Publication Policy

Draft Publication Policy for the Lupus Nephritis Trials Network

Purpose

The purpose of this document is to describe the principles and procedures that will govern publications and presentations relating to the Lupus Nephritis Trials Network (LNTN).

Guiding Principles for Publications

1. The LNTN investigators subscribe to the principles of open access to scientific research as articulated in the Bethesda Statement on Open Access and the NIH Open Access Policy.

2. All investigators in the LNTN will have the opportunity to propose topics for publication and/or abstract presentation on which they would like to take the lead.

3. Every effort will be made to provide opportunities for lead authorship to less established investigators.

Authorship of Manuscripts

The LNTN was created to promote and support collaborative efforts in conducting lupus nephritis research. Publications resulting from work done through the LNTN should reflect the participation of the LNTN investigators, and also acknowledge the efforts of the “principal investigator”.

Primary Publication: In general, decisions regarding authorship will rest with the investigator who proposed the project. It is expected that authorship will reflect contributions made by members of the LNTN, and that the LNTN will be acknowledged appropriately for its contribution.

Secondary Publications: For secondary publications arising out of LNTN projects, principal investigators are encouraged to provide authorship opportunities to other members of the LNTN. In the case of a clinical trial, for example, the following process is encouraged:

1. Sometime approximately 6 months before the final subject reaches the primary endpoint, a request for proposed manuscript topics will be distributed to all participating sites, along with a thorough summary of all of the data elements and all of the planned mechanistic analyses. Proposals submitted in response to this request will include: (i) the name of the proposed Lead Author; (ii) a brief description of the topic and the key data elements; and (iii) a description of the relationship, if any, to the investigator’s primary area of research.

2. Initially, investigators would be limited to leadership of one project so that opportunities to publish can be shared as widely as possible. Depending on the extent of interest among the investigators and the nature of the results, opportunities to lead more than one project may eventually become available.

3. Wherever possible, lead authorship opportunities will be made available to early and mid-career investigators.

4. Once a Lead Author has been named, that individual will take responsibility for the project, including the responsibility to assemble a group of co-authors from among interested investigators.

Abstracts: The opportunity to submit abstracts to meetings will coincide with the designation of Lead Author for a particular topic. That is, the leader of one of the secondary projects will have priority to submit abstracts on that topic.

Review of Publications: All manuscripts and abstracts arising out of LNTN projects will be reviewed by a publication committee prior to submission. The purpose of this review will be two-fold: (i) to provide constructive comments; and (ii) to formally approve the use of the LNTN name in conjunction with the manuscript.