- Case
Duplicate submission to two journals and previous duplicate publication uncovered
…publication. The authors replied, apologising for the error, which had been due to “hurry and inattentiveness, ” adding: “that the predicament is entirely due to circumstances beyond our intention. ” They requested that the paper be withdrawn. An explanation for the previous episode of duplicate submission was not given, although they said that they had sent a detailed letter to the editors of both journals,… - Case
Authorship order in dual publications
…'corrections' to the author list during copy editing or typesetting subsequent articles that cite one of the articles. The order should be agreed on beforehand and kept the same in both articles, with a clear notice of the agreed simultaneous publication. If there is a clear leader of each society, those two names could go first, and a footnote added of equal contribution. If the societies… - Case
Randomised controlled trial without ethics committee approval
…they thought that approval had been required, and if so, whether they would consider giving it retrospectively. The ethics committee chairman replied that the project certainly should have been submitted for ethics committee approval and that it was not possible to offer retrospective review or approval. He also added that had the committee considered it, they would probably not have been satisfied… - Case
Increased number of casual submissions
…without following even basic principles of scientific writing and publication ethics. The incidence of plagiarism and potential compromise of publication ethics is increasing. Increased numbers of submissions of such poorly written casual submissions take substantial time and resources, adding a lot of pressure to the editorial process. We believe some of the reasons why this is happening… - Case
Ethical considerations in publishing conference papers
…added (e.g., 40-50% new content). In the latter case, the prepublished content would need to be clearly explained and indicated at the submission stage for the journal editor to consider publication. Some journals may be willing to consider a special appeal in certain cases; e.g., where distribution was very small (only to conference attendees) and the authors are seeking a broader distribution for… - Case
Conflict between two authors
…informing them that, unless the parties involved can reach a prompt agreement on this matter themselves, it will be referred to the university, in accordance with the COPE flowchart on adding authors after publication. The editor may also wish to advise the author to consult the - Case
How to deal with obvious but disclosed conflict of interest
…publishing the paper. Adding a section in the discussion on the topic would be a distraction, particularly if titled ‘Limitation’, and Council believe it is unwarranted. Also, the editor cannot ask that authors be removed—authorship issues should be decided among the authors. However, if the editor believes something needs be written, perhaps they could write an editorial on the treatment of such… - Case
Request to remove an author post-publication
…to author names without proof, and in this case already have the confirmation of the co-author that this would not be a fraudulent request, the mechanism for this update would follow the process for author name changes (a “last updated” footnote added to the article, but would otherwise be “silent”). Do nothing. There are no grounds for retraction, and there is no question that the author… - Forum discussion topics
Editing of reviewer comments
…not? Comments from the Forum, March 2020 NOTE, Comments do not imply formal COPE advice, or consensus. We should differentiate between ethical screening and unethical censorship. If there are personal insults and ad hominem attacks on the author or investigator, it is appropriate to screen to maintain civil, courteous, and respectful discourse. However,… - Case
Effect of the British Human Tissue Acts on biological monitoring
…moment the editor is thinking of adding to the paragraph on ethics in the instructions to authors a requirement that studies must comply with the law in the place where they are carried out, but is not proposing to question authors of English papers which include biological monitoring. Has COPE any advice or comments, please?… - Case
Deception in submitting manuscript for publication
…this area, I have invented an ad hoc entity, ‘Nominated Reviewer Referral Service’, under which aegis ‘blind’ emails were sent to an assortment of academics and journalists, advising them that they had been ‘nominated’ to provide a brief review and evaluation of the paper, which I attached. I did not identify myself as the author or give any kind of a ‘sales pitch’, nor did I try to give the… - Guidelines
How to handle authorship disputes: a guide for new researchers
…Acknowledgements may be acceptable to a journal when contributions do not constitute authorship. Authors should describe what each author contributed to the research project. The order of authors should be decided jointly between the authors and make it clear the editor the reasons behind the author order. All authors should be listed. People should not be added as authors if… - Case
Query regarding a retraction
…/> The journal suspected the author might be considering submitting the paper to another journal. The journal decided to publish a retraction and added a watermark on the original paper. The retraction drafted by the Editor in Chief stated that following a request by the author to change the contents of the paper, the editor had had concerns about some of the results… - Case
Guest editors for single articles
…journal was publishing an article produced by journal staff. Forum members gave examples where all of these had happened at their journals. However, it was agreed that it was poor ethical practice to make unsolicited invitations on an ad hoc basis and with no apparent intention to appoint the guest editor as a longer-standing member of the editorial board. Furthermore, for most journals, if an… - Case
Enquiry regarding copyright/retractions
…reviewed by experienced reviewers. In this case perhaps the number of reviewers could be increased to provide additional assurance for the journal editors and publisher. We would also suggest adding disclosure of the article history in the published paper. This would help ensure transparency, and possibly mitigate future complications if readers dig up the previously retracted version. - Case
Institutionalised policy of gift authorship?
We have written to the institution involved but have heard nothing back. We will try some other names at the institution. We have since revised our internal guidelines to require confirmation from all authors every time an author is added or removed from a paper. Trail has now gone cold now (1 December 2006).… - Case
Multiple failure to declare a relevant conflict of interest
…contact Journal Z to inform them. Does the Forum recommend that other affected articles should be sought out and other affected journals be alerted in this way? If so, perhaps the question “Are other articles affected?” might be added to the flowcharts. Does the Forum consider that the seriousness of this omission is compounded by its repetition? If so, should there be any additional… - Case
Controversy surrounding ethics approval
…and main institutional investigation, an editorial note could be added for clarification with agreement of the authors: it shouldn’t be necessary to ask the other institutions.… - News
Paper mills in the news
…four key stages of paper mill strategy, including: assistance with scientific consulting; adding project design; data collection, analysis and ghostwriting; ghostwriting companies which provide falsified data; and paper trading companies, which organise the sale of papers. Professor Sabel was also one of the organisers of a symposium held in June, organised in collaboration with Felix… - Case
Confidentiality and consent in case reports
…mandatory. Indeed, we would like to suggest that where the doctor is satisfied that the information can be anonymised, he/she does not need to try to obtain consent. We have considered adding a statement in the journal for patients who might read it, and recognise or believe that they recognise themselves, or their story. One of our founder members addressed this very idea in the preface of a book,…