- News
Research Data: Institutions are key to management and post-publication concerns
…required to secure the research record and ensure proper procedures are followed. A call to the RIO, even to discuss hypothetical concerns, is likely to be beneficial. Another article in this issue details the development of a RIO directory by the Association of Research Integrity Officers (ARIO), to… - Case
Inquiry concerning potential peer reviewer misconduct
…particularly unethical in contacting the validator, as the editor revealed the identity of the validator to the reviewer. The editor is more at fault in having a quiet word with the author rather than going through the due process of independent validation. So, the process here has been very flawed. Having a colleague of the author validate the data was the first major issue as it is an obvious… - Case
The cheating medical students
…seen this by the time they came to sit the exam. The medical school concerned was unaware of this, and a much higher proportion of students than usual received distinctions. The two students asked if they should go public. What should the editors do?… - Case
Duplicate submission of a paper
…a substantial number of submissions. Papers may go in the first instance to be read by anyone of a number of editors, so there is a strong possibility that related papers like this will go to different editors and will get a long way down the line of assessment before someone realises that there is major overlap between them. It happened in this case that both papers went to the same editor, but usually this… - Case
Publication of expression of concern
…fact that there may be innocent co-authors. One suggestion was for the journal to consider conducting their own investigation and getting a review board to look at all of the author’s work. The majority of the Forum agreed that going back to the institution and asking for an investigation was worthwhile; if the institution agrees, then the editor can publish an expression of… - News
COPE logo
…href="http://www.publicationethics.org"">www.publicationethics.org"You can download the logo at optimised resolutions for print or the web. Here’s how to do it: Log onto the COPE website as a member (you need to be the "manager" of your journal group) Go to your journal page. On the right hand navigation bar, click “COPE logo download”. Download low and high resolutions of your personalised COPE… - Event
COPE Forum: September 2022
…/ UTC+1) 1. Update Update on COPE activities by the Chair. 2. Forum discussion topic We begin the COPE Forum with a discussion on the topic of Conference Proceedings. Read more about the Conference Proceedings discussion 3. New cases Cases… - Case
Duplicate publication allegation
…B was an extended abstract, included in a section of selected conference proceedings. Our records do not go back far enough to check whether the authors informed us of this but they did not reference their abstract in the article in journal A. The article in journal A is a full paper, with a materials and methods section, detailed results and enough information for someone else to replicate the… - Case
Confidentiality and conflict of interest
There is a breach of confidentiality here. The editor should go back to the first author seeking clarification of the supposed premature publication/breach of confidentiality, stating that a reviewer had brought this to his attention. If the reply is unsatisfactory, the editor should refer to the head of the institution. The reviewer should not lead this; the editor should.… - Case
Obtaining consent for a study of people with severe learning disabilities
…the research 'can go ahead without the need for Ethical approval'. The editor presumed this was because the research was being done for operational/service reasons. The editor’s main ethical concern was that consent from the individual patients had not been obtained, to which the authors responded that it was not possible to obtain consent as the participants’ learning difficulties were too severe.… - Event
COPE Forum: July 2023
…or not you attend the Forum we welcome your comments to add to the discussion. --> 3. New cases Cases submitted by COPE Members for discussion at the Forum. - Event
COPE Forum: December 2023
…="https://publicationethics.org/resources/forum-discussion-topics/claiming-university-affiliations">Claiming institutional affiliations. 3. New cases Cases submitted by COPE Members for discussion at the Forum. How to handle offers of promotion of authorship for sale S - Case
Ethical concerns and the validity of documentation supplied by the authors
…ethics and the author may repeat this type of misconduct with another journal. First you should inform all the authors of what you are going to do in a factual, non-accusatory way.As there may be legal implications, you should also ensure that the letter to the hospital director has to be purely factual, with dates and copies of letters between the journal and the ethics service and the… - Case
Redundant publication?
The two sets of data overlap and the authors have not been explicit about this. The editor was advised to go back to the authors for an explanation and seek independent assessment of the degree of overlap.… - Case
Ownership of an idea
The committee felt that any correspondence from the reviewer to the other researcher should go through the editor, and it should be the editor’s decision whether or not to contact the researcher. The reviewer should not contact the researcher directly.… - Case
Late introduction of an omitted author after online publishing
The corresponding author as well as the co-authors admit that they have omitted one author (author X) who was responsible for a major part of the work in their study. Author X insists on having full acknowledgment in the authorship line and would not be satisfied with an erratum. What should I do? Please advise also about whether author X will appear in different citation trackers… - Event
COPE Forum: December 2022
…COPE Forum with a discussion on the topic of Author behavioural misconduct. Whether or not you attend the Forum we welcome your comments to add to the discussion. 3. New… - Case
Possible plagiarism case
…who had written them or report them indirectly citing the author. The Forum did not consider it was necessary to go any further.… - Flowcharts
What to consider when asked to peer review a manuscript
COPE's guidance on what to consider when you are asked to peer review a manuscript, presented as a flowchart and laying out the steps in the decision process that you might go through to decide whether or not you should accept the request. What to consider when asked… - Case
Peer reviewer contacted by author
…manuscript revision. During this conversation, to avoid having to pretend to go over their own suggestions as if they were from someone else, the reviewer disclosed that they were one of the reviewers. The author and reviewer discussed how to improve the manuscript, and at this point, the reviewer offered to assist with new statistical analyses they had recommended and become a co-author, which was…