- News
Peer review resources
…="https://publicationethics.org/resources/forum-discussions/coordination-multi-journal-complaints">Coordinating multi-journal complaints Ethical considerations around book publishing Systematic manipulation of the publishing process via “paper mills” - Case
Misrepresentation of journal decision on social media
…journal. If the editor does wish to respond, they could contact the author and explain the journal's policies, assuming the journal has already been clear in its peer review processes and procedures via its website (eg, explaining the model used (double anonymous), role of reviewers/editors and who makes the final decision, what the outcomes could be (accept/revise/reject), appeals/complaints… - Forum discussion topics
Claiming institutional affiliations
…collecting so that the data can be registered accurately. Databases of persistent identifiers such as the Ringgold Identity Database may be of use to publishers in tracking and identifying institutional affiliations. Ringgold Database identifiers can be linked to the International Standard Name Identifier database and via… - News
Guest article: Research misconduct
…wording used in retraction notices. Research integrity issues for journals and publishers come to light via complaints and whistleblowers after research has been published. Manuscript screening processes including the use of tools like plagiarism detection software also help to detect misconduct before publication. Because journals and publishers investigate allegations of research misconduct,… - Case
Request for a retraction from a pharmaceutical company
A journal recently received an 11 page letter via email titled ‘request for a retraction’ from a pharmaceutical company (PC). They have issues with one of our critically appraised topic(s) which critically appraises two papers that were funded by PC and written by employees at PC. The two papers were published in separate journals. Our critically appraised topic (CAT) was peer reviewed… - Case
Author retracts request to be removed from author list
…Even if this is not important for the paper’s results, the error should still be acknowledged in some way, for example, via an Expression of Concern or an editorial note. This can note the issues raised with the data and the fact that it is impossible to determine its extent or impact. An Expression of Concern may be a permanent outcome if that best follows the journal’s guidelines. In other cases it… - News
Text recycling: Lightning talk summary
…recycling is defined by the Text Recycling Research Project (TRRP) as ‘the reuse of textual materials (prose, visuals, or equations) in a new document where: The material in the new document is identical to that of the source (or substantively equivalent in both form and content) The material is not presented in the new document as a quotation (via quotation marks or block… - News
Case discussion: critiques after publication
…href="https://publicationethics.org/node/34586">Responding to whistleblowers when concerns are raised directly” and “Responding to whistleblowers when concerns are raised via social media”. Although not strictly social media, the PubPeer platform has a paid dashboard service to notify journal administrators of journal mentions. Whether and how… - Case
Handling self-admissions of fraud
…laboratory notebook. We feel this reason is not sufficient to counter self-admission of fraud as someone who intentionally fakes data would not likely record it in their laboratory notebook. We therefore were unsatisfied with recommendation to take no further action. In July 2015, we interviewed the first author via Skype and asked him to describe again how he generated the data and how he… COPE Privacy notice
…privacy. Our contact details You can write to us at: COPE, New Kings Court, Tollgate, Chandler's Ford, Eastleigh, Hampshire, SO53 3LG, United Kingdom. Christina McGuire, the COPE Web Manager, is the person designated to support COPE with its data protection responsibilities. You can email Christina via- News
Where next in peer review? Part 1: COPE commentary
…Review Studies. These scholars have started to quantify and test the impact of innovations like open review, reviewer training, and automation. Individual journals and publishers have also brought in new review models like portable or cascading review where reports are shared with other journals either via a central organisation or more informally. NISO has published a - News
In the news: July Digest
…this. https://thebiologist.rsb.org.uk/biologist-features/158-biologist/features/2160-what-is-ethics-dumping Plagiarism can be ‘disguised’ in form and is especially difficult to detect when it occurs via the… - News
In the news: December Digest
…href="https://blogs.plos.org/plos/2019/11/preregistration-can-bring-science-back-to-its-roots/" target="_blank">https://blogs.plos.org/plos/2019/11/preregistration-can-bring-science-back-to-its-roots/ The People's Trial, funded by the Health Research Board, through the HRB-TMRN, is a crowd-sourced research platform. In several phases, they asked people via their website to identify questions that they wanted answered, (155 were suggested) voted on them and selected the top… - Forum discussion topics
Bias in peer review
…the absence of data, do we do nothing? What is encouraging is that many journals and publishers are trying to change and challenge their own unconscious biases, to encourage wider participation via their commissioning and through their editorial boards. COPE has provided tips on diversifying editorial boards.… - Forum discussion topics
Artificial intelligence (AI) and fake papers
…their full responsibility then publication ethics have been breached, whether this is via use of an AI tool or a service like a paper mill or a ghost writer. Back to top Further resources A tool in development from Semantic Scholar for producing short summaries Statement from the… - News
Case Discussion: Lack of trial registration leads to new concerns about study conduct and ethical review/approval
…submission systems and processes to collect information such as study design type, declaration of secondary or overlapping studies, complete reporting (eg, via EQUATOR Network reporting guideline checklists), trial registration, and required paperwork, approvals, and declarations. They should also ensure that… - Guidelines
Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing
…Publishing Version 3.0 January 2018 Version 2.0 June 2015 Version 1.0 December 2013 Translations Transparência e melhores práticas Português - Revisado por Luciano Panepucci, após tradução automática via Documentos Google. Version 4.0, 2022 - Forum discussion topics
Best practices for guest edited collections
…of guest editors and reviewers (for example, via their H factor). Where there are large numbers of special issues it may be necessary to share this load among editors to ensure quality. Editors (not guests) should have the final say on whether peer review has been carried out adequately. Standard peer review and other internal processes for the journal or publisher should be… Subcommittees and working groups
…consideration of new initiatives or improvements to current offerings. Working with the Web Manager and Engagement & Outreach Officer, ensure COPE reaches and supports the needs of its members and outreach activities effectively via its website — including Search Engine Optimisation — newsletters, social media channels and any other media as appropriate. Work with the Strategy and…- News
A vision for a more trans-inclusive publishing world: guest article
…attribution. Systems like ORCID demonstrate the value of unique, unchanging, author identifiers that are distinct from their names. ORCIDs allow authors to rely on a gender neutral, alphanumeric designator as the primary unit of attribution. The “name” of the author is irrelevant, as long as their identity is consistently maintained via this digital record [3]. The name…