- Case
Authorship without the author’s knowledge
A paper was rejected on the reviewer’s recommendation. The editor met one of the senior authors at a conference and out of politeness apologised for rejecting his paper. He was surprised to learn that the senior author had no knowledge of this paper and that the corresponding author had written papers using the senior author’s name without his knowledge in the past. This prompted the editor to… - Event
Medical Journal Editors: Short Course 2019
This international workshop (in its 23rd year) is designed to help editors ensure their journals achieve the maximum impact with the best research. The programme looks at the world of publishing, attracting (and keeping) good authors; ensuring quality and increasing… - Case
Author disagreement blocks submission
…employment. A web search by the editor found several entries on author A, none of which was indicative of a current academic position. Author A’s email to the editor was from a non-institutional provider (gmail). The paper reports important work, in which human subjects volunteered to participate. It would, therefore, be very unfortunate for it not to be published. Question(s) for the COPE… - Case
Author dispute and dual submission
A case report was submitted for consideration and, following favourable review, was accepted for publication by Journal A. All three authors signed the copyright release form, but about six weeks later a request not to publish the article was received by e-mail, which was attributed to a “misunderstanding and argument between two of the authors.” The editor wrote to all three authors… - News
Comments please: framework for editors when requesting patient consent for publication in small cohort studies
The International Rhuematology Editors' Group would like to receive comments from wider specialty communities on their framework below. Please send any comments to Shehnaz Ahmed. Framework for editors when requesting patient consent for publication in small… - Case
Deceased author
The Forum asked for clarification from the editor regarding when in the publication cycle the author died and did the author see the final version of the submitted and accepted article? The editor told the Forum that the author had seen the final accepted version. Hence the Forum agreed that it seems reasonable that the author should remain on the byline. It would be possible to ask his next… - Case
Deceased author and author delaying publication
The journal accepted a manuscript for publication with two authors. One of the authors died before signing the copyright. This manuscript is now ready for galley proof approval from the surviving author. Proofs were sent to the surviving author and the author who died as normal because the production editor assigned to this manuscript did not know that one of the authors had died. After… - Case
Late reinterpretation and a new author
…as the corresponding author and guarantor of the paper. Author D’s name had not appeared even in the acknowledgements of the first version. The editor of the journal wrote to author C, asking for an explanation of the change of authorship. He raised the possibility of poor authorship practices. He asked for a written assurance from all the authors that they were happy about the revision, and he… - Case
Is it a breach of confidentiality to send letters to the editor to criticised authors for comment?
…get the rejection confirmed in April 2009 on the basis of the explanations offered to the editor by the concerned authors. Thus the editor seems to have violated the confidentiality of my unpublished letter in forwarding it to the authors only to ultimately reject it. My question to COPE is, should editors treat submitted material as confidential, or is it acceptable for them to show it to… - Case
Transparency of peer review to co-authors
An associate editor of one of our journals has asked whether we can configure our online peer review system to restrict access to reviewer correspondence to corresponding authors. His concern is that some of the review materials (eg, a harsh critique) might be embarrassing for the principal investigator if accessed by a co-author who was a junior investigator or laboratory technician.… - Case
Order of authors changing between a submitted manuscript and a published paper
A paper was submitted to an online journal with the order of authors A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. After review, the manuscript was accepted for publication, subject to the authors making some minor changes. While making the formatting changes, the submitting author changed the order of the authors to B, A, C, D, E, F, G. This change was not noticed by the editors and the manuscript was published… - Case
Editor as author in own journal
This journal specialises in one form of treatment. It is the only Medline listed journal that is widely accessed in Europe by people who use this form of treatment. No international journals provide a suitable alternative. In the USA, the one journal most similar to this is much less specialised and hardly ever accessed in Europe. The journal editor is a leading researcher in this form… - Case
Arm twisting an editor
…were invited to write a commentary detailing their objections. The lead author agreed, but subsequently, a high ranking official telephoned the editor, pointing out the health department’s concerns. The official assured the editor that s/he had no intention of suppressing research, but asked the editor to consider the possible implications for the public interest. The official did not want the… - Case
Request for removal for one author but a coauthor cannot be reached
…should not occur so late in the publication process. The reason for this is that in general, by the time a paper has been accepted, the work of authorship has been done, and so the credit and responsibility of authorship should have already been determined with relative finality. Changing authors at this late stage should raise an editor’s level of concern for ghost authorship (removing an… - Case
Dual submission and editor’s failure to take action
…published in July. We first wrote to the authors that this was unethical and amounted to dual submission. We again received a rather impolite reply. We then wrote to the editor of the journal in which the article was published. Apparently, this journal does not ask for a non-submission undertaking from the authors. The editor was quite vague in his reply. We sent him the details of dual submission… - Case
Dispute between authors and a reviewer
A concise report on a rare disease was submitted and sent out to an internationally renowned reviewer in the field. He felt that some of the data had been obtained in his unit, and this had not been acknowledged by the authors. The authors responded that the tests had been performed in their own laboratory, but that the scans had indeed been done elsewhere. The editor suggested that perhaps… - Case
Dispute between two authors
…editors do not see any scientific reason why the opinions expressed by author C should be retracted. The views expressed are personal but there is scientific evidence to support them. Author C did not suggest that author A was fraudulent, merely mistaken. The editors currently consider that they have no need to adjudicate between two opposing scientific views, for which each protagonist can cite… - Case
Case of figure duplication and manipulation involving two journals
The editors in chief of journal A and journal B, both owned by society C, received a letter from the last ‘senior’ author, also the corresponding author on one of the papers (author D), concerning separate papers published in both journals (paper E published in journal A and paper F published in journal B), informing them that one of the co-authors on both papers is under investigation for… - Event
Medical editors short course 2020
Training journal editors for over 20 years, this workshop is designed to help editors ensure their journals achieve the maximum impact with the best research. The programme looks at the world of publishing, attracting (and keeping) authors; ensuring quality and increasing visibility and readership. Run with only 25 participants, the course is highly interactive and allows editors to discover… - Event
Medical Editors Short Course
Now in its 16th year, this course will enable editors to make their journal more successful. It includes how to develop journals to raise the quality of submissions, sharpen focus, improve relationships and efficiencies with authors, other editors and reviewers (and publishers!) and how to ensure that the journal is delivering something that readers want to read (and cite). The course…