Researchers should offer their time to support rigorous, fast-track scientific review to help combat the erosion of good science during pandemics. They should also support quality control mechanisms for open communication modalities such as pre-print servers or social media.

Research has shown that adherence to publication guidelines has been suboptimal during the pandemic. However, publishers have a duty to maintain ethical standards and they rely on support from researchers to do so.

Relevant publication:

Adherence with reporting of ethical standards in COVID-19 human studies: a rapid review