Open access, permanently
The Meridian is a fully open-access journal. All published content is immediately and freely available to anyone, anywhere, without subscription, registration, or paywall.
All articles are published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license. Authors retain copyright. Readers may share, adapt, and build upon published work for any purpose, provided appropriate credit is given.
This policy is permanent. We will never convert to a subscription or hybrid model.
Hybrid peer review
The Meridian uses a hybrid peer review model designed to combine the bias-protection benefits of blinding with the accountability benefits of transparency.
During review
All manuscripts undergo double-blind peer review. Author identities are concealed from reviewers; reviewer identities are concealed from authors. Each manuscript is evaluated by 2–3 independent reviewers selected by the handling editor.
After editorial decision
For accepted articles, peer reviews are published alongside the article with reviewer consent. Reviewers may choose to sign their reviews (encouraged) or remain anonymous. All published reviews receive Crossref DOIs and are independently citable.
Reviewer compensation
The Meridian compensates all peer reviewers for completed reviews. We believe peer review is skilled professional work.
Editorial decisions
All accept, revise, and decline decisions are made by editors. Automated systems assist with screening, formatting, and compliance checks but never make editorial judgments.
Research ethics & integrity
The Meridian is committed to the highest standards of research integrity. We follow the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and will apply for COPE membership.
Human subjects
Research involving human subjects must have appropriate ethics committee or institutional review board (IRB) approval. Approval details must be included in the manuscript.
Clinical trials
Clinical trials must be registered in a public registry (e.g., ClinicalTrials.gov, ISRCTN) before enrollment of the first participant.
Informed consent
Informed consent must be obtained for all research involving identifiable human participants. For case reports, explicit patient consent for publication is required.
Conflicts of interest
Conflicts of interest must be disclosed by all authors, reviewers, and editors. The Meridian publishes conflict of interest statements alongside every article.
Data availability
Authors are expected to make research data available in a public repository or upon reasonable request, consistent with ethical and legal constraints.
Fraud & misconduct
Every submission undergoes automated screening for plagiarism, image manipulation, reference fabrication, statistical inconsistency, and paper mill indicators. Suspected misconduct is investigated following COPE flowcharts. We will retract published articles when evidence of misconduct is confirmed.
How The Meridian uses automation
Transparency about our use of technology is a core The Meridian value. Here is exactly how we use artificial intelligence in our editorial process:
AI performs
- Metadata extraction from submitted manuscripts
- Plagiarism and text similarity detection
- Image integrity screening
- Reference existence and accuracy verification
- Statistical consistency checking
- Reporting guideline compliance assessment (CONSORT, PRISMA, STROBE, etc.)
- Copyediting assistance (grammar, clarity, academic register)
- Plain-language summary generation for published articles
- JATS XML production and formatting
- Draft implementation of reviewer-suggested edits (in the co-creation workflow)
AI does not perform
- Accept, revise, or reject decisions
- Assessment of scientific novelty or significance
- Evaluation of methodological soundness
- Selection or invitation of peer reviewers
- Any editorial judgment
All AI-assisted outputs are reviewed and approved by humans before they affect any manuscript. Authors approve or reject all AI-generated edits. Editors review all AI screening reports before acting on them.
Author use of AI: Authors may use AI writing tools in manuscript preparation. In accordance with ICMJE guidelines, AI tools cannot be listed as authors because they cannot take responsibility for the work. Authors must disclose AI tool use in their methods or acknowledgments section and take full responsibility for all content.
Reporting standards
The Meridian requires adherence to established reporting guidelines. Our AI screens every submission against the applicable standard and provides authors with a compliance report before peer review.
Applicable guidelines by study type:
- Randomized controlled trials
- CONSORT 2010
- Observational studies
- STROBE
- Systematic reviews and meta-analyses
- PRISMA 2020
- Case reports
- CARE
- Diagnostic accuracy studies
- STARD
- Qualitative research
- COREQ
- Animal studies
- ARRIVE 2.0
- Economic evaluations
- CHEERS 2022
- Quality improvement studies
- SQUIRE 2.0
Authors are encouraged to consult the EQUATOR Network for the most current versions and extensions.
Copyright & licensing
Authors retain copyright to their work. By submitting to The Meridian, authors grant the journal a non-exclusive license to publish, distribute, and archive the article under CC BY 4.0.
Peer reviews, when published, are licensed under CC BY 4.0 and are the intellectual property of the reviewer.
Third-party content (figures, tables, images) reproduced with permission must be clearly attributed and may carry different licensing terms, which are noted in the article.