Principles that support credible publishing.
BMU Ventures maintains a publisher-wide framework for integrity, independence, transparency and responsible scholarly communication. Journal-specific operational details remain with each journal.
Publisher-wide framework
Use these pages for BMU-wide principles. Each journal remains responsible for publishing the details that vary by title, including scope, editorial leadership, peer-review model, fees, submission instructions, frequency and discipline-specific requirements.
Publishing Principles & Research Integrity
BMU Ventures supports scholarly publishing that is honest, careful, transparent, accountable and respectful. This publisher-wide framework establishes the principles that should gu…
Read policy →Governance policyGovernance & Editorial Independence
BMU Ventures provides the publisher layer for its scholarly portfolio while safeguarding the separation between publisher operations and editorial decisions. This framework defines…
Read policy →Peer-review policyPeer Review & Editorial Decision-Making
Peer review is an important form of independent scholarly assessment, but it is one component of a broader editorial process. Each BMU-published journal should disclose its review …
Read policy →Authorship policyAuthorship & Contributorship
Authorship communicates both credit and accountability. BMU expects journals to use transparent criteria for authorship, contributorship, corresponding-author responsibilities, aff…
Read policy →AI policyResponsible Artificial Intelligence
BMU recognises that artificial-intelligence tools can support research, writing, editing, analysis and publishing operations. Their use must not displace human accountability, comp…
Read policy →Research ethics policyResearch Ethics & Participant Protection
BMU expects journals to protect research participants, animals, communities and the reliability of evidence through discipline-appropriate ethical oversight. Ethical approval is im…
Read policy →Integrity investigationsResearch Misconduct, Whistleblowing & Investigations
BMU distinguishes publication action from institutional discipline. Journals are responsible for protecting their submission and publication records; employers, universities, regul…
Read policy →Disclosure policyCompeting Interests & Funding Transparency
A competing interest is a relationship or circumstance that could reasonably be perceived to influence judgment. Transparency does not imply wrongdoing; it allows editors and reade…
Read policy →Research transparencyData, Code, Materials & Reproducibility
Transparent access to supporting evidence strengthens verification and reuse, but openness must be balanced with consent, confidentiality, legal obligations, participant protection…
Read policy →Access and rightsOpen Access, Licensing & Copyright
BMU supports clear and transparent access, licensing and rights information. Journal-specific licences and copyright arrangements must be displayed accurately at the journal and ar…
Read policy →Financial transparencyPublication Charges, Waivers & Financial Separation
Charges are journal-specific. BMU requires any fees, waivers, discounts and refund rules to be stated clearly and kept separate from scholarly assessment.…
Read policy →Privacy and recordsPrivacy, Confidentiality & Data Protection
BMU and its journals process personal and confidential information for publishing, research, educational, partnership and website operations. Information should be collected for le…
Read policy →Post-publication policyCorrections, Expressions of Concern & Retractions
Correction is part of responsible scholarship. Post-publication action should focus on the reliability, interpretation and integrity of the scholarly record rather than on punishme…
Read policy →Accountability policyComplaints, Appeals & Non-Retaliation
BMU supports accessible, conflict-aware procedures for complaints, appeals and integrity concerns. Journal-specific editorial appeals should ordinarily be directed first to the jou…
Read policy →Commercial integrityAdvertising, Sponsorship, Marketing & Responsible Metrics
Commercial activity must remain distinguishable from scholarly content and editorial decision-making. BMU also requires public claims about metrics, indexing and external recogniti…
Read policy →Record continuityArticle Versions, Metadata & Digital Preservation
Digital preservation is more than routine backup. A responsible publisher plans for continuity of the scholarly record across system failure, platform migration, organisational cha…
Read policy →Collections policySpecial Issues, Guest Editors & Conference Content
Special issues and externally coordinated collections can support focused scholarly communities, but they must not create a parallel editorial route with weaker integrity safeguard…
Read policy →Scholarly expressionJurisdictional Neutrality, Academic Freedom & Legal Concerns
BMU aims to support lawful scholarly expression while avoiding institutional or geopolitical claims that exceed the purpose of academic publishing. Neutrality does not remove autho…
Read policy →Policy assuranceTraining, Monitoring & Policy Review
Policies are credible only when responsibilities, systems and public statements align. BMU therefore treats implementation, training, monitoring and periodic review as part of the …
Read policy →Publisher rules + journal implementation.
BMU provides common standards for integrity and governance. Journals translate those standards into procedures appropriate to their disciplines and editorial systems.
Integrity, independence, responsible claims, privacy, preservation principles and commercial-editorial separation.
Peer-review identity model, editor authority, article types, charges, reporting requirements and operational forms.
Licence, declarations, data availability, funding, conflicts, ethics, corrections and current publication status.
BMU will avoid presenting external affiliation, indexing, preservation, metrics, technology or policy implementation as established unless it can be verified.
Implementation & review