News | Tuesday, 13 December 2016
Academies release guidelines on good science publishing
The number of scientific publications is increasing constantly. Researchers have to stay current with ever more new scientific literature and have to visibly publish their own findings. At the same time, it is become increasing difficult, particularly for non-scientists, to identify which journals are serious scientific publications. France’s Académie des sciences, the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, and the UK’s Royal Society are drawing attention to this situation and have developed joint guidelines for high-quality publications in scientific journals.
The large number of new online journals also includes “pseudo-journals” where the selection, editing and review of the submitted articles is often not transparent or does not meet scientific standards. The Académie des sciences, the Leopoldina, and the Royal Society have thus written the guidelines for good science publishing with four fundamental principles in mind: efficient and high-quality dissemination of scientific information, avoidance of conflicts of interest, fair review of articles, and selection and editing of the articles by recognised scientists. The guidelines were presented to the EU Commissioner for Science and Innovation, Carolos Moedas, in Brussels.
