- Case
Editor as author
…decisions about it. Some journals list editors’ competing interests on their website, but this is not a standard practice. Readers should refer to the WAME Policy on the Relationship Between Journal Editors-in-chief and Owners for additional comment about COI as it relates to editors.' Researchers in healthcare research have shifted their thoughts about patients as partners in research over the… - Guidelines
Sharing of information among editors-in-chief regarding possible misconduct
…the subject. It was initiated in the wake of a number of high-profile cases of research misconduct in which the sharing of information between the relevant EiCs was crucial to the final settlement of the cases. Sharing of information among editors-in-chief regarding… - News
Diversifying editorial boards
…the topic, including a forthcoming discussion document. In May, we held a webinar on diversity, equity and inclusion in research and publishing, following which we surveyed COPE members to discover what your priorities are in relation to DEI and publication ethics. The results of that survey will inform… - Case
Possible serial misconduct in relation to coauthors and other activities
The Forum noted that this is a case that perhaps can never be satisfactorily resolved. It is very difficult for editors to intervene in authorship disputes. The advice was for the editor to contact the author’s institution and ask them to investigate the authorship dispute. As the editor suspects unethical research, that is another reason to approach the institution, report the matter and… - Case
Potentially fake academic affiliation
…a not-for-profit code in State X. Journal A had another paper pending review and the editor rejected that article because of issues about the legitimacy of the institution and possibly the data. The editor thinks that the author may have created a non-profit organisation from which they conduct research (not a traditional academic institution, such as a university or health system). … - Discussion documents
Authorship
…guidelines can help manage respectful negotiation of authorship, especially in relationships with power imbalance. All journals should have a basic policy on what they consider qualifies someone to be an author of a research paper; stated clearly in the journal’s information for authors, and confirmed in a statement of authorship provided before publication. Journals should have a process… Education
…misconduct. The programme will cover plagiarism, data fabrication, data falsification, redundant publication, selective reporting, unethical research, authorship, reviewer misconduct, responsibilities of editors and conflicts of interest. The course will use the COPE database of cases and the flowcharts, and will provide links to other relevant resources and organisations. The first modules will be…- Event
Council of Science Editors Annual Meeting 2021
…;enddate=5/5/2021&BCFO=&pfp=Browse%20by%20Day&tn=&cpf2=&cus2=&pta=" target="_blank">Ethics Clinic on May 5 with: Shelley Stall, American Geophysical Union; and Matthew Canon, Head of Open Research, Taylor and Francis.… - Case
The discontented and abandoned contributor
A paper was rejected after peer review. Some time later a researcher wrote to say that he had been involved at the beginning of the study, but had withdrawn his name because he felt the study was defective. He had heard that the study had been submitted for publication, and thought it better that the editors were made aware of his doubts before publication rather than afterwards. As the paper… - Case
The undeclared competing interest
An author wrote us a letter for publication on the importance of doing research on a long established drug. He did not declare any competing interest, but we were later informed that he was conducting a trial of the drug funded by a pharmaceutical company. We approached him and asked him to declare his competing interest. Have we done the right thing? Should we do more than simply ask him to… - Guidelines
Ensuring consent for publishing medical case reports
General principles around consent and consent forms for editors to use when developing forms for their journals' purposes. Journals’ Best Practices for ensuring consent for publishing medical case reports: guidance from COPE - Discussion documents
Best practice in theses publishing. March 2017
…comments from individuals and groups working in the Arts and Humanities, where we recognize there may be different practices and expectations from what is described below. Best practice for issues around theses publishing - Seminars and webinars
Webinar 2022: Managing paper mills
…href="https://publicationethics.org/about/council/jigisha-patel">Jigisha Patel, opening the session with an update on some of COPE's activities around paper mills. Jigisha summarised the recommendations from the COPE and STM research on paper mills undertaken in 2022. Jigisha gave an update on the recently revised - News
COPE advice to editors on geopolitical intrusions on editorial decisions
…Update 2022 First released: 10 March 2022 Updated: 29 March 2022 There has been much discussion recently on government sanctions against Russia and the potential effect on Russian researchers. COPE has discussed the issue of geopolitical intrusion into editorial decision making previously in similar situations. COPE's position on this remains as… FORUM DISCUSSION TOPIC: comments please
…Prior publication and theses Research higher degree theses have traditionally been seen as part of the scholarly communications chain, and have been made available by university libraries in print and, latterly, online via institutional repositories. The issue we seek to address is whether or not work already publicly available in a thesis (whether in print or online, although…- Case
The single authored, unbelievable, randomised controlled trial
_ Some countries are less rigorous than the UK regarding research conduct. _ Show concern rather than ask for definitive evidence. _ Refer the matter to the author’s institution. _ If there is no response contact the country’s national regulatory body.… - Case
Plagiarism
…about their usefulness, etc. The previous publication was referenced, but only for a small point, and the reference in no way indicated the wholesale reproduction of sections of the paper. The paper comes from a respected institution and the corresponding author is a highly regarded researcher. The first author, who presumably drafted the review, is on a research scholarship to the institution. It… - Case
Dual publication may be necessary in some situations
At a recent editorial board meeting it was suggested that in some disciplines straddling several specialties, transparent simultaneous publication might be necessary. It was suggested that this applies to sexually transmitted infections, and different readers may not have access to each other’s journals. For example, in a study of human papilloma virus epidemiologists, virologists, STD… - Case
Conflict of interest
After peer-review, a general medical journal published a household survey of violence following a coup against the country’s elected President. The survey revealed high levels of violence and human rights abuses, only a small minority of which were attributed to supporters of the deposed regime. The manuscript stated that none of the interviewers had political affiliations and the authors…