Journal editors get guidelines

Blackwell Publishing, a major publisher of medical, academic and professional society journals with more than 800 titles, has launched guidelines covering the ethical principals of the sector.

The guidelines, Best Practice Guidelines on Publication Ethics: A Publisher’s Perspective, provide advice to editors on the major ethical principles of academic publishing.

Topics covered include transparency, disclosure, research integrity, peer review, conflicts of interest and plagiarism while a best practice resource is included to help editors develop their own approaches to issues.

Dr Andrew Robinson, director of medical publishing at Blackwell’s, said: "Today’s editors confront a vast range of ethical dilemmas, and as a leading publisher for societies…we have a duty of care to provide them with the tools to deal with these issues. We hope the guide will be a useful tool for editors looking to develop or refine their ethical frameworks."