Overview

The standard type of co-publication would be post-publication. In exceptional cases, same-day publication may be requested but this is subject to approval by the Cochrane Editorial & Methods Department (EMD; emd@cochrane.org). If you wish to discuss alternative suggested co-publication arrangements, please contact the EMD. The authors, the CRG, and the journal will all be required to follow the guidance set out below.

To initiate the co-publication of a Cochrane Review, the authors of the review 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. Authors should be aware that, even if such a co-publication agreement is in place with the journal, the Cochrane Review article is likely to go through the journal’s own peer review and editorial process, in addition to the Cochrane Review Group's (CRG's) processes. CRGs are encouraged to work with journal editorial teams that maintain a co-publication agreement, so that the process can be made as efficient as possible. Authors who submit a co-published Cochrane Review to a journal that already has a Cochrane co-publication agreement do not need to request permission from the Cochrane Review publishers (John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.) or the EMD, but they must complete the ‘Permission to co-publish’ form (see Co-publication forms and templates) and send this to the CRG’s Managing Editor, copying in Cathryn Fowler; cfowler@wiley.com. If the CRG agrees to proceed, the authors should forward the completed form to the EMD for their information (contact emd@cochrane.org, ensure that the subject line of the email clearly states “Co-publication query”).

Post-publication

Post-publication refers to requesting to co-publish an abridged Cochrane Review in another journal after it has first been published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR).

If the journal has already signed a Cochrane co-publication agreement (see Co-publication agreements with other journals), the CRG can grant permission without referring the case to the EMD (emd@cochrane.org) and Wiley (Cathryn Fowler, Associate Editor; cfowler@wiley.com), although the CRG must ensure that both are aware of each permission granted by sending them a copy of the completed ‘Permission to co-publish’ form (see Co-publication forms and templates).

If the journal has not signed a co-publication agreement, the request will be referred to the EMD for permission (ensure that the subject line of the email clearly states "Co-publication query"). The EMD will ask Wiley to either approve this as a single request or approve this and enquire whether the journal would be interested in setting up a Cochrane co-publication agreement to cover future activities. The EMD or Wiley will inform the CRG of the decision, and the CRG will communicate the decision to the author. The co-published review must meet all requirements set out in below.

Same-day publication

There may be instances when the public would benefit from the publication of a co-published version of a Cochrane Review in both the CDSR and another journal on the same day (previously referred to as 'simultaneous publication'). This may be discussed with the Cochrane Review Group (CRG) at any stage of the Cochrane Review development process, and ideally as soon as the authors consider this possibility.

The CRG must refer all same-day publication requests to the EMD and Wiley for approval using the ‘Permission to co-publish’ form (see Co-publication forms and templates), regardless of whether there is a co-publication ageement in place.

If a request for same-day publication is approved, the authors and journal should note that the co-published review may be published in the journal only after it has first been published in the CDSR, so the timing of the co-publication of the journal version must not pre-date the Cochrane Review version. The CDSR must remain the version of record. Further publication in the journal must not delay publcation in the CDSR. It is the responsibility of the authors to co-ordinate publications times between the CRG and journal editorial office. The co-published review must meet all requirements set out below.

Requirements for co-publication

When considering submitting an article to be co-published, author teams should ensure that the following requirements are met:

  1. Authors must ensure to make a complete statement to the journal editor so they are aware that a submission is based on a Cochrane Review and should share the permission to co-publish form with the journal Managing Editor once it is completed.
  2. The journal version must faithfully reflect the data and interpretations of the Cochrane version. Where journal editing and peer review have resulted in differences in the data or interpretation, these should be discussed with the CRG, and, where appropriate, incorporated into a revised version of the Cochrane Review at the next available opportunity, and with appropriate acknowledgement to the journal’s peer reviewers/editors.
  3. The title of the journal version should indicate that it is a secondary publication of the Cochrane Review, preferably by including 'Cochrane Review' or 'Cochrane Systematic Review' in the title. 
  4. The support of the CRG in publishing the Cochrane Review should be acknowledged in an appropriate place in the journal version (e.g. in the Acknowledgements section).
  5. The Cochrane Review must be cited in the reference list of the journal version.
    1. A footnote should be placed on the title page of the journal version to inform readers and documenting agencies that the paper has been published previously, either in whole or in part, citing the primary publication (CDSR); for example: “This article is based on a Cochrane Review published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR) YYYY, Issue X, DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD00xxxx (see www.cochranelibrary.com for information). Cochrane Reviews are regularly updated as new evidence emerges and in response to feedback, and the CDSR should be consulted for the most recent version of the review.”
    2. The Cochrane Review published in the CDSR should reference the journal version in the section ‘Other published versions of this review’ as soon as possible after publication of the journal version or when in press.

Workflow for co-publishing Cochrane Reviews (including updates) in other journals – single permission request