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Membership application FAQ

Frequently asked questions on applying for COPE membership and how your application is processed.

Applying for membership

After applications are accepted

Declined applications

 

Applying for membership

Which form do I need to complete?

There are different application forms for journals, for publishers, and for individual and corporate membership. Please ensure you select the correct application form, otherwise your application may be rejected.

  • If you are applying for between 1 and 4 journals, you should apply as a journal member for each journal.
  • If you have 5 or more journals you must apply as a publisher.
    • You cannot apply for publisher membership with less than 5 journals. If you are a publisher with less than 5 journals, you will need to submit an individual journal application for each journal.
  • Individuals or companies who are interested in publication ethics and are working in or associated with the publication of peer reviewed scholarly journals, should apply for individual or corporate membership.

If you are interested in our university and research institute membership, please contact us.

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Completing the application form

Please ensure you have read and understood the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing before applying. COPE uses some elements of the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing to evaluate potential members, and we expect all applicants to follow the principles in all aspects of their publishing operation. You may also wish to review the ‘Ethics toolkit for a successful editorial office’ which can help you to prepare your application by identifying areas in need of development within your policies and processes to align with the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing and COPE's Core Practices.

Please allow sufficient time to complete your application in full. We strongly recommend you review the application form first to enable you to gather all the information you need to complete your application before you start the process. The information you provide in the application form is thoroughly reviewed as part of our assessment process. It is important that you complete the form carefully and accurately to enable the most efficient review.

Applying for a single journal membership

As part of our assessment process we will contact members of your editorial board. We will only contact the editorial board members that are named in your application. Please ensure you provide correct email addresses. We are unable to search for email addresses if those supplied are incorrect or if they are returned to us because they are undeliverable. Additionally, you will need a current CV for your journal’s editor-in-chief; this will be submitted as an attachment with the application.

Applying as a publisher

As part of our assessment process we will contact a random sample of your journals’ editors. Before starting the application process, COPE expects that publishers will advise all of its journal editors of its intention to apply for COPE membership on their behalf, and ensure they are aware of COPE’s Core Practices. A sample letter has been developed by COPE to help you with this.

You will also need to add details of the journals being submitted to an Excel spreadsheet, which is provided within the application. Some of the individual journals will be reviewed as part of our assessment process, so please make sure the spreadsheet is accurate and includes only those journals you wish to be considered for membership. The editor-in-chief details for each journal should also be included in the spreadsheet.

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What happens to my application after it is submitted?

Your application is first reviewed by the Membership Administrator against the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing and other COPE-specific criteria. It may be declined at this stage if it is determined that essential criteria have not been met. Guidance on criteria not met, and how to address these, will be provided.

If your application passes this initial check, it will be reviewed in more depth by one or more members of Council (the ‘Membership subcommittee’). This involves a more detailed analysis of the journal, publisher, or organisation applying for membership based on:

Note: for subscription only journals, when we review the application we will contact applicants to request temporary access to the current issue and archives. A decision on your application can only be made if subcommittee members have access to the content.

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When can I expect a decision on my application?

Applications are assessed manually and it takes time to ensure that we do this carefully and thoroughly. Our current processing time is approximately 12 months.  We are not able to provide status updates for applications less than 12 months old.

All applications are reviewed in strict date order of submission. We will not ‘fast track’ applications.

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What shall I do if any of my journal details have changed since I made the application?

If any journal details change while your application is being processed, such as editorial staff, please contact the Membership Administrator ([email protected]). Please provide the name of the journal, the date submitted, and details of the data that need to be amended.  Your position in the process will not be affected if you provide updated details, you will retain your original position and submission date. 

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The application form asks for the details of 8 editorial board members. What if we don’t have 8?

We will seek a response from at least 50% of the editorial board members your journal does have. Please note that we will only contact the editorial board members that are named in your application. Please also ensure you provide correct email addresses, as we are unable to search for correct email addresses if those supplied are incorrect or if they are returned to us because they are undeliverable.

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What if our journal does not publish in English?

At this time, COPE has no capacity to review non-English journal websites. This is under review.

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Membership subscription fees

There are different levels of membership subscription fees. They are payable annually and based on the calendar year, January 1 - December 31 (or are pro-rata if you join mid-way through a year). Membership subscription fees are increased each year according to the UK’s RPI’s index and invoices are sent at the beginning of each year.

COPE considers requests for full reduction of membership subscription fees (free membership) from journals that meet one of the following criteria: 

  1. Journals based in Research4Life/HINARI countries.
  2. Journals in low and lower-middle-income countries (as defined by the World Bank) with both zero paid members of staff (ie, run on totally voluntary efforts) and with zero income/ funding from any source (including from a publisher).

COPE will also consider requests for reduced membership subscription fees. Journals that qualify for reduced membership fees will be asked to pay 50% of the normal membership fee. Requests for reductions will be considered from journals that meet one of the following criteria:

  1. Journals in low and lower-middle-income countries (as defined by the World Bank) with paid staff or a dedicated income source.
  2. Journals (or groups of journals) with fewer than one full-time equivalent paid member of staff per journal (ie, run mainly on voluntary efforts) and with zero income/funding from any source (including from a publisher).

Can I apply for membership for my university or research institute?

In 2022 COPE launched a new membership category to support university and research institute members who:

  1. conduct and publish original research, and where the results are disseminated through standard scholarly channels
  2. encourage training in research ethics and research publication ethics

Find out more about university and research institute membership.

Please note: this category does not include university presses. University presses that publish peer reviewed journals should apply for publisher membership of COPE. 

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After applications are accepted

What happens when my application for membership is accepted?

When your application is accepted, you will receive an email confirming this. You will receive a link to COPE’s Member Handbook which details the benefits of being a COPE member as well as how to manage your membership. If membership fees are applicable, an invoice will be sent to you.

Once your membership fees are paid, your journal details will be added to our website and the editor-in-chief (or nominated representative) will be set up as a journal manager for the account. The journal manager will be able to add to or edit the journal details for display on the COPE website. They will also be able to add other members of their team, so that they can access COPE resources.

A custom  COPE Member logo displaying your journal ID number and year of joining, is available for you to display on your website. Log in to the COPE website and download your individual logo from your user account. There are versions available for print and online use. Full details are included in the Member Handbook.

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How do I pay my membership subscription fees?

COPE accepts payments by BACS, CHAPS or Paypal. (Note: Paypal is not available for Publisher members). We are not able to accept cheques. Please contact our Administrative Assistant ([email protected]) if you have any questions about payment.

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Can I cancel my membership?

Yes, if you want to cancel your membership you can do this at any time. If you have paid annual membership fees, these will not be refunded. You must also remove any reference from your website that suggests you are still a member of COPE.

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Can COPE remove my membership?

Yes, COPE is able to remove membership at any time. We have a published sanctions policy and process for the circumstances in which this could happen.

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Declined applications

Why has my application for COPE membership been declined?

COPE uses the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing to evaluate potential members and we expect all applicants to follow the principles in all aspects of their publishing operation. We may find that some elements of the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing, as expressed on your journal’s website, are not clear or do not adhere to best practice. We also use more subtle forms of assessment based on the Membership subcommittee's experience (for example, where editorial staff may work on multiple journals we consider competing interests and their possible impact on quality assurance and ethics), and on various sources of publicly available information. Unsuccessful applicants will receive recommendations specific to their journal.

You may also review COPE’s ‘Ethics toolkit for a successful editorial office’: 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 practice. You can also use this toolkit to prepare your application for COPE membership by identifying areas in need of development within your policies and processes to align with COPE's Core Practices and the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing.

If you are not a member of COPE, it is not permitted to use our logo or in any other way imply membership prior to that membership being granted. Journals already using the COPE logo or otherwise inferring membership will be asked to remove those elements before an application can proceed.

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When can I reapply for membership?

If your application for COPE membership has been declined, you are welcome to re-apply for membership 12 months after you received the decision. We do not consider re-applications any earlier than this. 

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Can I appeal a decision?

Unfortunately COPE is unable to consider appeals of membership decisions. You are welcome to reapply after 12 months, when we expect you will have incorporated the suggested changes to your journal policies and processes.

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Last updated: 25 April 2022