From the editor: On writing a perspectives article—what they are, what they are not (and what they should be)

I offer some guidelines on what is expected of a perspectives paper, both more generally, and specifically for this journal. A perspectives paper is normally motivated by an epiphany (data-driven, or conceptual) that a dominant scholarly narrative needs to be reconsidered. It should be the role of the author to convince her sceptical audience that this novelty does indeed reflect either an evolving meta-narrative within the field (or adjacent fields), an altered narrative within society at large, or the advent of a fresh socio-economic phenomenon. I highlight the differences between different paper submission alternatives for this journal: commentaries, review articles and perspectives papers. I also offer some reflections—based on my experience as an author and an editor—on what I consider to be challenges to being truly objective in academic publishing.