Looking forward into the new year, we see significant actions and opportunities before us. We know that we are stronger when we work together, and threats to the scholarly publishing industry are before us. The integrity of the scholarly record is being threatened by paper mills and a new position statement from COPE on paper mills calls for united and immediate action to help identify and halt these fraudulent actions.
This statement is being released in support of the United2Act (U2A) Consensus Statement, which outlines five key collaborative actions to address the problem of paper mills. The United2Act Consensus Statement is the outcome of the May 2023 virtual Summit which brought together representatives from research bodies, publishers, researchers/sleuths, and universities from 15 countries. The participants from the Summit have committed to keep the discussion alive, and develop and execute plans, through working groups associated with each action. We encourage members to keep up to date on efforts to identify and stop fraudulent actions by paper mills using COPE and the STM Integrity Hub. COPE continues to offer opportunities to participate in discussions on paper mills, sharing guidance and practical examples. This month's guest editorial from Portland Press is a society's experience of paper mills.
In 2024, COPE will initiate a new strategic plan which will be the main focus of our annual retreat in June, where our subcommittees will work to turn the plan into concrete actions. Joining us at the retreat will be our two newest COPE Trustees, James Kigera and Emilio Sanz-Alvarez. James is Editor in Chief of the Annals of African Surgery and an orthopedic surgeon and lecturer at the University of Nairobi. He brings a perspective from the African subcontinent to COPE and hopes to use this position to promote high standards of publication ethics in the area. Emilio is Managing Editor of the European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology and a Professor of Clinical Pharmacology at the University of La Laguna. He is an expert in Bioethics and brings particular expertise in plagiarism and ethics of design, development, publication of clinical research projects, and predatory publishing.
Finally, COPE members have the opportunity to register for two upcoming COPE events – a Lightning Talk on AI and an Introduction to Publication Ethics workshop. Lightning Talks are a new style of event from COPE which are less formal and more interactive to facilitate an increase in awareness and confidence in specific topics. So please join us at these events and all our events throughout the year.
Dan Kulp, COPE Chair