Guidelines

Peer review guidelines provide basic principles and standards to which all peer reviewers should adhere during the peer review process in research publication. Peer reviewers play a central and critical part in the peer-review process, but too often come to the role without any guidance and unaware of their ethical obligations. These guidelines are intended to be applied across…

…A COPE guide To help ensure the integrity of the scholarly record and the publication process, editorial offices should define and implement best practices in publication ethics. This COPE guide is a comprehensive toolkit that explains expected ethical practices in scholarly publishing, and highlights resources for editorial offices to develop their codes of ethical conduct and…

Research institutions and journals both have important duties in the management of research misconduct and adherence to publication ethics. It is therefore important for institutions and journals to communicate and collaborate effectively. These COPE guidelines deal with the expectations and processes for communication. Ensuring research and publication integrity requires that…

…formal COPE policy and are intended to advise editors and publishers on expected publication ethics practice. A short guide to ethical editing for new editors

The journals of 'Learned Societies' and 'Professional Associations' are an important part of the scientific literature. Regardless of the publication arrangements and the number of journals affiliated with that society, the policies of and the relationships among the journals, any publisher and the society must be of the highest quality, ethically sound, and as transparent as possible. COPE…

…regulations. COPE Guidelines are formal COPE policy and are intended to advise editors and publishers on expected publication ethics practice. Guidance for Editors: research, audit and service evaluations

An overview of editorial board appointment and engagement, roles and responsibilities, and key details to consider during recruitment such as participation on multiple editorial boards. COPE Guidelines are formal COPE policy and are intended to advise editors and publishers on expected publication ethics practice.

…in basic science journals when an article illustrates a specific scientific point (e.g., a genetic phenotype). There is no doubt that case reports are valuable in the academic literature. However, they pose a specific ethical challenge for journals because, by their very nature, individuals in reports are highly identifiable. Journals must ensure that proper consent for publication has…

…-author-after-publication">Changes in authorship: Addition of extra author - after publication flowchart Changes in authorship: Addition of extra author – before publication flowchart

…COPE's Retraction guidelines for advice and guidance 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. COPE Guidelines are formal COPE policy and are intended to advise editors and publishers on expected publication…

…report regarding tone, language, and content, and advice on the extent to which a review can be edited to adhere to these policies. There are alternative methods for editors to deal with controversial content, and advice is given on how to respond to hostile or unprofessional reviews. COPE Guidelines are formal COPE policy and are intended to advise editors and publishers on expected publication…

The Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), the Open Access Scholarly Publishing Association (OASPA), and the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME) are scholarly…

This guidance has been incorporated into new COPE guidelines: Managing the relationships between society owned journals, their society, and publishers …

COPE Text Recycling Guidelines are intended to advise editors and publishers on expected practice when identifying sections of the same text appearing in more than one of an author's own publications.  Text recycling guidelines

Sharing of information among editors-in-chief (EICs) regarding cases of suspected misconduct can play a significant role in preserving the integrity of the scientific record, allowing EICs of affected journals to conduct investigations with greater efficiency and effectiveness. This guidance has been drafted following a COPE Forum Discussion in 2013, and Discussion Document in 2014 on th…