COPE provides leadership in thinking on publication ethics and practical resources to educate and support members, and offers a professional voice in current debates.
Hot topic
When should a retraction be considered? What should I include in a notice? How quickly should I issue a retraction? Who should issue a retraction? What can I do when there is inconclusive evidence of a retraction?
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.
News & events
NEW! COPE Retraction Guidelines updated. Advice for editors: when should a retraction be considered, what to include in a notice, how quickly to issue a retraction, who should issue a retraction, and what to do when there is inconclusive evidence of a retraction.
Out now! #C0PEDigest focuses on ethical oversight with a case discussion on the ethics of non-active management of a control group. New advice and guidance for editors on retracting articles is now available. Plus the monthly roundup of news and events. #EthicalOversight
The case we discuss in our November issue of COPE Digest explores the ethics of routine antenatal care in pregnant women with a systematic illness compared to active management of the illness in the intervention group.
Dispute arising from peer review of a rejected comment and published correction. Without agreement between the two parties and publishing their own version elsewhere, is the journal justified in choosing not to publish anything?
3 March, 2020
The workshop is hands-on, working through publication ethics issues from real cases raised by COPE members, with the help and guidance of COPE Council members Trevor Lane and Michael Wise.
The reasons for retractions, motivation for retraction and who retracts; and a publisher's perspective. Presentations from Howard Browman, Thed van Leeuwen and Catriona Fennell #C0PE2019
With the advancement of AI and the introduction of data-driven solutions to many processes throughout the publication process, questions surrounding the relevant ethics arise as to if, when, and how AI could/should be used. Read the discussion.