Supporting FAIR Practices In Scholarly Publishing with the Editorial Reference Handbook

Abstract

The Editorial Reference Handbook assists scholarly publishers in supporting the sharing of digital research objects and in operationalising FAIR research practices by addressing gaps in editorial workflows, policy implementation and stakeholder alignment. Comprising a checklist, detailed guidance, and a flowchart, the Handbook provides a flexible framework for in-house editorial staff while also providing value to reviewers, authors, and service providers. The project was developed through a co-creation process involving 14 journals and 9 publishers, and was subsequently piloted by 6 journals across 190 manuscripts. In total, 35 participants representing 19 journals and 11 publishers contributed to the various stages of the project. Evaluation through surveys and performance metrics showed that the Handbook can help in-house editorial staff ensure that data underpinning publications is shared more FAIRly without significantly impacting turnaround times or author correspondence. This article reports on the contributions of the participants, describes the rationale and development of the Handbook, and presents the outcomes of the pilot, offering a reusable framework adaptable across diverse publishing contexts.