Second International Congress on Publication Ethics, Shiraz, Iran, 4–5 December 2014
The Second International Congress on Publication Ethics will be held in Shiraz, Iran, on 4–5 December 2014. This is a scientific partnership between COPE and Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. All individuals working in the field of scientific medical publications as well as those interested in ethical approaches to scientific publications are welcome to attend.
For more details and to register, please visit the website: http://publicationethics.sums.ac.ir/en/
What constitutes authorship? New COPE discussion document
A new discussion document looking at some of the issues around authorship has been published by COPE. 'What constitutes authorship' (http://publicationethics.org/files/Authorship_DiscussionDocument.pdf) examines existing guidelines on authorship, puts together some basic principles to help prevent common problems, and sets out some of the more thorny issues that have come to light in previous discussions, many of which are discipline-specific and which require more nuanced consideration.
This document aims to stimulate discussion around the most common authorship issues faced by COPE members and we welcome feedback from members (and non-members). We encourage journal editors and publishers to comment, and also welcome comments from researchers/authors and academic institutions. Please email all comments to Natalie Ridgeway, COPE Operations Manager here
COPE Mini UK Seminar
Report from COPE council member Zoe Mullan
On Monday October 13, COPE hosted a half-day Mini-Seminar ahead of the International Society of Managing and Technical Editors (ISMTE) European Conference. The event was free for COPE and ISMTE members and attracted 64 delegates to a rainy corner of London, UK, for an afternoon of talks and discussion. COPE Treasurer Chris Graf kicked off the event with an introduction to the ways in which COPE is evolving to keep pace with the fast-moving world of publishing and publication ethics. He highlighted COPE's growing membership (>9000) and its rich web-based resources and improved ways of interacting with its membership (eg, through webinars and one-to-one telephone consultations).
Next up, ORCID EU's Communications Manager, Josh Brown, introduced the multifaceted nature of ORCID - the unique author identifier initiative. Delegates will have been impressed to hear just how much more than a number the initiative is and how publishers and editors can use the concept to prevent several commonly encountered authorship problems.
Finally, attendees split into groups for guided discussion of three ethical issues taken from COPE’s archive of cases discussed at its quarterly Forums. Delegate interaction was enthusiastic and constructive, and many subject-specific and culture-specific insights were shared.
Feedback so far has been positive, with regrets extending merely to the short nature of the event and the disagreeability of the weather. COPE hopes to run a similar event next year.
Chris Graf, COPE treasurer, opening the COPE Mini UK Seminar.
ORCID EU's Communications Manager, Josh Brown.