Hi!
Come in. Relax. Make yourself comfortable.
Welcome to the SCENOR blog. We are happy you found your way to us. We suspect (and hope) it was in search for answers.
Scientific expertise is more vital today than ever. Our mission at SCENOR is to bring evidence-based information, gathered from research conducted world-wide, to as many people as possible. We are especially interested in the topics radicalization, political violence, extremist ideologies, terrorism, preventing and countering violent extremism as well as conspiracy theories. We want to open the ivory tower of science and invite everyone in who wants to get to the core of issues with evidence-based information, in contrast to the flurry of incorrect information and fake news flooding the internet and media today. Moreover, we facilitate the provision of evidence-based information to decision makers and the information made available on this blog is a brick in that knowledge house.
This scientific blog is based on the following five pillars which act as guiding lights for us as well as all authors who wish to contribute:
1. Quality
Scientific research must be based on meticulous fact checking and the motivation to deliver the highest possible quality. The same is true here. Our authors base their expertise on evidenced facts and strive to be as objective as possible in their judgements. We are not affiliated to any political party as we believe that scientific research must be independent.
2. Inclusive audience
This blog is an information hub for everyone, be it other researchers, first-line practitioners, political decision makers, journalists, and any other interested parties. The texts must therefore be written in an accessible and easily understandable way. References for a deep dive into a topic with further reading recommendations or a link to the original scientific publication should be provided.
3. No delayed journalism
We do not engage in delayed journalism but want to give readers the most recent, evidence-based, high-quality, and consequently mostly “slow” research findings. We offer this platform to established researchers in their field as well as noteworthy new researchers for whom we can act as an initial launching pad.
4. Cost-free
SCENOR operates as a non-profit association. This blog is a cost-free contribution to the science world and hence authors cannot be financially compensated. We endeavour though to spread the word as good as we can, help disseminate your work and make contributors known.
5. Respect
The conclusions and viewpoints in the blogposts are entirely those of the authors. SCENOR ensures overall quality but cannot evaluate or scrutinise all scientific findings presented in the posts. We respect all conclusions and viewpoints of the authors – even if they are not our own. We encourage a lively discussion in the comments section, but all commentators must adhere to this principle of respect and avoid at all times personal critique or improper language.
Interested to contribute?
Glad to hear that. Before you send us your contribution, please consider the following:
as SCENOR is located in Austria, we also accept texts in German;
texts need to be predominantly original. Quotes are permitted but must be clearly attributed to the respective author;
references in the text must be followed by citations at the end of the text of the respective article or publication. We encourage adding recommendations for further reading;
text-lengths should be oriented to the following maximums: main articles, commentaries, and book reviews 1,000–1,300 words, abstracts 400–500 words;
please use language that can be easily understood by most people, ie focus on two or three main points, use short sentences, and avoid technical jargon;
for texts on Daesh (or so-called Islamic State), refer to the Counter-Daesh Dicionary; and
for English text editing apply the University of Oxford style guide; for German texts refer to Duden.
Please contact us at hello@scenor.at with your blogpost ideas or your final contributions.
We are looking forward to reading you!
Stefan
Chairman & Managing Director at SCENOR