Publication Ethics: Editage policies and practices

Editage policies and practices

Providers of author services are crucial to the researcher, journal, and publisher ecosystem, and aim to support the interests of everyone involved with academic publishing, through clear ethical guidelines and practices. Organisations like ICMJE COPE EASE and GPP3 are the benchmarks that journals, publishers and researchers use to establish the ethical standards within which research is conducted and published.

CACTUS Communications (of which Editage is a part) is a corporate member of COPE, and endeavours to be at the forefront of the author services industry in establishing and upholding the highest standards for ethical practice and transparency.

ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS that Editage takes into account while providing author services:

Authorship of the paper and writing support

We encourage authors to follow COPE and ICMJE guidelines to determine authorship and contributorship (and provide transparency around who contributed to the work and in what capacity).
We ensure that authors make all decisions regarding the content of their manuscript – we provide recommendations on how to improve manuscript content and structure, but will never alter data and results, or their representation, in any way.

Originality and plagiarism

Plagiarism is a serious ethical transgression in publishing, and at Editage, we have strict policies to ensure that we work in an ethically responsible manner, while also educating and encouraging authors to do the same.

We ensure that we work with entirely original works from authors, and if the authors have used the work and/or words of others, that this has been appropriately cited or quoted. We will never knowingly edit or rewrite plagiarized text.
If plagiarized text is found during editing, this will be highlighted to the authors and we will offer guidance on how to resolve the situation ethically.
In case of text that is directly copied/pasted from another source and submitted to us for rewriting/editing, we will not proceed with revisions. The manuscript is returned to the author to revise and replace with their original writing, before we begin working on it.

Data access and retention

We advise authors that they may be asked to provide their raw data for editorial review and should be prepared to provide public access to such data, thereby educating authors against data fabrication or manipulation.

Multiple, redundant or concurrent submissions

We do not support authors trying to publish manuscripts describing essentially the same research in more than one journal or primary publication.

Acknowledgement of sources

International publishing guidelines, including COPE, ICMJE, and EASE, require acknowledging individuals who provided writing or editorial assistance to authors during the preparation of their manuscript.
Editage actively encourages authors to acknowledge the assistance they receive from us, by suggesting standard statements of acknowledgement when they use our services.

Disclosure and conflicts of interest

We advise authors on disclosure of all relationships that could be viewed as presenting a potential conflict of interest.

Use of patient images or case details

We ensure that authors are aware when their study on patients or volunteers requires ethics committee approvals and informed consent, and how this is to be documented in their manuscript.

BEST PRACTICES FOR PROVIDING ETHICAL PUBLICATION SUPPORT

Editage Service	Ethically Compliant	Description	How to acknowledge Editage
Manuscript Finalisation	Yes	During editing, we may give suggestions on how to improve the flow, structure, and presentation of the text. However, we will never add to or alter your intellectual findings, data and results or their representation.	We recommend adding an acknowledgment into your manuscript. We will provide an example that you can modify or use as is.
Mock Editor Desk Check / Mock Peer Review	Yes	We provide comprehensive and unbiased scientific review and advice on how to improve the technical content of your manuscript based on current research in the subject area, target journal requirements, and relevant guidelines. However, we will never add to or alter your intellectual findings, data and results or their representation.	We recommend adding an acknowledgment into your manuscript: “We thank the team at Editage (www.editage.us) for critically reviewing a draft of this manuscript.”
Journal Selection	Yes	We provide recommendations for journals suitable for your manuscript based on your preferences, without publisher or regional bias.	No attribution is required under current guidelines
Journal Submission service	Yes	During Journal Submission, we assist authors with successful submission to the target journal. We will never upload documents/files to the submission system or complete submission without your approval.	No attribution is required under current guidelines
Descriptive / Inferential Data Analysis and support for Systematic Reviews	Yes	Our Statistical Analysis and Review services involve working with authors to develop and analyze their research data and organize results. However, we will not draw inferences or add to or alter your intellectual findings, data and results, or their representation. All responsibility for ethical collection of data and its validity, lies with the authors.	As per ICMJE guidelines, it is recommended to acknowledge Editage for Statistical Support services, particularly anything involving Data Analysis. We recommend that you include an acknowledgement statement (example below) in your manuscript. Statistical support, in the form of review, data preparation and analysis based on authors’ detailed directions, was provided by Editage, Cactus Communications.
Reviewer Recommendation service	Yes	We recommend reviewers for your manuscript based on the technical content and subject area of your research, your preferences and your target journal, without any bias towards institutions or geographies.	No attribution is required under current guidelines
Journal Submission service	Yes	During Journal Submission, we assist authors with successful submission to the target journal. We will never upload documents/files to the submission system or complete submission without your approval. For authors in China, to comply with the local CAST policy, we do not complete submission on your behalf. We will provide you with a ‘How to submit’ document to complete submission on your own.	No attribution is required under current guidelines
Literature Search/Review	Yes	As part of this service, we provide you with articles that are recent and relevant to your research, without bias towards institutions, geographies, journals or publishers.	No attribution is required under current guidelines