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
There are complexities involved in changing names after article publication. COPE is working with key stakeholders on guidance to make the process easier and more consistent for authors, editors and publishers. Read more in our update on developing the guidance.
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.
Guidance & discussion
In response to an increase in cases and queries about author name changes after article publication, COPE formed a working group to develop guidance. At its core, the group is being driven by high level principles that are detailed in this guest editorial entitled 'A vision for a more trans-inclusive publishing world'
In our first Digest issue of the year we give an update on the forthcoming author name changes guidance. COPE Forum held in December initiated much discussion on the topic of predatory publishing, and we share five new cases also presented at the Forum.
Read the latest publication ethics new, gathered by COPE, with articles on image manipulation, peer review, preprints, and more.
We bring together support and guidance on issues that have come about during this crisis. The posts include 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.
At our December Forum we held an exploratory discussion of what COPE and other industry organisations might do to further our individual and collective stance against predatory publishing. See a summary of the Forum discussion with two promising ideas emerging. We welcome your feedback.
Five new cases discussed by members at our December Forum include: paper published without permissions from institution; reviewers identity revealed; simultaneous or duplicate submission; author requests removal of verbatim text; editor unable to contact authors.
COPE is collaborating with the newly formed FORCE11 Research Data Publishing Ethics Working Group. Deborah Poff introduces the motivation behind the working group in her January letter.
January events: Deborah Poff, COPE Chair, is speaking at the UKRIO research integrity webinar; Simon Linacre, COPE Council, is presenting at the CIVICA (The European University of Social Sciences) online research ethics training session.