This page states BMU-wide publishing principles. It does not replace journal-specific author guidelines, peer-review descriptions, fee schedules or discipline-specific ethical requirements. Operational claims apply only where implemented by the relevant journal or publisher system.
Implementation before claims
A policy should not be presented as an established practice merely because text exists. Where a policy requires a conflict declaration, complaint route, preservation process, AI restriction or correction workflow, the corresponding operational mechanism should exist before the practice is claimed as fully implemented.
Training
Editors, reviewers, publishing staff and relevant contractors should receive or be directed to guidance appropriate to their roles, including peer review, confidentiality, authorship, conflicts, research ethics, misconduct and post-publication action.
Records
Significant complaints, appeals, conflicts, recusals, investigations and post-publication decisions should be documented with access limited according to legitimate role and need.
Monitoring
BMU and its journals should periodically compare public policies with actual platform settings, editorial behaviour, forms, templates, metadata and communication routes. Discrepancies should trigger correction of the practice, wording or both.
Version control
Material policy amendments should be dated and versioned. Where feasible, previous versions should remain identifiable so that historical requirements applicable to earlier submissions or publications can be determined.
Operational testing
Before a major policy suite is declared operational, representative workflows should be tested, including submission declarations, review confidentiality, conflict handling, decision authority, fee separation, complaints, correction capability and metadata updates.
External standards and status
External standards may inform BMU policies without implying membership, accreditation, endorsement or signatory status. Any such status should be claimed only where separately verified.
Review cycle
Policies should be reviewed periodically and sooner where there is a material change in law, technology, publisher operations, research ethics or recognised scholarly practice.
Policy basis and interpretation
Adapted principally from JHWCR Policy 34 and implementation appendices. The BMU version generalises journal-specific material into a publisher framework and removes details that should remain title-specific. Where a journal publishes a more specific requirement that is consistent with these principles, the journal-specific rule governs that journal's submissions.
Questions about this framework may be sent to info@bmuventures.com.