Managing the relationships between society owned journals, their society, and publishers

The journals of 'Learned Societies' and 'Professional Associations' are an important part of the scientific literature. Regardless of the publication arrangements and the number of journals affiliated with that society, the policies of and the relationships among the journals, any publisher and the society must be of the highest quality, ethically sound, and as transparent as possible. COPE Guidelines are formal COPE policy and are intended to advise editors and publishers on expected publication ethics practice.

Key points

• Clear boundaries and expectations regarding editorial decisions should be within an agreement between a learned society and the journal editor.
• Resources should be provided by the society to ensure a journal maintains transparent and ethical processes.
• Societies should be transparent in their process for selecting third party support for the journal, such as printers or advertising support.
• The journal website should clearly state its ethical practices for authors and reviewers.
• Management of the journal and ownership of the journal should be clear on the journal website.
• Existing policies should be reviewed when there is a new journal editor.

Related resources

• A short guide to ethical editing for new editors
• Journal management core practice
• Principles of transparency and best practice in scholarly publishing
• Guidelines for the Board of Directors of Learned Society Journals