Hosted by the Institute for China & World Studies and the School of Political Science & International Relations (SPSIR) of Tongji University, the 3rd academic seminar 'Dialogue with Editor-in-Chief' was successfully held in Conference Room 1802, Zhonghe Building, Tongji University on November 29, 2020. Li Fang, Executive Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Chinese Social Sciences Net (CSSN) and Senior Editor of Social Sciences in China, researcher Gao Cheng, Executive Editor of Contemporary Asia-Pacific Studies, researcher Xu Jin, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of World Economy and Politics, and Wang Huawei, Editor-in-Chief of Theoretical Investigation, were invited to explore the theme of 'Topic Selection and Research Design for Academic Papers in Political Science'. Based on the style of their respective journals, the guests offered a lot of opinions and suggestions on topic selection and academic writing.

      This meeting was moderated by Dean Men Honghua, and attended by more than 50 teachers and students of SPSIR, including Party Secretary Professor Xu Hong, Associate Dean Professor Zheng Chunrong, Associate Dean Associate Professor Zhong Zhenming, Professor Shao Chunxia, Professor Yu Minjiang, and Professor Wang Mingguo. This meeting was held in a hybrid way, allowing some teachers and students to join the discussion via the Internet.

      Li Fang first looked back at his work experience from paper media to online media. He believes that the information produced by paper media is a product of the industrial age, and the information produced by network media is a product of the post-industrial era. Although the two media is essentially communicating the same content, the network media undoubtedly has many advantages. For example, it can present the author's thinking logic system in multi-faceted way in forms of video interview, academic biography and others. Therefore, new media has a great effect on academic production. Li put forward suggestions on the topic selection of Social Sciences in China. He pointed out that political science should be centered on its own discipline and supplemented by the related disciplines, especially philosophy and history. To select a topic for academic paper, focus should be given to the problems with important theoretical basis and long-term theoretical creativity. Based on a systematic literature review, these papers are able to 'theorize' the problems and 'problemize' the theories by responding to major national and social concerns.

      Gao Cheng first introduced the style and preference after the revision of Contemporary Asia-Pacific Studies. Then she pointed out that, first of all, the majority of the papers published by her journal are related to international studies, coupled with a few about economics and sociology. Second, the journal focuses on Asia-Pacific studies, but it also pays attention to macro-strategies and international studies with a global vision. Third, the journal explores how China deals with the outside world from a China-centered perspective. Besides, in terms of the writing style, it not only prefers the papers of academic principle, but also emphasizes the problem-oriented approach that can help solve practical problems. She also pointed out that the topic selection is crucial to a paper, because a good topic usually reflects both theoretical value and policy implications. Finally, she stressed that before writing a paper, the author needs to figure out the preference of the target journal, theory or policy, and find the right journal.

      Xu Jin introduced the style and features of his journal World Economy and Politics. He said that this is also a journal focused on international studies. Its mission is to discover and cultivate potential young talents engaged in international studies. For young scholars and doctoral candidates, if their research papers are written in line with norms and based on a solid theoretical foundation, they will be preferred. As to topic selection, Xu suggested that the author conduct research on a specific problem, which can be directly seen at the beginning of the paper. Finally, he invited the doctoral candidates present to work as an editor at his journal, which may be a rewarding experience for their own academic writing.

      Wang Huawei introduced Theoretical Investigation and its standing columns. She emphasized that the journal focuses on theory-based and reality-oriented comprehensive and practical issues. The papers are required to have theoretical profundity, a complete structure and logic self-consistency. Young scholars may be unable to handle major national hotspot issues, but they can focus on specific and practical issues. Finally, she pointing out that literature review should stick to the core issues of the paper, to reflect the paper is logic and structured.

      In the next interactive session, the four experts gave professional and detailed answers. Finally, Dean Men Honghua expressed his gratitude to the four editors for their wonderful sharing. He pointed out that they set high standards for academic papers because they are well trained scholars at the forefront of the academic community. The audience was impressed by their passion for academic writing and by their care for young scholars. The dean’s speech was echoed by all teachers and students present. The meeting ended in the warm applause.