Inclusion in publishing at Elsevier: An author guide

At Elsevier, we promote inclusion throughout the research and publishing process, in collaboration with our external partners, including editors, society partners, the research community and other publishers.   

This promotes innovation and development. It is crucial for rigor, quality and progress in science. It benefits not only individuals, by supporting every person to advance and excel, but also ensures more impactful research outcomes for society as a whole.

We undertake a range of activities to support inclusive research. Our March 2022 Inclusion & Diversity Advisory Board Report summarizes our progress during the first two years of the Board’s collaboration.

Processes & Tools

We innovate our processes, workflows and tools to support inclusion throughout the publishing process.

Focus on research question and methodology

Initiatives such as Registered Reports and Results Masked Review aim for work to be judged on the merits of the research question and methodology, not the findings.

1. Registered Reports requires authors to submit and commit to their protocols before experiments are conducted. The journal then accepts the paper in principle, based on whether editors believe the protocol has merit, and commits to publishing the research regardless of the results.

2. With Results Masked Review, the experiments have already taken place, but the reviewers are first sent the paper with the results masked.

Both models seek to focus on methodology and enhance transparency, thereby ensuring fair consideration.

Inclusive peer review

Using various sources to identify suitable reviewers helps to diversify the perspectives and backgrounds of the candidates who are invited to review or join journals’ reviewer communities. In support of this, we provide editors with a selection of tools opens in new tab/window and best practice on how to utilize them to promote inclusion.

Our processes and workflow innovations further support inclusion. For example, structured peer review makes peer review more accessible to everyone, including early career researchers and researchers from across the globe for whom English might not be their first language, while aspiring reviewers can volunteer to review for relevant journals via the Reviewer Hub, with their interest then visible to editors during the reviewer invitation process.

Best practice

We strive to raise awareness and understanding, and to encourage adoption of best practice (including through policies), in pursuit of inclusion and diversity.

Self-reporting data in Editorial Manager

We pursue an evidence-based approach to advancing inclusion. In line with this, we are inviting editors, reviewers and authors to optionally self-report their diversity data in Editorial Manager. Elsevier encourages self-reporting to increase transparency about inclusivity in journal editorial processes. The schemas used are those developed collaboratively across publishers opens in new tab/window.

Editorial teams

In 2016, we began engaging external editors on the importance of diverse editorial teams and we continue this dialogue today. We work closely with our editors to promote transparency about editorial team diversity, and accountability to our communities. All Elsevier journals display the geographical breakdown of editors and Editorial Boards on their journal homepages, and over 1,400 titles display self-reported gender data.

Training and guidance for you

We continuously review and enhance guidance to provide you with the most up-to-date advice how to promote inclusion in your research and publication practices. Please refer to journals’ guides for authors.

Our guides for authors advise you on the use of inclusive language. We have introduced a section on the SAGER Guidelines opens in new tab/window which recognize the importance of sex and gender within the research itself, a dimension of analysis that has a critical impact on research quality and outcomes.

Training and guidance for other roles

Our Editor Essentials module provides editors with practical actions to support inclusion and diversity among journals’ Editorial Boards, reviewers and authors.

Similarly, we work to provide new and aspiring reviewers with a thorough grounding in the principles and practice of refereeing via our certified peer reviewer course opens in new tab/window (a Chinese language version is also available). From here, they are signposted to the Reviewer Hub where they can volunteer to review for relevant journals. This plays an important role in making reviewing more inclusive.

Avoiding unconscious bias

Elsevier is making efforts to tackle unconscious bias which can risk negatively impacting the publication of good research. This has led to the creation of a number of resources which can be employed to identify and combat bias or to reduce the likelihood of it affecting the peer review and academic publishing process, summarized in this article , and on our dedicated page.

Inclusive name change policy

Elsevier’s inclusive author name change policy allows authors who need to change their name privately, e.g., for transgender authors or for reasons of personal safety, to update their name on previously published papers invisibly, i.e., with a resupply and no erratum / corrigendum. This policy, which is aligned with industry best practice opens in new tab/window, enables us to help protect authors’ privacy and safety, while still safeguarding the scholarly record.

Your first step

I want to get involved, where should I start?

We encourage you to work with your collaborators and co-authors to discuss how to support inclusion in your research and writing practice. As a helpful starting point, our "Guide for Authors" provides useful tips and best practices for inclusive writing and research.