationships that could be perceived as influencing the submitted manuscript.

If no conflict of interest exists, Authors should include the following statement:

The Authors declare no conflict of interest.

Funding

Authors must disclose all sources of funding that supported the research, preparation of the manuscript, or publication process.

If the research received no external funding, Authors should include the following statement:

This research received no external funding.

Publication Charges

The journal does not charge any fees for manuscript submission, editorial processing, peer review, or publication. The costs of preparing the article for publication are covered by the Publisher.

Open Access and Licence

All articles published in Państwo i Społeczeństwo / State and Society are made available in Open Access under the Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial–NoDerivatives 4.0 International licence, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.

This means that users may copy and redistribute the published article in any medium or format, provided that appropriate credit is given, the material is not used for commercial purposes, and no derivatives or adaptations are distributed.