The Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), the Open Access Scholarly Publishing Association (OASPA), and the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME) have released the fifth edition of the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing. Version 5.0 introduces updated guidance on artificial intelligence (AI) governance, protection against hijacked journals, editorial independence, research misconduct, and peer review practices.
The principles provide a framework for established and new scholarly journals to maintain standards of transparency and ethical publishing. They are widely used across scholarly publishing to guide the responsible publication and dissemination of research. The four organizations jointly developed the principles, which were last revised in 2022.
The updated version introduces requirements for transparency around the use of AI by authors, peer reviewers, editors, and editorial staff. Journals are expected to establish policies explaining how AI tools may be used to generate or revise content and to clarify that AI systems cannot be credited as authors. The principles also address the use of AI and automated tools in manuscript screening, peer review, and the preparation of editorial comments. Publishers are encouraged to disclose their policies on access to and licensing of journal content for AI training and text mining.
Version 5.0 also strengthens measures to address hijacked journals and fraudulent websites. It explicitly prohibits the unauthorized imitation of journal titles, International Standard Serial Numbers (ISSNs), and other identifying information to impersonate legitimate publications. Journals are also expected to identify their primary official websites and ensure that secondary or mirror websites direct users to the official site.
The revised principles provide further guidance on editorial independence and integrity. Editorial assessment is now treated as a separate section from standard peer review procedures. The guidance emphasizes safeguards against geopolitical interference and commercial or organizational conflicts of interest. It also prohibits compensating editors based on article acceptance rates and prevents individuals responsible for article-level editorial decisions from managing payments or fee waivers.
Additional provisions address research misconduct and peer review, including self-plagiarism, text recycling, overlapping publications, preprints, and translated articles. The principles also clarify expectations for handling complaints, appeals, and whistleblower reports, as well as providing instructions and training for guest editors and peer reviewers.
The document's structure has also been revised. Aims and scope, along with accessibility, diversity, equity, and inclusion (ADEI), are now included under the main Journal Practices section rather than being grouped under general website presentation.
The updated principles are available through the DOAJ website. COPE and WAME have adopted the principles as membership requirements, and both organizations have approved the revised edition. The organizations have also invited feedback from the scholarly publishing community on the updated guidance.
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