Cochrane’s editorial and publishing policies can now be found on the Cochrane Library Editorial policies page. Cochrane authors and editorial teams should refer to the Cochrane Library as the primary source of information on this policy. For editorial guidance on policies the EPPR remains the primary location.

Pre-publication change in authorship

Authors requesting a change in authorship (modify the order, remove, or add an author) must contact the Cochrane Review Group (CRG) Managing Editor. In line with the recommendations of COPE flowcharts, the CRG will require all authors to agree with the modification (usually by asking the authors to reply to an email explaining the change).

Post-publication change in authorship

Authors wishing to add or remove an author post-publication, and before the next citation version, must submit a request to the Managing Editor of the Cochrane Review Group. Managing Editors are recommended to use the COPE flowcharts for the following scenarios: 

One of the outcomes of the COPE flowcharts is to publish a correction. For Cochrane Reviews, instead of publishing a correction, the Cochrane Review should be republished using the appropriate What's New events; see Assigning What’s New events to Cochrane Reviews.