Analysis of updates of Transparency and Best Practices in Academic Publishing and implications for academic journals in China

Abstract: Purposes The four updates of Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing from 2013 to 2022 are nurtured in the context of global open science publishing, and may shed insight on the development for academic journals in China. Methods The first to the fourth versions of the principles were obtained through the website of Open Access Scholarly Publishing Association (OASPA). Taking individual principle as a unit of analysis, a longitudinal comparison of the principle details were compared to systematically reveal their differences and development over time. Focusing on the principles of the lasted version which were analyzed in the article, suggestions for the development of academic journals in China were summarized. Findings From 2013 to 2022, four versions of the principles were published, aiming to ensure the quality and credibility of academic research by improving the transparency of academic publishing. Compared with previous versions, the fourth version provided more detailed instructions on how to achieve transparency and best practices focusing on 16 principles pertaining to four dimensions: journal content, journal practices, organization, and business practices, with considerations of the practices achievable by journals in different disciplines, regions, and scales, to cope with the challenges by open science. Conclusions The principles would be helpful for the improvement of China’s academic publishing transparency and ensure the quality and credibility of China’s academic research. Chinese academic journals should increase awareness and participation in open science movement, work on network security maintenance and website information transparency, clearly describe copyright and licensing information in journal policies to protect intellectual property rights, and safeguard editorial independence to ensure academic value.