COPE provides leadership in thinking on publication ethics and practical resources to educate and support members, and offers a professional voice in current debates.
Newsletter
We have been looking at why an editor might edit peer reviews and when or if it is acceptable to do so. We hosted a Forum discussion with COPE members, and shared an online questionnaire with both members and non-members. Read the discussion and the results of the survey in our latest issue of COPE Digest which also includes a case discussion around a 'low risk study with no ethics committee approval'. Plus issues brought to the June COPE Forum, as cases, by COPE members seeking advice from fellow members.
Our core practices
Core practices are the policies and practices journals and publishers need, to reach the highest standards in publication ethics. We include cases with advice, guidance for day-to-day practice, education modules and events on topical issues, to support journals and publishers fulfil their policies.
Events & discussion
COPE members: join us when we will hear from the Text Recycling Research Project (TRRP) team at our webinar on 7 August 2020. TRRP aims to better understand this practice and support the development of more clear and consistent policies. They will present an overview of their research to date then move on to discuss the ethical and practical issues involved in establishing effective policy.
What peer review means in the arts, humanities and social sciences: are there differences in gender and diversity issues in these disciplines from other disciplines? Read the discussion and add your views.
A case came to #C0PEForum: low risk study with no ethics committee approval. We share the advice given by #C0PEMembers and add to the discussion with further analysis and links to guidance relevant issues around retrospective ethics review.
Read the latest issues raised as cases with advice on how to go forward from #C0PEMembers: social media survey approval; ethics approval for survey design; failure to credit authors; bullying behaviour towards handling editor
News & guidance
Is it acceptable to edit peer reviews and, if so, when? We shared a survey asking for your views. About 15% said they believed it is never acceptable for an editor to edit a peer reviewer’s comments and about 25% said they believed it is never acceptable to suppress a complete review.
We bring together support and guidance on issues that have come about during this crisis. The collection includes articles on how authors, editors and reviewers are handling their work during this period and guidelines developed in response to the changing environment and workflow.
Issues around data and/or fabrication were cited as ethics issues education journal editors were least confident in addressing in COPE's study. Read more about the major and most serious issues this group of editors face.
Read the latest publication ethics news with articles on diversity and inclusion, image fabrication, preprints and open access.