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GRS editorial · Publishing

An Open Research Publication Workflow

Plan authorship, review, rights, identifiers and preservation before releasing a report.

HomeInsightsAn Open Research Publication Workflow

Publishing

A practical starting point.

Plan authorship, review, rights, identifiers and preservation before releasing a report. This guide offers a starting method for teams developing research and institutional decisions. Adapt it to the question, context and relevant scientific, ethics and data requirements.

Step 01

Prepare the record

Agree authorship and contribution roles early. Keep a clean final manuscript, references, methods, funding statement and conflict-of-interest declaration. Check that figures and third-party material can be distributed under the intended licence.

Step 02

Review before release

Separate scientific or subject review from editorial copyediting and legal or data checks. Confirm that participant consent and data agreements permit publication. A public repository should receive the approved version, not an internal draft by accident.

Step 03

Choose a suitable venue

A journal, institutional site and open repository serve different purposes. Record the version, publication date and persistent identifier where one is available. Link related data or code only when ethical, legal and technical conditions allow.

Step 04

Maintain the output

Preserve source files and approval records. If a correction becomes necessary, describe the change and point readers to the current version. Discoverability depends on accurate metadata, an informative abstract and durable links as much as the PDF itself.

Illustrative application

What this could look like.

A centre preparing a policy brief can confirm authorship, review the methods and references, clear image rights and check the partner’s release terms before deposit. Its public page should link the approved PDF and persistent record. If a material figure later changes, publish a correction with a clear version trail rather than silently replacing the file.

Put it into practice

A short working checklist.

  1. Write the precise decision or research question this work should support.
  2. Record the sources, methods, stakeholders and permissions needed before proceeding.
  3. Agree who reviews the output and how limitations will be communicated.
  4. Set a date to revisit the decision when evidence or conditions change.

GRS Group editorial guide · Published 24 September 2026 · Informational guidance, not an empirical study or formal professional advice.

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