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Resources > Journal Authors/Editors/Reviewers > Journal Editor Gateway > Editor Guide to SAGE Editorial and Publishing Policies

Sage’s publication policy

What is Sage's publication policy

Sage will not publish any article without receipt of an accompanying approved and signed Sage Contributor Agreement prior to the publication deadline.

It is our standard policy to not publish material in our journals that has been previously published elsewhere, except in translation.

Contributor agreement

For more information on Sage’s contributor agreement, see our information for authors here: Contributor Agreement

Previously published material

We will not generally republish material because: i) publishing original high quality content is important to our readers, ii) in an environment where most material is available electronically, previously published material tends to already be available so the need for it to be made 'more accessible' diminishes and iii) citation/attribution considerations: republication of material means that the same article will exist with multiple bibliographic records, which can cause confusion and dilute citations.

There are certain circumstances where material that has been publicly distributed may be considered for publication – see our page on Prior Publication for guidance.

Translations

In some cases it may be desirable to publish in English an important article that has previously been published in another language. This is acceptable under Sage's publication policy, at the discretion of the journal Editor. It should be made clear to the authors that they are responsible for clearing any permissions needed (and paying any relevant fees) to enable us to publish the translation both online and in print. We need a special contributor agreement to republish material in a Sage journal, so please discuss this with your Publishing Editor who can supply the correct licence.

Co-publication and secondary publication

In certain limited cases, namely where there is deemed to be a public health interest, an article may be jointly or simultaneously published in more than one journal with the agreement of the author and editors.

Secondary publication, for example of government or organizational guidelines, may be acceptable if there is a compelling reason to make the article available to your journal’s audience.

Please see the ICMJE Recommendations on Overlapping Publications for more guidance and information. If your journal is co-publishing an article, Sage can prepare a special licence agreement to be signed by the relevant parties.