We speak to Jen Wright, Research Services Manager at Cambridge Univeristy Press, and Rhys Morgan Head of Research Policy, Governance and Integrity at the University of Cambridge, about Publishing Ethics and Research Integrity across our organisations.

What are ‘publishing ethics’ and ‘research integrity’? 

Jen: Publishing ethics (sometimes referred to as “publication ethics”) in a broad sense refers to the maintenance of a transparent and trustworthy scholarly record. In many ways, publication ethics is an extension of research integrity.

By extension, publication ethics is concerned with ensuring the scholarly record is transparent and trustworthy. Like research integrity, publication ethics also includes acting fairly in dealings with others in the process, so it’s not only the content we are concerned with, but the processes and decisions people make about that content and each other. For example, a common issue is authorship – who qualifies as an author of an article, or book? This is ultimately for authors to decide, but publishers need to have policies in place to help ensure this is handled fairly. Unfortunately, sometimes people are added as authors without their knowledge or permission, or conversely missed off an author list despite playing a fundamental role in the creation of the content. Authorship policies seek to set expectations around who should be considered an author, and what happens in the event of a dispute or request to change authorship.   

‘Research integrity means researching in a way that allows others to trust and have confidence in your methods, your findings, and any outputs from your research.‘ 

Most of the above refers to research publishing ethics. At CUP, we also publish non-research content and also have publishing ethics guidelines for teaching and learning material. We apply the same principles of care, respect, honesty, rigour, and transparency but the types of issue we face are usually different. For example, we are often asked to advise on balancing different cultural perspectives with pedagogical approaches in the content. 

Rhys: As Jen has pointed out, research integrity is about taking the steps necessary to ensure that others can trust your research findings. Ensuring research integrity is a process that applies throughout the research journey, from the inception of an idea for a project all the way to publication and dissemination. It requires the processes that are used to create research findings to be rigorous so that they produce as reliable outcomes as possible, individuals to act honestly and openly in processing and presenting their data, and for that data to be presented clearly and transparently in publications. It also requires our research culture to encourage and support researchers to make the right choices and be able to do their research as rigorously and openly as possible. 

Research integrity is also about ensuring honest and respectful relationships with others in the research process. This of course starts with care and respect for those who volunteer to participate in our research. It also incorporates honest recognition of the contributions of others to one’s research and our obligations of openness and transparency with those who read our work. 

For the University, publishing ethics is the final, and a vital, stage in the research integrity process. Research can only have integrity if it is presented in a reliable and trustworthy manner and if the contributions of all those involved in a project are properly recognised. This is why it’s essential that universities work well with colleagues in publishers to maintain best practice.  

How does CUP and the University of Cambridge work together to uphold high ethical standards? 

Jen: We do this in many ways, both within the University and beyond. Most of our collaboration is about knowledge sharing, but we also work together on training for researchers and development of best practice.  As we described above, publication ethics is an extension of research integrity, so by working together, we help each other but also help our researchers and students by having a more joined up approach. 

Rhys: The strong working relationship that we have with CUP has provided valuable insights into how publishers maintain research integrity and what publishers expect of our researchers. This is invaluable for tackling challenges relating to publication ethics in particular and providing our researchers with the skills they need to maintain best practice.  

We have also recently worked together on the development of the University’s online research integrity training. This has been hugely beneficial both in terms of the expertise that CUP has in producing quality online training, but also the insights and knowledge they can provide to inform the development of the course. 

What is the main function of the Publishing Ethics Committee and who is part of it? 

Jen: The Publishing Ethics Committee (PEC) is an advisory board, designed to advise the Press in making complex decisions about content, ensure our publishing ethics policies are maintained and fit for purpose, and establish guidance where needed. It includes representation from across the Press, along with two University representatives. 

Why are we a member of COPE? 

Jen: COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to supporting publishers and, more recently, institutions with all manner of publication ethics issues. They provide thought leadership and are globally recognised as an authority on many matters of publication ethics, but also provide lots of practical day-to-day support and guidance. For example, they develop and maintain useful flowcharts that help publishers unpick and resolve tricky issues, provide toolkits and training for editors to improve policies and journal workflows, and foster a global community to support high standards in publication ethics. Having COPE membership (and/or adhering to the standards laid out by COPE) is also often considered an “eligibility requirement” for journals if they want to be accepted into various databases and approval lists, and can help researchers avoid so-called predatory publishers and journals. COPE are very keen that they aren’t viewed as the “police”, though!  Like the CUP’s PEC, their purpose is not as arbitrators or judges, they provide advice, guidance and recommendations. 

You can find out more about how we work the university from our blog post series here.