- Event
Medical Editors, short course
This two-day course for editors of medical journals (running since 1996) covers how to attract and keep good authors, how to improve the quality of your content and ensure you are publishing something people want to read (and cite), and how to make your journal more visible to readers and authors. With only c.25 participants, the course concentrates on group and practical work rather than… - News
Changes to data regulations: GDPR
On 25th May, an update to the 1993 Data Protection Act will come into force. This is known as the GDPR. You have probably heard of it as most of the websites, apps and services that we all use on a day-to-day basis are updating their privacy policies and sending out notices like this one. COPE collects the personal details of people in association with a journal or publisher becoming… - Case
Duplicate publication based on government data
A group of researchers from departments of psychology and public health submitted a paper based on a survey that had been commissioned by the NHS Executive. The paper was received at Journal A on 14 May 1998 and a decision to offer publication of a revised version was made on 25 June 1998. Over a year elapsed between this offer and the resubmission of a revised version of the paper due to… - News
Annual Scientific Congress of Iranian Society of Medical Editors in association with COPE
COPE is very pleased to announce that it will have its first international congress on publication ethics in Shiraz, Iran, 24–25 November 2011. The congress is in association with the Iranian Society of Medical Editors and is supported by Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. The meeting will be held in the five star Homa Hotel ( - Event
COPE Forum: 8 November 2016 8am & 4pm (GMT)
…generated a lot of discussion "What can authors ethically do with action letters they receive (including reviews, which are sometimes signed)?". Deadline for cases 25 October 2016Submit a case Deadline for AMA questions 4 November 2016 - Event
Annual Scientific Congress of Iranian Society of Medical Editors in association with COPE
COPE is very pleased to announce that it will have its first international congress on publication ethics in Shiraz, Iran, 24–25 November 2011. The congress is in association with the Iranian Society of Medical Editors and is supported by Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. The meeting will be held in the five star Homa Hotel ( - Event
ISMPP webinar: Graphical Presentation of Data in Medical Publications
ISMPP invites you to attend this special 90-minute ISMPP University educational webinar, on Wednesday January 25 at 11 am ET/4 pm GMT. The webinar is free to all regardless of ISMPP membership status. Webinar attendees will learn from experts about how to integrate essential graphical presentation elements into medical publications. Figures, tables and images contribute to data interpretation… - News
International Workshop for Journal Editors, Indonesia
Trevor Lane, COPE Council Member, was invited to represent COPE in two sessions at the 2019 International Workshop for Journal Editors in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia. Held from 25 to 27 March 2019 and attended by chief editors of about 150 journals, the event was co-organised by the Indonesian Ministry of Research, Technology and… - Case
Surprising results and a new area of research
A paper described an unusual approach to disease modulation in an experimental animal model. The apparently clear cut findings were somewhat surprising. The authors also seem to have used high and low power photomicrographs of the same tissue sections to illustrate completely different experiments within the study. This occurred twice in the paper. Furthermore, this particular area of study was… - News
Letter from the COPE Chair: February 2022
Happy New Year! Or at least Happy Lunar New Year to all. I should also add a happy 25th anniversary to COPE. In 25 years of COPE, we have grown to reach broader and more diverse audiences who have an impact on integrity in research and its publication, and this year we will introduce universities and research institutes to the fold. Over the coming months, we will be reaching out… - Event
Plagiarism Webcast Series: 5 biggest challenges from the front lines of scholarly publishing
…concerns of those at the helm of scholarly journals, focusing on five of the most serious concerns. Featured experts will share their perspectives and experiences on a range of issues from poorly designed studies to pressure to publish to plagiarism, as well as their thoughts on circumvention or prevention, for researchers, writers and editorial managers. Date: Thursday, April 25, 2013 - Event
COPE Forum: Monday 11 November 2019, 4pm (GMT)
Our November Forum will follow the usual format where we have a discussion topic, followed by members' cases presented for discussion and advice from all those participating in the Forum. Our discussion topic for this November Forum will be Artificial Intelligence (AI) in decision making. - Case
Duplicate publication
An author published a paper in Journal A that looked extremely similar to one already published as guidelines in Journal B. Of 48 paragraphs of text, 41 were almost identical. It has since transpired that several authors who were involved in the writing of the article published in Journal B have not been acknowledged. Prior publication elsewhere had not been acknowledged in the Journal A paper.… - Case
Interpretation of regulations: when is a waiver of authorisation acceptable?
Some authors tested the effect of a food on the menstrual cycle. The manuscript included patient identifiable information, but the authors did not provide formal confirmation that the patients consented to publication of the study. Information was sent to the corresponding author, outlining legal obligations in respect of patients' consent to publication. But the authors stated that they consid… - Case
Consideration of publishing raw data
Our journal has received a submission regarding clinical trial results. The authors wish to include the “raw data” as an appendix to the manuscript. The study was completed several years ago and was controversial at the time. The authors wish to publish the raw data to allow the public to view the findings and make their own decisions about the trial. We do not know the best way to handle this… - Research
CrossCheck guidance: an analysis of typical cases of plagiarism in different disciplines 2010
…detect plagiarism, and their attitude to potential plagiarism once discovered. The following publication has arisen from this project: Helen Zhang, Xiaoyan JIA (2012). A survey on the use of CrossCheck for detecting plagiarism in journal articles. Learned Publishing 25:292–307 (doi:10.1087/20120408). Several English papers arising from this project are listed below and can be downloaded from… - Event
Workshop: Introduction to publication ethics
…education, and research impact consultant based in Hong Kong, and a COPE Trustee and Council Member. - Case
Unethical research undertaken by a single handed GP
We have received a paper from a GP testing the hypotheses that because 24,25 cholecalciferol has a similar structure to commercially available statins, it may act as an inhibitor of HMA co-reductase. He screened 350 patients in his practice and identified 77 who had a cholesterol concentration above 6.5 mmol per litre. Thirty-three of them agreed to return for a second test 2 weeks later. They… - News
In the news: January 2019 Digest
…target="_blank">https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-07740-z However, a recent survey by Editage of over 7000 researchers from India, Republic of Korea, Japan, China and Brazil has found that 25% of respondents were not aware or confused about what constitutes plagiarism and self-plagiarism, duplicate submission or who qualifies for authorship of a paper.