Publishing research in thematic collections—such as special issues, research topics, and guest-edited volumes—are increasingly central to scholarly communication, offering platforms for community-building and the exploration of emerging or interdisciplinary areas. Frontiers’ ‘Research Topics’ model has exemplified this approach by facilitating article collections around unified themes, ensuring open access and global engagement.
With the rise of these formats across the publishing landscape, the need for robust and consistent editorial practices has become more urgent. In response, COPE and STM have jointly developed a set of best practices designed to safeguard editorial quality and transparency in guest-edited collections. These guidelines address challenges such as maintaining coherence, ensuring responsible oversight, and enhancing process integrity across editorial workflows.
One result of this initiative is the STM guide for Guest Editor Issue Validation and Audit, which was shaped through the collaborative efforts of numerous publishers, including Frontiers. This guide reflects the sector’s shared commitment to integrity and innovation in scholarly publishing. As publishing models evolve, these shared standards are becoming vital for building trust and preserving the credibility of scholarly outputs.
Click here to read the original press release.
