Guidelines for transparency

The organisations COPE, OASPA, DOAJ and WAME have jointly developed guidelines for transparency and good publishing practice in the field of scholarly publications. The guidelines constitute a common minimum standard for membership in each organisation and are therefore a good starting point to ensure a basic level.

The guidelines address the importance of clearly describing the journal and its editorship. Important aspects to clarify include the purpose of the journal, its review process, policy on copyright and open access, etc. OJS is adapted to enable journals to follow the guidelines; for example, it features specific fields and menus for the requested information.

The complete guidelines on the DOAJ website

In addition, the guidelines form the basis for inclusion and indexing of an open access journal in DOAJ, along with a few other requirements. Read more about getting your journal indexed in various databases in our information on indexing and dissemination.

Good publishing practice 

The COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) has compiled advice and guidelines on important ethical issues for scholarly publishers and journal editors. These address, for example, how editors manage suspected plagiarism, incorrect peer review, conflict of interest, etc. 

Advice and guidelines on the COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) website