Editorial policy

The following sections set out our editorial principles, standards and processes:

Principles

Accuracy: SLT UK content will be accurate, balanced and transparent. Information given will be judged against the best available scientific evidence. Where content contains conjecture or opinion, this will be clearly indicated.

Impartiality and diversity of opinion: SLT will be objective, impartial and even-handed. Where views differ and no scientific consensus can be found it will reflect all significant strands of opinion and state the uncertainty clearly.

Accountability: SLT UK is accountable to its users and will deal fairly with them. It will be open in admitting mistakes and encourages a culture of learning via user feedback. Its editorial processes will be transparent.

Serving our users: SLT UK will put its users' interests first when sourcing and developing content. It will consult widely with relevant professional bodies, charities and other interest groups but serving our users will remain paramount.

Taste and decency: All content on SLT UK will be suitable for a general audience and will not include material that might reasonably be deemed offensive.

Privacy: SLT UK views its users' privacy as paramount and, barring legal order, will not divulge any correspondence or personal information it may hold about them without their prior and explicit permission.

Funding: SLT UK is privately funded. We reserve the right to carry contextual advertising and / or accept payment from affiliate advertising.

Standards

Staff interests and independence: SLT UK has a dedicated team of editors. They operate independently of the site's marketing and commercial functions and have a clear mandate to produce accurate, balanced and transparent information.

Where content is produced by outside organisations or individuals, SLT UK requires that such agents make a similar disclosure of outside interests.

Training: All editorial staff are qualified speech and language therapists. In addition to their professional qualifications they are given professional development training to ensure editorial standards are met.

Editorial process

Phase 1 - Research

The evidence-based knowledge that informs all SLT UK content is derived from peer-reviewed scientific research and from the direct experience of clinicians, other health professionals, patients and the wider public.

In pulling together this knowledge to provide users with a rounded and balanced package of material on a particular subject, SLT UK requires its speech and language therapists to consult the following resources:

• Practising speech and language therapists, doctors and other clinicians with direct and current experience in dealing with or treating the health issue under investigation,
• National charities with a recognised expertise and specialist interest,
• Patients and ordinary members of the wider public who may be directly affected by a topic or issue,
• The Cochrane Collaboration an international network of people helping healthcare providers, policy makers, patients, their advocates and carers, make well-informed decisions about human health care,
• The Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists,
• The Department of Health,
• The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) provides guidance, sets quality standards and manages a national database to improve people's health and prevent and treat ill health.

Phase 2 - Production

Once a piece of content has been researched and drafted, it is edited by a senior member of the SLT UK editorial team. It is checked for:

• Accuracy
• Balance
• Accessibility
• Tone

Written content is then passed to a sub-editor who checks it for:

• Common factual errors
• Spelling
• Grammar
• Adherence to house style
• Overall presentation

Phase 3 - Clinical check and sign-off

All content requires signing off by an appropriately qualified and experienced clinician before it can be published on the SLT UK website.

Review of content:

SLT UK content is reviewed systematically. Comments from users on published content are considered on a day-by-day basis as they arrive, and content reviewed and amended immediately if necessary.