‘A pause, and we continue’: reflection on the roadmap for the development of <i>Veterinary Record Open</i>

Open at the beginning of January.In describing my research background, I would say I specialise in working at the interface between veterinary science and the social sciences.My research journey began with topics related to wildlife, moved through animal-assisted therapies and finally settled on animal health, in particular, the implementation of biosecurity measures and the responsible use of antimicrobials in livestock.Methodologically and theoretically, I approach my research from a sociological perspective, inspired by frameworks such as Foucault's analysis of power, actor-network theory and the concept of agency. 1 While these frameworks may seem distant from the veterinary field, they permeate it far more than we realise.Indeed, it is this that drew me to apply for the position of editor of Veterinary Record Open -a journal dedicated to creating space for cross-disciplinary approaches and topics that do not fit well within conventional veterinary journals.My vision for developing Veterinary Record Open aligns with the principles I strive to apply in my day-to-day work: ethics, equity, transparency, constructiveness and synthesis.These principles do not operate in isolation but rather interact and reinforce each other.In the field of veterinary studies, ethics are typically discussed in terms of animal welfare or data confidentiality.However, other ethical aspects, such as authorship attribution, are not always considered in the necessary depth.Concerns remain around how roles and authorship are distributed in studies, 2 and practices such as honorary or ghost authorship (ie, listing as co-author someone who made no substantial contribution to the work or omitting someone who did) are still observed. 3This particularly affects early-career researchers, who sometimes see their work rendered invisible. 4