The editors welcome proposals for articles. If you have an idea for an article that will appeal to our key information professional audience (librarians, information or knowledge managers, records managers, information providers, publishers or intermediaries) please contact the editors on businessinformationreviewj@gmail.com for more information, refer to the online manuscript submission guidelines, or read the summary below.

BIR’s aims are to:

• Report on and assess best current practice in business information provision.
• Review and evaluate the available business information resources that practitioners use, and anticipate new forms of resource.
• Consider the direction in which business information is moving and highlight new developments that are beginning to impact on its provision.
• Draw attention to related disciplines and practices that influence business information provision – including legal, regulatory, economic, social and technological developments.
• Speculate on longer term developments, providing early warning of issues that might affect business information provision in the future.

The outcomes BIR’s readers can expect include:

• Practical, detailed expert advice, presented in an authoritative yet readable way.
• The opportunity to step back from day-to-day concerns and consider where business information is going and what this may mean for its future provision.
• A ‘brain dump’ on current practice on which to draw when faced with new challenges, service changes and project development.
• The opportunity to prepare for the unexpected by thinking laterally and ‘out of the box’.
• Challenges to conventional wisdom, to help readers ‘think the unthinkable’ so as not to be taken by surprise in the future.

BIR’s published the following kinds of content:

Research articles: we publish research articles covering research that is relevant to the aims of the journal. These are generally 3000 – 5000 words long. The nature of the readership means that we are more interested in the problem, and the findings, than we are in statistical analysis. Therefore if you are conducting quantitative research we prefer that the detailed analysis is relegated to appendices, and findings are presented in narrative form. Research articles are usually submitted by academics, or doctoral students however we encourage research from professional practitioners. We invite submission of research articles that are complete, but also welcome proposals for future research articles.

Professional articles: we publish professional articles that address topics that are relevant to the aims of the journal from the perspective of professional practitioners. These may be case studies of particular projects or initiatives, discussion pieces dealing with debates or controversies, frameworks for professional practices based on professional experience, or articles that update out readership of changing contexts of practice. The essence of professional articles is that they involve the sharing of professional experience, gained from confronting the challenges of the profession in a real-life context. Professional articles are generally between 3000 – 5000 words in length. We invite submission of professional articles that are complete, but also welcome proposals for future professional articles in any form.

Opinion articles: we publish opinion pieces that address matters of current controversy or debate in the information and knowledge management profession, particularly with reference to commercial contexts. Opinion articles are generally 1000 – 2000 words in length but may be shorter or longer by agreement. Opinion articles should be pithy and invite debate and discussion. If you are interested in writing an opinion article, do please contact the editors to discuss the scope and coverage of your article first.

Out-of-the-Box articles: Out-of-the-box articles address changing information technologies, and take a forward-looking perspective on their potential impact on the information profession. They are in one sense opinion pieces, but informed by emerging technological trends in the information profession. Examples of current (as of 2017) topics for potential out-of-the-box articles might include: Virtual Reality; Augmented Reality; Artificial Intelligence or Gamification. Out-of-the-Box articles are intended to be on the cutting edge of technological adoption, and should both explain an emerging technology for a lay audience and also show its practical relevance for the information and knowledge management profession. If you would like to contribute an Out-of-the-Box article do please contact the editors to discuss the scope and coverage of your contribution first.

Initiatives articles: Initiatives articles address changing contexts of professional practice (excluding technological developments which fall under Out-of-the-Box articles above). They are in one sense opinion pieces, but informed by emerging high-level trends in the development of the information and knowledge management professions. This may include emerging professional practice and professional roles, new information vendors or providers, new information delivery platforms, changes to the industrial context, and so on. Initiatives articles are intended to be on the cutting edge of professional development, and should both explain and emerging trend or resource for a lay audience, and show its practical relevance for information and knowledge management practitioners. If you would like to contribute an Initiatives article, please do contact the editors to discuss the scope and coverage of your contribution first.

BIR’s commitment to early career researchers & early career professionals:

We encourage contributions from early career researchers and early career professionals. Early career researchers include masters students, research students, and those who are within five years of completing a doctoral level qualification. Early career professionals are those who are within five years of completing a first professional qualification or registered on a chartership programme or equivalent with a recognised professional body in the field of information and knowledge management. If you would like to discuss publishing opportunities, do please contact the editors.

To submit an article for consideration, please use the ScholarOne web base submission system available at: https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/bir