Peer review best practices and publishing policies Contents Introduction 3 Working with SAGE Publishing 3 Using this guide 3 About SAGE Publishing 3 SAGE’s commitment to responsible publishing 4 Your role as Editor 6 What you can expect from SAGE 6 What SAGE expects from you 6 Dignity at work 7 Managing peer review 8 Your journal’s peer review policy 8 Selecting reviewers 8 Peer review best practice 9 Rewarding reviewers 10 Working with guest editors 10 Editorial and publishing polices 11 Research ethics policies 11 SAGE’s publishing policy 11 Publication ethics and practices 12 Correcting the academic record 14 Important links and resources 15 Introduction As the Editor of a SAGE Publishing journal, you play a key role in the advancement of knowledge and understanding in your field. SAGE, as the world’s leading independent academic publisher, is a values- driven organisation, focused on the selection, shaping, curation and dissemination of high quality research outputs; your work as Editor is obviously central to what we do. Our key philosophy is to ensure quality, Working with About SAGE Publishing transparency and integrity across our organization and in everything we SAGE Publishing Since publishing our first journal in publish. The publishing industry is an Your Publishing Editor is responsible 1965, SAGE has grown to become the increasingly complex environment. for managing your journal within SAGE. world’s largest independent academic Factors such as the pressure on If you are ever unsure about who to journal publisher. SAGE is still led by researchers and academics to publish, contact at SAGE regarding a specific its founder, Sara Miller-McCune, who gaps in training provided to early career query, contact your Publishing Editor has put provisions in place for SAGE to researchers and differences in the in the first instance. We believe journal remain independent for at least 99 years understanding of what research integrity publishing should be a partnership: after her lifetime. means can result in us sometimes having between SAGE, our Editors, and the SAGE believes passionately that engaged to deal with cases of misconduct in the Societies and Associations on whose scholarship lies at the heart of a healthy peer review or publishing process. We behalf we publish. We would like to society and that education is intrinsically want to ensure that you have the support work collaboratively with you in order to valuable. This means playing a creative and guidance you need to navigate any make the most of your expertise in your role in disseminating research and situations that may arise. Maintaining the field and our experience as publishers. turning information into knowledge. The reputation of our journals, and protecting Please raise any concerns or problems cornerstones of our publishing philosophy the reputations of our Editors and you encounter – especially those related are creating and retaining great, long- publishing partners, is of the greatest to potential legal or ethical matters – at term relationships; a sharp focus on our importance to us. the earliest opportunity so that we can markets and their needs; and an ability to We understand that different disciplines work to resolve them together. combine quality and innovation. and fields of research may have different More information about our history, approaches to broad publishing issues but Using this guide values and publishing programs can we wanted to provide some information be found on our website here on SAGE’s general publishing and In this guide we set out some key aspects ethical policies and what we consider to of working with SAGE as a journal be best practice in publishing. Editor, advice on managing the peer review process in the most transparent SAGE is committed to: and ethical way, information on our • Maintaining the editorial editorial and publishing policies and an independence of journal Editors. overview of potential issues that might • Supporting our Editors in running arise during the publication process, with their journals ethically and guidance on how to handle these. transparently. We also invite you to refer to the SAGE • Maintaining an accurate and Editor Gateway on our website. transparent academic record, including publishing retractions and corrections when necessary. 3 | Peer review best practices and publishing policies SAGE’s commitment to SAGE and open access Commercial sales responsible publishing SAGE has been actively engaged with The Commercial Sales team at SAGE Publication ethics the open access (OA) debate from handles all non-subscription revenue very early on and is a member of the derived from non-academic/industry SAGE, as a publisher member of the Open Access Scholarly Publishers sponsors who wish promote relevant Committee on Publication Ethics Association (OASPA). All our OA products or educational materials. (COPE), supports and abides by the publishing is held to the same very high SAGE operates all transactions with COPE Core Practices. COPE has a standard as our traditional publishing the utmost regard to transparency and wealth of information and resources activities. employs strict ethical processes to that may be accessed on their website: ensure that opportunities are handled publicationethics.org. If your journal is SAGE supports both gold OA publication with complete integrity. Society and/ a member of COPE you should have log- and green OA archiving: or editor approval is sought wherever in details that will allow you to access • SAGE is the only major publisher that necessary, and we uphold the principle further useful resources, including allows authors in any subscription that industry support must have no e-learning modules, in the members journal to post the accepted version influence over editorial decisions section. SAGE strongly encourages all of of their article on their own personal regarding the selection of content in our our Editors to take advantage of COPE website, their department website journals. Commercial revenue streams membership, so if your journal is not a or institutional repository with no for some journals include sales of article member you can ask your Publishing embargo. Click here for more reprints, translated article reprints, print Editor to arrange this for you. information about the details and online advertising, sponsorship of SAGE is also an active member of STM, of green open access archiving abstracts, supplements, local language the leading global trade association for allowed by SAGE editions and bulk subscriptions. academic and professional publishers, • SAGE Choice, our gold hybrid Reprints and supports its International Ethical OA option, is offered on almost all Reprints of individual articles are often Principles for Scholarly Publication of SAGE’s subscription journals purchased by industry sponsors and and allows authors to make their distributed to potentially interested Legislative and regulatory published article freely available for parties for educational and promotional compliance an article processing charge of 3,000 purposes (e.g. at conferences). At SAGE, It is of paramount importance that we at USD/1,600 GBP for most journals. we ensure that editorial and advertising SAGE, and you as Editor, comply with This is often paid by the author’s administration is clearly separated. all relevant laws in the performance of funder or institution and we have a We insist that articles are reprinted in services for our journals e.g. maintaining number of centralized deals directly unabridged form, entirely unchanged the privacy of personal and confidential with universities. from the final published version (unless data and complying with anti-SPAM • SAGE’s pure gold OA journals a correction is published). Reprint legislation. We may occasionally are supported by article processing sales are only made after submission, communicate with you regarding charges, institutional sponsorship review, acceptance and publication of new developments in legislation and and/or SAGE. All the papers these articles, thereby not affecting editorial regulations that may be applicable journals publish are freely available to decision-making. Articles that may later to your work on the journal. Please readers. be sold as reprints will have undergone contact your Publishing Editor at any For the most up-to-date OA information, the same peer review process as time with any questions you may have please visit the SAGE open access other submissions to the journal, and about compliance. website: uk.sagepub.com/en-gb/eur/ authors will have included all required open-access-at-sage statements and declarations on conflicts of interest, funding sources etc. If you have any questions about any aspect of open access publishing please contact your Publishing Editor. 4 | Peer review best practices and publishing policies Supplements Advertising Publishing sponsored supplements SAGE provides clear terms and creates additional content, may capture conditions to advertisers, which stipulate articles in hot or new scientific areas and that they must be authorized to sell all increases visibility for a journal. They can products and/or services advertised and take many forms, from proceedings of to use any information or depiction in the meetings or industry satellite symposia, ad material/advertising; that they have to groups of related papers that are the right to use any trademarks, service often commissioned especially for marks or trade names depicted in the the supplement and then printed and ad material/advertising; and that the bound together. Supplements are also ad material/advertising complies with published online on SAGE Journals all applicable laws and regulations in alongside the normal journal issues. the country where it will be seen. SAGE is often approached by companies Statements made in advertising wishing to create and sponsor a copy should be ethical and contain supplement for a particular journal. We no direct or implied disparagement make it very clear to all supplement of another product. There should be sponsors that will not proceed without no statements that are misleading, the explicit pre-approval of the journal exaggerated or contrary to proven editor.