CONTENTS

1           Scope and applicability
2           Definitions
3           Types of special collections
4           Proposal and approval of a special collection
5           Guest editor eligibility and vetting
6           Guest editor responsibilities and conduct
7           Editorial authority and oversight
8           Conflict of interest management
9           Call for papers and manuscript handling
10          Peer review standards for special collections
11          Authorship and guest editor contributions
12          Funding, sponsorship, and editorial independence
13          Content labeling, transparency, and metadata
14          Citation integrity
15          Prevention of systematic manipulation and paper mills
16          Clinical and ethical research requirements
17          Artificial intelligence and preprint provisions
18          Post-publication responsibilities
19          Withdrawal and discontinuation of a special collection
20          Normative references

 

1. SCOPE AND APPLICABILITY

This Special Issues and Guest Editors Policy governs the proposal, approval, management, and publication of all special collections published in European Gynecology and Obstetrics (EGO), and defines the rights, responsibilities, and conduct standards applicable to all Guest Editors involved in such collections.

For this Policy, the term "special collection" encompasses special issues, theme issues, supplements, topical collections, and any other thematic grouping of articles curated wholly or in part by one or more Guest Editors, regardless of whether such collection is published as a dedicated issue, as part of a regular issue, or as a continuously updated online section.

This Policy applies to:

• all researchers who propose, accept, or perform the role of Guest Editor in connection with the Journal;
• all authors submitting manuscripts to a special collection of the Journal;
• all peer reviewers invited to evaluate manuscripts submitted to a special collection;
• the Editorial Office of the Journal, operating on behalf of Edikta S.r.l.;
• the Editor-in-Chief and all members of the Editorial Board.

This Policy is to be read in conjunction with the Journal's Editorial Policy Statement (in particular Sections 1, 2, and 8); Authorship Policy; Peer Review Policy; Conflict of Interest Policy; Corrections and Retractions Policy; Copyright and Licensing Policy; Artificial Intelligence Policy; and Preprint Policy. In the event of any conflict between this Policy and another document in the editorial policy framework, this Policy prevails on all matters specifically governed herein relating to special collections and Guest Editors.

Compliance with this Policy is a condition for the role of Guest Editor and for submission of manuscripts to a special collection of the Journal.

2. DEFINITIONS

For this Policy, the following definitions apply.

Special collection. Any thematic grouping of articles curated wholly or in part by one or more Guest Editors, published under the banner of the Journal in any format - including dedicated special issues, theme issues, supplements, or continuously updated topical online collections.

Special issue. A special collection published as a standalone issue of the Journal, or as an identifiable thematic section within a regular issue, comprising original articles, reviews, commentaries, or other article types as defined in the Editorial Policy Statement, all related to a specific topic within the Journal's scope.

Supplement. A collection of papers addressing related issues or topics, published as a separate issue of the Journal or as part of a regular issue, that may be associated with conference proceedings or thematically commissioned content, and that may have a source of financial support other than the Journal's publisher.

Theme issue. A regular issue of the Journal in which a substantial portion of the published content is dedicated to a defined theme, managed in whole or in part by one or more Guest Editors.

Topical collection. A continuously updated online section grouping articles published across multiple issues of the Journal, organized around a defined topic, and curated by one or more Guest Editors over a defined or open-ended period.

Guest Editor (GE). A researcher external to the Journal's permanent Editorial Board, appointed on an ad hoc basis by the Editor-in-Chief to coordinate the proposal, solicitation, and peer review management of manuscripts for a defined special collection, in accordance with this Policy.

Lead Guest Editor. The individual designated as the primary point of contact within the GE team for a given special collection, responsible for coordinating with the Editorial Office and the Editor-in-Chief.

Senior Editor. A member of the Journal's Editorial Board designated by the Editor-in-Chief to provide internal editorial oversight of a special collection, monitor Guest Editor recommendations, and ensure compliance with the Journal's editorial policies.

Editorial Office. The administrative and editorial management unit operated by Edikta S.r.l. on behalf of the Journal, responsible for the day-to-day management of submissions, peer review workflows, and communications with authors, reviewers, and Guest Editors.

Paper mill. An organization or individual that produces or sells fraudulent manuscripts and/or peer review reports, submitted to journals for publication as if they were the product of legitimate research.

Call for Papers (CfP). A public announcement inviting the submission of manuscripts on a defined topic to a special collection, specifying scope, article types accepted, submission deadline, and Guest Editor details.

3. TYPES OF SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

3.1  Journal-initiated collections

The Journal may initiate a special collection on a topic identified by the Editor-in-Chief as being of particular scientific relevance, clinical urgency, or strategic importance for the gynecology and obstetrics community. In such cases, the Editor-in-Chief identifies the topic, defines the scope, and selects the GE team, subject to the vetting procedure described in Section 5.

3.2  Externally proposed collections

Researchers may propose a special collection to the Journal by submitting a formal proposal to the Editorial Office in accordance with the procedure described in Section 4. Acceptance of an externally proposed collection is at the sole discretion of the Editor-in-Chief.

3.3  Society-initiated collections

ESG - European Society of Gynecology may propose special collections on topics aligned with its scientific activities. Such proposals are subject to the same approval and vetting procedure as externally proposed collections. The ESG's role is limited to scientific recommendation; all editorial decisions remain with the Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Office.

3.4  Supplements associated with conference proceedings

European Gynecology and Obstetrics (EGO) may publish supplements containing selected contributions or abstract books associated with scientific conferences or congresses. Such supplements are subject to all provisions of this Policy and to the additional requirements set out in Section 12 regarding funding and editorial independence. Supplements published in connection with conferences organized by the European Society of Gynecology or affiliated societies are equally subject to all provisions of this Policy.

4. PROPOSAL AND APPROVAL OF A SPECIAL COLLECTION

4.1  Formal proposal requirements

Any researcher wishing to propose a special collection for consideration by the Journal must submit a written proposal to the Editorial Office or, where applicable, to the Editor-in-Chief directly. The proposal must include the following elements:

1. a) the proposed title of the special collection;
2. b) a scientific rationale and statement of relevance to the Journal's scope, not exceeding 500 words;
3. c) the proposed format (special issue, supplement, topical collection);
4. d) the full name, institutional affiliation, institutional email address, ORCID identifier, and curriculum vitae (not exceeding 2 pages) of each proposed Guest Editor;
5. e) a preliminary list of proposed topics or, where applicable, of identified authors and provisional article titles;
6. f) the proposed submission deadline and target publication date;
7. g) a declaration of any financial support, sponsorship, or commercial involvement associated with the proposed collection;
8. h) a declaration of any conflict of interest between the proposed Guest Editors and the anticipated authorship, including institutional affiliations, collaborative relationships, and financial ties;
9. i) confirmation that each proposed Guest Editor accepts the responsibilities and conduct standards set out in this Policy.

4.2  Evaluation and approval

The Editorial Office acknowledges receipt of the proposal within 10 working days and submits it to the Editor-in-Chief for evaluation. The Editor-in-Chief may:

1. a) approve the proposal as submitted;
2. b) approve the proposal subject to modifications, including changes to the proposed Guest Editor team or to the scope of the collection;
3. c) request additional information from the proposer;
4. d) reject the proposal.

The Editor-in-Chief's decision is communicated to the proposer within 30 working days of receipt of the complete proposal. The decision is final and is not subject to appeal.

4.3  Formal agreement

Upon approval, the Lead Guest Editor and each co-Guest Editor are required to sign a formal Guest Editor Agreement with the Editorial Office, confirming their acceptance of this Policy, the Journal's editorial policy framework, and the specific terms applicable to the approved special collection. No editorial activity relating to the special collection may commence before this Agreement is signed.

4.4  Concurrent special collections

The number of special collections open simultaneously is determined at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief, in consultation with the Editorial Office, taking into account the Journal's editorial capacity and the quality of available Guest Editor teams. An individual researcher may not act as Guest Editor of more than 2 open special collections of the Journal at the same time.

5. GUEST EDITOR ELIGIBILITY AND VETTING

5.1  Eligibility criteria

To be eligible for appointment as a Guest Editor of the Journal, a researcher must satisfy all of the following criteria:

1. a) hold a doctoral degree or equivalent qualification in a field relevant to the topic of the proposed special collection;
2. b) have a demonstrable record of peer-reviewed publication in gynecology, obstetrics, or a related clinical or biomedical discipline;
3. c) hold a current, verifiable institutional affiliation;
4. d) possess an active ORCID identifier (orcid.org), which must be provided at the time of application;
5. e) have no record of retractions attributable to misconduct in the preceding 5 years, as verifiable through the Retraction Watch Database or equivalent sources;
6. f) not be under investigation for research or publication misconduct at the time of appointment;
7. g) not be a current member of the Journal's Editorial Board, unless expressly authorized by the Editor-in-Chief in exceptional circumstances.

5.2  Vetting procedure

The Editorial Office conducts a mandatory vetting procedure for all proposed Guest Editors before formal appointment. This procedure includes:

1. a) verification of identity through institutional email address cross-referenced with the declared affiliation;
2. b) verification of ORCID record for consistency with the declared publication history;
3. c) cross-check of publication record against the Retraction Watch Database;
4. d) review of the declared conflict of interest statement;
5. e) web search to identify any public information inconsistent with the eligibility criteria set out in Section 5.1.

The Editorial Office reserves the right to reject any proposed Guest Editor who does not satisfy the vetting procedure, and to request the proposer to identify a substitute.

5.3  Geographic and institutional diversity

Guest Editor teams for special collections must include individuals affiliated with at least 2 different institutions. The Editorial Office strongly encourages geographic and institutional diversity within GE teams to reduce conflicts of interest and enhance the scientific reach of the collection. Teams composed exclusively of researchers from a single institution or country will not normally be approved.

6. GUEST EDITOR RESPONSIBILITIES AND CONDUCT

6.1  General responsibilities

Each Guest Editor is responsible for:

1. a) defining and publicizing the scope, article types, and submission deadline of the special collection in accordance with the approved proposal;
2. b) coordinating the Call for Papers and communicating it through appropriate scientific networks;
3. c) inviting and identifying potential authors and reviewers, ensuring scientific quality and thematic relevance;
4. d) managing the peer review process for all manuscripts submitted to the special collection, in accordance with the Journal's Peer Review Policy and the provisions of Section 10 of this Policy;
5. e) making editorial recommendations on manuscripts assigned to them for handling, based on at least 2 independent peer review reports;
6. f) maintaining regular communication with the Editorial Office, with a minimum frequency of once per calendar month, and responding to communications from the Editorial Office within 5 working days;
7. g) applying the Journal's Reviewer Guidelines and not altering, suppressing, or selectively transmitting reviewer comments except in accordance with the Journal's Peer Review Policy and documented Editorial Office procedures;
8. h) reporting any suspected misconduct, including suspected paper mill activity, manipulation of peer review, or authorship fraud, to the Editorial Office without delay.

Guest Editors act in an advisory capacity; all final editorial decisions rest exclusively with the Editor-in-Chief.

6.2  Conduct standards

Guest Editors must at all times:

1. a) act in accordance with the COPE Core Practices and the Journal's editorial policy framework;
2. b) base all editorial recommendations solely on the scientific merit of the manuscript, its relevance to the collection's scope, and its compliance with the Journal's ethical requirements;
3. c) treat all submitted manuscripts as confidential before publication and not disclose their content to third parties;
4. d) disclose any conflict of interest arising during the editorial process to the Editorial Office immediately upon becoming aware of it;
5. e) not request or encourage authors to add citations that are not scientifically justified, whether to the Guest Editors' own work, to the Journal, or to any other specific publication;
6. f) not use the role of Guest Editor to self-promote specific research agendas, commercial products, or particular institutions;
7. g) cooperate fully with any investigation initiated by the Editorial Office or the Editor-in-Chief in connection with a submitted or published manuscript.

6.3  Guest Editorial

The GE team may prepare a Guest Editorial introducing the special collection. The Guest Editorial is subject to editorial review by the Editor-in-Chief or a designated Senior Editor before acceptance. Guest Editorials are clearly labeled as such and are not subject to external peer review, in accordance with standard practice for editorial content. The scientific content of the Guest Editorial must not anticipate or pre-empt the conclusions of articles published in the collection.

7. EDITORIAL AUTHORITY AND OVERSIGHT

7.1  Editor-in-Chief authority

The Editor-in-Chief retains full and unconditional responsibility for the policies, practices, and content of all special collections published in the Journal, in accordance with the ICMJE Recommendations (Section III.F) and the Editorial Policy Statement. This responsibility cannot be delegated to Guest Editors or to any external party.

The Editor-in-Chief has the authority to:

1. a) approve or reject any manuscript recommended for acceptance by a Guest Editor;
2. b) override any editorial recommendation made by a Guest Editor where this is required to protect the scientific quality, ethical standards, or integrity of the Journal;
3. c) request additional peer review of any manuscript included in a special collection;
4. d) suspend or terminate a Guest Editor's appointment at any time, in the event of a breach of this Policy, a conflict of interest, or conduct incompatible with the Journal's standards;
5. e) withdraw approval for a special collection in the event of concerns about its scope, quality, or integrity, in accordance with Section 19.

7.2  Senior Editor oversight

The Editor-in-Chief may designate a Senior Editor from the Journal's Editorial Board to serve as internal liaison for a specific special collection, with the role of monitoring the editorial process, reviewing Guest Editor recommendations, and reporting to the Editor-in-Chief. The designation of a Senior Editor does not transfer the Editor-in-Chief's ultimate authority as set out in Section 7.1.

7.3  Editorial Office monitoring

The Editorial Office monitors the progress of each active special collection on an ongoing basis. If the Editorial Office identifies any anomalies in the submission pattern, reviewer pool, or peer review process of a special collection - including but not limited to an unusual concentration of submissions from a single institution, atypical turnaround times, or reviewer suggestion patterns inconsistent with the manuscript's topic - it must report these to the Editor-in-Chief without delay.

7.4  Mandatory audit checkpoints

Each special collection is subject to documented audit checkpoints conducted by the Editorial Office in consultation with the Editor-in-Chief:

1. a) pre-approval audit: verification of the proposal completeness and full vetting of the proposed Guest Editor team before formal approval is communicated;
2. b) pre-launch audit: review of the Call for Papers text, scope, and submission instructions before public release;
3. c) mid-collection audit: assessment of submission patterns, reviewer selection, turnaround times, and conflict of interest disclosures at the midpoint of the submission window or upon receipt of 50% of the expected submissions, whichever occurs first;
4. d) pre-acceptance audit: review of all manuscripts recommended for acceptance by Guest Editors before final acceptance is confirmed, including verification of peer review completeness and compliance with ethical requirements;
5. e) post-publication audit: review of published content, article-level metadata, disclosure statements, and any post-publication integrity concerns, conducted within 3 months of the last publication in the collection.

The outcomes of each audit checkpoint are documented by the Editorial Office and made available to the Editor-in-Chief. Anomalies identified at any checkpoint are addressed in accordance with the procedures set out in Sections 8, 15, and 19 of this Policy.

8. CONFLICT OF INTEREST MANAGEMENT

8.1  General principle

All provisions of the Journal's Conflict of Interest Policy apply to Guest Editors in all respects. The following provisions supplement the Conflict of Interest Policy with specific requirements applicable to the special collection context. For definitions of conflict-of-interest categories and the general management framework, see the Conflict of Interest Policy (Sections 2-6).

8.2  Declaration at appointment

Each Guest Editor must complete and submit to the Editorial Office, at the time of signature of the Guest Editor Agreement (Section 4.3), a signed Conflict of Interest Declaration using the ICMJE Disclosure Form for Disclosure of Interests (current version, available at www.icmje.org/disclosure-of-interest/) or an equivalent form designated by the Editorial Office. This declaration must disclose:

1. a) any financial interest, employment relationship, or consultancy with organizations whose products or services are directly relevant to the scientific topic of the special collection;
2. b) any supervisory, hierarchical, or close personal relationship with anticipated or actual submitting authors;
3. c) any collaborative research relationship with anticipated or actual submitting authors in the 5 years preceding appointment;
4. d) any institutional affiliation shared with anticipated or actual submitting authors;
5. e) any other circumstance that a reasonable person might consider capable of influencing the Guest Editor's editorial judgment.

Guest Editors must update their declaration without delay if any new conflict of interest arises during the editorial process.

8.3  Management of conflicts

Where a declared or identified conflict of interest exists between a Guest Editor and an author of a submitted manuscript, the affected Guest Editor must recuse themselves from all editorial handling of that manuscript. The manuscript will be assigned to the Editor-in-Chief or to a designated Senior Editor for independent handling.

The existence of a conflict of interest between a Guest Editor and a submitting author does not in itself constitute grounds for rejection of the manuscript.

8.4  Undisclosed conflicts

Where the Editorial Office or the Editor-in-Chief identifies an undisclosed conflict of interest involving a Guest Editor, the Editor-in-Chief will determine the appropriate course of action, which may include: requiring retrospective disclosure, reassigning manuscript handling, suspending the Guest Editor's appointment, or, if the conflict has materially affected published decisions, initiating post-publication review in accordance with the Corrections and Retractions Policy.

9. CALL FOR PAPERS AND MANUSCRIPT HANDLING

9.1  Call for Papers

Upon formal approval of the special collection (Section 4.2) and signature of the Guest Editor Agreement (Section 4.3), the Editorial Office publishes a Call for Papers (CfP) on the Journal's website and through appropriate scientific channels. The CfP must specify:

1. a) the title and scope of the special collection;
2. b) the types of articles accepted and any type-specific requirements;
3. c) the submission deadline;
4. d) the full name, institutional affiliation, and ORCID of each Guest Editor;
5. e) any special reporting or methodological requirements applicable to the collection;
6. f) any source of financial support or sponsorship associated with the collection, in accordance with Section 12;
7. g) a statement that all manuscripts will be subject to the same peer review process as regular submissions to the Journal.

9.2  Submission and triage

All manuscripts submitted in response to a CfP are submitted through the Journal's standard submission platform and are subject to the same initial editorial triage as regular submissions, including checks for: scope relevance, completeness of submission, adherence to reporting standards (EQUATOR Network), ethics requirements (clinical trial registration, ethics approval, informed consent), and compliance with the Authorship Policy and Artificial Intelligence Policy. Manuscripts that do not pass initial triage are rejected before peer review assignment, regardless of the submission route. The peer-review process for manuscripts that pass triage is identical to that governing regular submissions; see Section 10 for the full provisions.

9.3  Assignment to Guest Editors

Manuscripts that pass initial triage are assigned by the Editorial Office to the appropriate Guest Editor for peer review management, subject to the conflict of interest provisions of Section 8 and the restrictions on GE submissions set out in Section 11.

 

9.4  Manuscript handling timeline

Guest Editors are expected to identify and invite at least 2 external, independent peer reviewers within 10 working days of manuscript assignment. Editorial recommendations must be submitted to the Editorial Office within 60 days of manuscript assignment, unless an extension is agreed with the Editorial Office in advance.

10. PEER REVIEW STANDARDS FOR SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

10.1  Equivalence with regular peer review

All manuscripts submitted to a special collection of the Journal are subject to the same peer review process as regular submissions, in accordance with the Journal's Peer Review Policy (PRP). No manuscript may be accepted for publication in a special collection without having undergone external peer review by at least 2 independent experts.

The publication of a manuscript in a special collection does not imply any relaxation of the peer review standards applied to regular submissions. Guest Editors are required to apply the same quality threshold as the Editorial Board in their editorial recommendations.

10.2  Reviewer selection

Guest Editors must select reviewers who are:

1. a) genuinely independent of the submitting authors (i.e., not current or recent collaborators, not members of the same department or institution, and not individuals with a declared or apparent conflict of interest with the authors);
2. b) qualified by expertise to evaluate the manuscript's scientific content;
3. c) not suggested exclusively by the submitting authors. Where authors have suggested reviewers, the Guest Editor may use such suggestions at their discretion but must independently verify the suitability and independence of each suggested reviewer.

Guest Editors must not invite reviewers whose institutional email addresses or declared affiliations raise concerns about their independence from the submitting authors.

10.3  Reviewer pool monitoring

The Editorial Office monitors the composition of the reviewer pool for each special collection. An unusual concentration of reviewers from a single institution, country, or research network will be flagged to the Editor-in-Chief for review. Guest Editors must not systematically suggest reviewers connected to their own research network for manuscripts in which they have a potential conflict of interest.

10.4  Confidentiality

Peer review of manuscripts submitted to special collections is conducted on a double-anonymized basis, in accordance with the PRP, unless the Editor-in-Chief has approved an alternative peer review format for a specific collection. Guest Editors must treat all manuscripts and peer review reports as strictly confidential.

11. AUTHORSHIP AND GUEST EDITOR CONTRIBUTIONS

11.1  Application of authorship criteria

All authors of manuscripts submitted to a special collection must satisfy the ICMJE authorship criteria as defined in the Journal's Authorship Policy. Guest Editors bear the same authorship obligations as any other contributor to the Journal when they submit manuscripts to the collection they manage. The role of Guest Editor does not confer any authorship entitlement.

11.2  Restrictions on Guest Editor submissions

A Guest Editor may submit a manuscript as author or co-author to the special collection they are managing. Such submissions constitute a conflict of interest within the meaning of Section 8 and are managed accordingly, subject to all of the following conditions:

1. a) the total number of manuscripts submitted to the special collection by any individual Guest Editor as author or co-author must not exceed 2;
2. b) all manuscripts submitted by a Guest Editor as author or co-author must be handled exclusively by the Editor-in-Chief or a designated Senior Editor; the submitting Guest Editor must recuse themselves completely from the editorial process for their own submission; the published article must include a provenance statement identifying the managing editor and stating that the Guest Editor was not involved in the editorial process for that manuscript;
3. c) the combined authorship of the Editor-in-Chief, members of the Editorial Board, and all Guest Editors must not account for more than 25% of the total articles published in the special collection, in accordance with DOAJ criteria (Guide to Applying, Version 2.2, January 2024).

11.3  Prohibition of guest authorship

The attribution of authorship in manuscripts published in a special collection solely based on the contributor's role as Guest Editor, invitation to participate, or institutional position is prohibited. This practice constitutes guest authorship as defined in the Authorship Policy (Section 9.2) and is subject to the sanctions outlined in the Authorship Policy and this Policy.

12. FUNDING, SPONSORSHIP, AND EDITORIAL INDEPENDENCE

12.1  Disclosure of financial support

Any source of financial support, sponsorship, grant, or other form of material support associated with a special collection must be fully disclosed in the formal proposal (Section 4.1) and in all published content of the collection. This disclosure must identify the funding organization and describe the nature of its contribution.

12.2  Editorial independence from sponsors

No financial supporter or sponsor of a special collection may exercise any influence over the editorial content of the collection. The principle of editorial independence established in Section 7.1 applies in full to sponsored collections. In particular, no sponsor or funder may:

1. a) determine which articles are accepted or rejected;
2. b) select or exclude peer reviewers;
3. c) edit, modify, or approve the content of any manuscript before publication;
4. d) commission specific conclusions or viewpoints.

The Editor-in-Chief retains sole editorial authority over all aspects of a sponsored collection, in accordance with the ICMJE Recommendations (Section III.F). Any evidence of sponsor interference constitutes grounds for withdrawal of approval, in accordance with Section 19.

12.3  No personal remuneration

Guest Editors must not accept personal financial remuneration, gifts, or other benefits from sponsors or funders of the special collection they manage. This prohibition does not apply to the reimbursement of documented travel or accommodation expenses associated with specific editorial activities approved by the Editorial Office.

12.4  Diamond Open Access model

Consistent with the Journal's Open Access Policy and its diamond open access model, no Article Processing Charge (APC) is levied on authors publishing in special collections of the Journal. The Journal does not permit APC waivers to be used as incentives for submission to special collections, as this practice creates financial conflicts of interest incompatible with the Journal's model.

12.5  Advertising and promotional content

Advertising, sponsored content, advertorial material, or promotional material associated with a special collection or supplement must comply with the Journal's Advertising Policy as published on the Journal's website, which applies to all journal content including special collections. Advertising and promotional material must be clearly distinguishable from editorial content. They must not influence editorial decisions, peer review, article selection, or the presentation of published content, in accordance with the ICMJE Recommendations (Section III.F) and the COPE Core Practices.

13. CONTENT LABELLING, TRANSPARENCY, AND METADATA

13.1  Mandatory labeling

All articles published in a special collection must be clearly and unambiguously identified as belonging to that collection in all of the following locations:

1. a) on the article page on the Journal's website;
2. b) in the article PDF and full-text version;
3. c) in the article's metadata as submitted to Crossref, PubMed/PMC, DOAJ, and any other indexing or abstracting service used by the Journal;
4. d) in any collection-level landing page on the Journal's website.

The label must include the title of the special collection, the names of the Guest Editors, and, where applicable, any source of financial support.

13.2  Collection landing page

The Editorial Office maintains a dedicated landing page on the Journal's website for each published or active special collection, containing:

1. a) the title and scope of the collection;
2. b) the names, affiliations, and ORCID identifiers of all Guest Editors;
3. c) the list of all published articles, with DOI links;
4. d) any source of financial support;
5. e) the Guest Editorial, if published;
6. f) the date of approval and the dates of publication of the first and last articles.

13.3  Distinction from regular content

Published special collections are presented in a manner that allows readers to distinguish them from regular issues and articles clearly. When a special collection is published as part of a regular issue, its content is grouped and labeled separately.

13.4  Secondary publications in supplements

If a supplement associated with conference proceedings includes secondary publications - that is, papers previously published in another peer-reviewed journal or presented in full in conference proceedings - each such contribution must be clearly identified as a secondary publication by citing the source in the article header. Secondary publications must comply with the provisions of the Editorial Policy Statement and the ICMJE Recommendations on overlapping publications.

14. CITATION INTEGRITY

14.1  Prohibition on citation manipulation

Guest Editors must not request or encourage authors submitting to the special collection to add citations to the Guest Editors' own work, to the Journal, or to any other specific publication or journal, unless such citations are genuinely relevant to and justified by the scientific content of the manuscript. This prohibition applies whether the request is explicit or implicit.

14.2  Prohibition on citation rings

Guest Editors must not organize or participate in citation rings, coercive citation practices, or any form of coordinated citation inflation in connection with the special collection.

14.3  Reporting

Authors who are requested to add unjustified citations by a Guest Editor are encouraged to report this to the Editorial Office. The Editorial Office will investigate any allegation of citation manipulation and report to the Editor-in-Chief. Confirmed cases of citation manipulation by a Guest Editor will result in immediate suspension of their appointment and may be reported to the Guest Editor's institution and to COPE.

15. PREVENTION OF SYSTEMATIC MANIPULATION AND PAPER MILLS

15.1  Risk profile of special collections

The Journal recognizes that special collections present a heightened risk of systematic manipulation, including paper mill activity, fake peer review, identity fraud, and coordinated submission of low-quality or fraudulent manuscripts, as documented by COPE and STM in their joint guidance (2024) and the COPE Guideline on Guest Edited Collections (2025). The measures described in this Section are applied to all special collections published by the Journal.

15.2  Submission pattern monitoring

The Editorial Office monitors submission patterns to each active special collection on an ongoing basis. The following patterns are considered indicators of potential manipulation and will be flagged to the Editor-in-Chief for immediate review:

1. a) a disproportionate concentration of submissions from a single institution, country, or research network;
2. b) manuscripts with unusual similarities in writing style, structure, or referenced sources;
3. c) reviewer suggestions concentrated on a small number of individuals with limited or unverifiable publication records;
4. d) unusually rapid acceptance of manuscripts relative to the Journal's standard timelines;
5. e) requests for authorship changes, particularly at post-acceptance stage;
6. f) email addresses of authors or reviewers that do not correspond to their declared institutional domain.

15.3  Integrity checks

All manuscripts submitted to a special collection are subject to the same similarity check (via Crossref Similarity Check/iThenticate or equivalent) and integrity verification procedures as regular submissions. The Editorial Office may apply additional checks at the direction of the Editor-in-Chief where manipulation is suspected.

15.4  Action on suspected manipulation

Where the Editorial Office or the Editor-in-Chief identifies credible evidence of systematic manipulation in a special collection, the following actions may be taken, in accordance with the COPE guidelines on paper mills and the Corrections and Retractions Policy:

1. a) suspension of all pending editorial decisions in the affected collection pending investigation;
2. b) rejection of all affected manuscripts;
3. c) retraction of any affected manuscripts already published, in accordance with the Corrections and Retractions Policy;
4. d) termination of the Guest Editors' appointment;
5. e) notification of the Guest Editors' institution(s);
6. f) notification of COPE and other relevant bodies.

    16. CLINICAL AND ETHICAL RESEARCH REQUIREMENTS

16.1  Application to special collection submissions

All manuscripts submitted to a special collection of the Journal that report on research involving human participants, human biological material, or personal health data are subject to the same clinical and ethical requirements as regular submissions. Guest Editors are responsible for verifying that each manuscript assigned to them for handling meets these requirements before initiating the peer review process.

16.2  Mandatory requirements

In particular, Guest Editors must verify that manuscripts assigned to them:

1. a) report the name and reference number of the ethics committee or institutional review board that approved the study, or provide a documented exemption;
2. b) include a statement of informed consent, or document that informed consent was not required in accordance with applicable regulations;
3. c) report registration in an approved clinical trial registry, where applicable, in accordance with the Editorial Policy Statement and the ICMJE Recommendations on trial registration;
4. d) comply with the Declaration of Helsinki (2024 revision) and, where applicable, CIOMS International Ethical Guidelines;
5. e) comply with applicable data protection regulations, including the EU General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation 2016/679), where personal data from EEA-based participants are processed;
6. f) include a data sharing statement for manuscripts reporting the results of clinical trials, and where applicable, demonstrate consistency between the manuscript, the trial registry record, the protocol, and any pre-registered data sharing plan, in accordance with the ICMJE Recommendations on data sharing.

16.3  Guest Editor responsibility

A Guest Editor who accepts a manuscript for peer review that does not meet the requirements of Section 16.2 bears editorial responsibility for this omission. Where deficiencies are identified after acceptance or publication, the Editor-in-Chief will initiate the appropriate procedure under the Corrections and Retractions Policy.

17. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND PREPRINT PROVISIONS

17.1  AI policy

All provisions of the Journal's Artificial Intelligence Policy apply to authors submitting manuscripts to a special collection, to Guest Editors in the performance of their editorial duties, and to peer reviewers invited by Guest Editors to evaluate manuscripts. AI tools may be used by Guest Editors only for administrative assistance and never for editorial decision-making or for any activity involving confidential manuscript material. In particular:

1. a) Guest Editors must not use generative AI tools to draft, generate, or materially alter editorial decisions, peer reviewer invitations, or editorial communications without appropriate human oversight and disclosure;
2. b) Guest Editors must ensure that authors are notified of the Journal's requirements on AI disclosure (Artificial Intelligence Policy) at the time of the Call for Papers;
3. c) Guest Editors and peer reviewers must not upload submitted manuscripts, peer review reports, editorial correspondence, unpublished data, figures, tables, or supplementary materials to publicly accessible or non-secure AI systems where confidentiality, data protection, and non-retention of data cannot be contractually assured, unless explicit prior permission has been obtained from all authors and the Editorial Office has approved such use, in accordance with the ICMJE Recommendations (updated January 2026);
4. d) any use of AI tools by a Guest Editor in performing their editorial functions must be disclosed to the Editorial Office.

17.2  Preprint policy

All provisions of the Journal's Preprint Policy apply to manuscripts submitted to a special collection. In particular:

1. a) the prior deposit of a manuscript on a recognized preprint server does not prevent submission to a special collection of the Journal, provided that the conditions set out in the Preprint Policy are met;
2. b) authors submitting to a special collection must declare any prior preprint deposit at the time of submission, in the same manner as for regular submissions;
3. c) Guest Editors must not request authors to withdraw or modify preprint versions as a condition of submission to or publication in the special collection.

     18. POST-PUBLICATION RESPONSIBILITIES

18.1  Duration of Guest Editor responsibilities

Guest Editors' responsibilities do not cease upon the completion of the editorial process or upon publication of the special collection. Guest Editors remain responsible, in collaboration with the Editorial Office and the Editor-in-Chief, for:

1. a) responding to post-publication concerns raised by readers, authors, or other parties about articles published in the special collection they managed;
2. b) cooperating with any investigation initiated by the Editorial Office or the Editor-in-Chief into a published article, including providing documentation of the peer review process;
3. c) notifying the Editorial Office of any information coming to their attention after publication that raises concerns about the accuracy, integrity, or ethical compliance of a published article.

18.2  Corrections and retractions

All corrections, expressions of concern, and retractions affecting articles published in a special collection are managed by the Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Office in accordance with the Corrections and Retractions Policy. Guest Editors are consulted in the process but do not have decision-making authority over post-publication actions.

18.3  Archiving and persistent access

The editorial documentation relating to each special collection - including the Guest Editor Agreement, the Call for Papers, peer review correspondence, and editorial decisions - is archived by the Editorial Office for a minimum of 10 years following publication of the last article in the collection, in accordance with COPE best practices.

19. WITHDRAWAL AND DISCONTINUATION OF A SPECIAL COLLECTION

19.1  Grounds for withdrawal

The Editor-in-Chief, in consultation with the Editorial Office, may withdraw approval for a special collection at any stage of the editorial process - including after the publication of individual articles - in the event of:

1. a) evidence of systematic manipulation, paper mill activity, or fraud affecting the collection;
2. b) irremediable conflict of interest on the part of one or more Guest Editors;
3. c) failure of the collection to attract a sufficient number of manuscripts of acceptable scientific quality by the submission deadline;
4. d) breach by one or more Guest Editors of this Policy or of any other applicable Journal policy;
5. e) evidence of sponsor interference in the editorial process (Section 12.2);
6. f) any other circumstance that, in the Editor-in-Chief's judgment, makes continuation of the collection incompatible with the Journal's standards or reputation.

19.2  Procedure for withdrawal

Where the Editor-in-Chief determines that a special collection must be discontinued:

1. a) all affected Guest Editors are notified in writing;
2. b) all pending manuscripts are returned to authors with an explanation, unless the circumstances of the discontinuation make return impracticable;
3. c) any articles already published in the collection are reviewed for individual retraction or expression of concern where their integrity is in doubt, in accordance with the Corrections and Retractions Policy;
4. d) the collection landing page is updated to reflect the discontinuation, and a notice of discontinuation is published on the Journal's website if articles have already been published.

19.3  Notice of discontinuation

Where one or more articles have already been published in a special collection that is subsequently discontinued, the Journal publishes a notice of discontinuation on the collection landing page. This notice explains the reason for discontinuation in terms consistent with the Journal's transparency commitments, without prejudice to ongoing investigations or to the privacy of individuals involved.

20. NORMATIVE REFERENCES

The following international standards, guidelines, and frameworks have informed the preparation of this Policy and are cited therein. The Journal applies the most current version of each document in effect at the time of application.

COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics)

• COPE Core Practices (current version): https://publicationethics.org/core-practices
• COPE Guideline: Guest Edited Collections (2025): https://publicationethics.org/guidance/guideline/guest-edited-collections
• COPE Discussion Document: Best Practices for Guest Edited Collections: https://publicationethics.org/guidance/discussion-document/best-practices-guest-edited-collections
• COPE & STM: Addressing Concerns about Systematic Manipulation of the Publication Process (2024)

ICMJE (International Committee of Medical Journal Editors)

• Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals (updated January 2026), Section III.F - Supplements, Theme Issues, and Special Series: https://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/publishing-and-editorial-issues/supplements-theme-issues-and-special-series.html

DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals)

• Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing, Version 4 (September 2022): https://doaj.org/apply/transparency/
• DOAJ Guide to Applying, Version 2.2 (January 2024) - Special Issues criteria: https://blog.doaj.org/2024/01/25/weve-amended-our-special-issues-criteria/

Other normative and technical references

• Crossref Similarity Check (iThenticate): https://www.crossref.org/services/similarity-check/
• EQUATOR Network - Reporting guidelines by study type: https://www.equator-network.org/reporting-guidelines/
• WMA Declaration of Helsinki - Ethical Principles for Medical Research Involving Human Subjects (2024 revision): https://www.wma.net/policies-post/wma-declaration-of-helsinki/
• Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council (General Data Protection Regulation - GDPR)
• Retraction Watch Database: https://retractionwatch.com/the-retraction-watch-database/

EGO Editorial Policy Framework (internal cross-references)

• Editorial Policy Statement
• Authorship Policy
• Peer Review Policy
• Conflict of Interest Policy
• Corrections and Retractions Policy
• Copyright and Licensing Policy
• Artificial Intelligence Policy
• Preprint Policy
• Open Access Policy