- Case
Duplicate publication based on government data
…illness and a change of job, on the part of the corresponding author. The revised version finally arrived in July 1999 and was accepted on 28 July. In September, the corresponding author contacted the editor to say that a longer version of the paper was due to appear shortly in Journal B. The author was anxious that this should not appear before the paper in Journal A had been published. However,… - Seminars and webinars
European Seminar 2019: Analysis of retractions, initiators and reasons for retractions
…perspective on retractions, and Howard Browman shares an update on COPE's revised retractions discussion document. Watch now To hear Thed Van Leeuwen's presentation, listen from 11:14. - Seminars and webinars
J-STAGE Seminar 2021: Peer review
Dr Trevor Lane, COPE Council member, was invited by the Japan Science and Technology Agency to speak at the First J-STAGE webinar on 28 July 2021 for local editors, academic societies, researchers, and administrators. Titled “Fundamental Principles of Peer Review and Peer Review Ethics”, the presentation introduced COPE to the 200+ attendees and covered topics including peer review models,… - Case
Duplicate publication
We were made aware of a double publication in our journal dating from 20 years ago. A paper which was originally published in French in another journal the year previously was translated and published in our journal. The editorial paperwork is long lost, however, the principal author is a member of our editorial board. They readily responded and explained that it was not uncommon at that time t… FORUM DISCUSSION TOPIC: Sharing of information among editors-in-chief regarding possible misconduct
Recent high profile cases of research misconduct have relied upon the sharing of relevant information among the Editors-in-Chief of the journals concerned during the months and years leading up to the final settlement of the cases (see http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/%28…- News
COPE Asia-Pacific Workshop 2018: Report
COPE Council Member Michael Wise was an invited speaker at the International Society of Managing and Technical Editors 2018 Asian-Pacific Conference, which was held on 27-28 March 2018 at the Novotel Singapore Clarke Quay. In a session on preprints on 27 March, he introduced the new - Case
Redundant publication
A paper was submitted to journal A which was published as a rapid communication. It was subsequently discovered that the major US journal in this specialty had published other findings from the same set of patients, and that the paper had been considered by them at the same time. The messages of the two papers are closely related but different, but either one could have been amalgamated into th… - Case
Possible duplicate publication
An article by a Far Eastern group was published in our journal in November 2005. We were later alerted by an interested reader that the same article, slightly changed, was published in an American journal. I contacted the American journal and the article will now be officially retracted from that journal. Part of the explanation could be poor communication between the authors, but I am not sure… - Forum discussion topics
COPE Forum 4 March 2014: Issues related to papers submitted to “discussion” journals
…Discussion section of the journal Within 2–8 weeks, the paper is up online with a DOI, ready for the open peer review process Two referees are invited to post their reviews online Anyone else can comment on the paper whilst it is going through review A decision is made on the paper based on the review comments, with the normal “major,” “minor,” “accept” and “reject”… - News
Website refresh
…src="/files/u7140/Screen%20Shot%202019-03-08%20at%2010.28.01.png" style="width: 500px; height: 280px;" /> A case: Guidance (the new starting point for finding any COPE resource): FORUM DISCUSSION TOPIC: comments please
…example from reviewers. The process is laid out in this flowchart. Journals and publishers should have a process in place for handling the reporting of competing interests come to light after…- News
In the news: October 2020
…use by people with print disabilities. Diversity and inclusivity F1000 Research and Wellcome Open Research have instituted a straightforward way for researchers who have transitioned to their true gender identify to have a simple and straightforward way to - Case
Deception in submitting manuscript for publication
A manuscript was submitted to my journal. The author, on his own accord, submitted the manuscript for review to several reviewers under the guise that this was sent by me. The author sent the following explanation: “In some of our previous encounters, you have indicated that finding sufficient cooperative reviewers has been a problem for you. In order to provide you with some help in thi… - Case
Authorship dispute over image
A journal published an article on a drug. They also accepted a letter questioning the method used for determination of particle size in the study. The author of the original article claimed that the image used in the letter was theirs and asked that the letter not be published. It appears that the two authors used to collaborate. The journal was unable to verify who produced the image… - Case
Re-publication of peer reviewed articles as translations
…="https://publicationethics.org/search?t=duplicate+%28duplicate%29+publication&type%5B%5D=Flowcharts&sort=score">COPE’s flowcharts on duplicate publication includes a statement on translations: 'ICMJE advises that translations are acceptable but MUST reference the original.' In this case, if one version is designated as the original and the translated version follows, only the translated one would include a footnote… - Case
Plagiarism versus questionable research writing practice
The authors of a paper were asked to explain alleged plagiarism in a submitted and subsequently accepted manuscript. This was based on a Turnitin report showing 28% similarity between the submitted manuscript (Author B) and a previously published paper (Author A), and 37% similarity between a published manuscript (Author A) and a submitted manuscript (Author B). The authors came back with an… - News
Announcement of COPE Council elections
…be employed by the same organisation as the nominee. The closing date for applications is 28 April 2014. COPE council member: role description Purpose of role To be responsible, together with other council members, for the policy and management of the Committee on Publication Ethics. To be a trustee of COPE as a charity… Vacancies on COPE Council
…including a job description, can be found below. Those who are interested should contact the COPE administrator.The closing date for applications is: 28 April 2017 COPE Council Member: role description Purpose of role• To be…- Case
Advice regarding a weird type of content and its authorship
Our company publishes clinical pathways. They were initially authored by local experts, but have since been retrofitted with evidence, if possible. This was done by expert “evidologists”, not clinical experts; they were acknowledged solely by their company name (it was “out-sourced”). If the evidence did not fit, the pathway was discarded. We undertake to review all of the pathways… - Case
Duplicate publication in multicentre consortia
Two closely related journals received a series of manuscripts each based on descriptions of a complex medical procedure by multicentre consortia. At least three separate consortia submitted three separate papers. Each consortium included centres which were shared between the three groups and likely have the same patients/procedures represented in different reports. For example: …