There may be instances when the authors feel that publication of an abridged version of a published Cochrane Review in another journal would be in the public interest. In these cases the journal is likely to be a specialist publication (reaching a specialist audience) or published in a language other than English (reaching a new audience). Before proceeding along this route, authors must consider the following.
- The editor of the other journal may consider the publication to be redundant (duplicate) publication, that is, “publication of a paper that overlaps substantially with one already published in print or electronic media” (ICMJE recommendations on overlapping publications; accessed 22 August 2018).
- Authors of published Cochrane Reviews have granted Cochrane an exclusive licence for publication for the Cochrane Review, and the journal editor needs to be aware of this.
To initiate this process, authors should first contact the Managing Editor of the relevant Cochrane Review Group (CRG) using the ‘Permission to co-publish’ form; see Co-publication forms and templates. The authors, the CRG, and the journal will all be required to follow the steps outlined in the section Co-publication process: how to request and implement.
If the journal has already signed a Cochrane co-publication agreement (Agreements between journals and the CDSR for co-publication of Cochrane Reviews), the CRG can grant permission without referring the case to the Editorial & Methods Department (EMD), although the CRG must ensure that the EMD is aware of each permission granted by sending a copy of the completed ‘Permission to co-publish’ form (see Co-publication forms and templates) to the EMD. If, however, the journal has not yet signed a co-publication agreement, the case will be referred to the EMD for permission (contact emd@cochrane.org and ensure that the subject line of your email clearly states “Co-publication query”). The EMD will ask the publisher to ensure that the journal signs a Cochrane co-publication agreement and that permission is granted to the author. The EMD will inform the CRG of the decision, and the CRG will communicate the decision to the author.