- News
Where next in peer review? Part 1: COPE commentary
…Commentary). It has been good to see that there is a lot of optimism about new initiatives in peer review, but there is also some consensus that many aspects of scholarly publishing have been stretched almost to breaking point by recent rapid changes in scholarly publishing. These include open access and data sharing, fraudulent behaviour, the growth of journal… eLearning
…revising the modules on a regular basis. The eLearning package is only available to COPE members so you will need to log in before accessing the eLearning modules here. Contact us here if you have forgotten your username.…- Case
A claim of stolen data and a demand for retractions
The publishers received an email from author B about a recently published paper, which passed peer review and had been available online for about a month. In this email, author B claimed that he and another colleague C had determined the peptide sequence in question and had not published it yet, nor given permission for it to be published. He claimed that author A had access to his unpublished… - Case
Duplicate publication
…to publish translated papers if the original paper was printed in a ‘non-accessible’ language. Moreover, they had been asked to translate the paper and checked with the editor and editorial board who accepted (and encouraged) the publication of the English version. However, there is no disclosure in the paper that it was a translation of a French original. My principal feeling is that this… - News
Artificial intelligence in the news
…and facilitating plagiarism. For this reason WAME is calling for open access tools for publishers to assist with detection. Wider ethical issues Others are more concerned about more philosophical questions about the impact of AI writing tools on the nature of writing and human creativity. Several authors have pointed to the potential for ChatGPT and its fellows to - Event
5th World Conference on Research Integrity
…University, USA) proposal for a system of self-retraction for honest error and the issues involved. Various view points from different stakeholders will be discussed. Speakers are: Richard Mann (University of Leeds, UK), Ivan Oransky (Retraction Watch) and Ginny Barbour (Chair, COPE). If you are attending the WCRI, these sessions are open to all delegates. - Event
COPE Forum November 2017
Our COPE Forum will be held by webinar and is open to COPE members. Taking part in the Forum allows members to contribute to, as well as learn from, the cases being discussed. Register now as the Forum is limited to 100 attendees. We will also be discussing Self-Citation: Where's the Line? during the… - News
What to do if you suspect systematic manipulation of the publication process
…="https://publicationethics.org/files/Systematic_manipulation_of_the_publication_process.pdf">COPE guidelines on how to manage publication process manipulation. These new guidelines represent an important first step towards encouraging openness and collaboration between publishers to address this phenomenon. Read more in the editorial by Jigisha Patel of SpringerNature, who collaborated on the development of the - News
Survey reveals need for guidance on places to publish
…all”. More than 75% would definitely recommend Think. Check. Submit. to a colleague. ● The decision on where to publish is complex and dubious publications can take advantage of that. The top reason given by respondents for selecting a journal to publish in was relevance to their field, followed by inclusion in indexes/impact factor; belief that the journal was trustworthy came third and was… - Case
Ethical approval requirements for case study reports
…what happens if their identifying photographs are published in scientific journals under an open licence. The BMC portfolio has this as an explicit point in their consent for publication policies: authors need to have informed the subject that the publication will be open access and published under CC… - News
In the news: March Digest
…INASP describes how, based on the results of a recent study, their approach to ensuring equity in research will be refocused on supporting researchers wherever they are, and supporting research wherever it is. They will particularly focus on increasing awareness and researchers’ skills, increasing availability of a broader range of research and strengthening national information access systems. - Seminars and webinars
Artificial intelligence and peer review
In this session, COPE Council Member, Mike Streeter, hosts a discussion between Dustin Smith (Hum), and Mohammad Hosseini (postdoctoral researcher and collaborator at the Institute for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine) about the state… Outcomes of editors' attempts to investigate research misconduct
…category of case reported to COPE (42 cases, 9 of which were still open). But only one case led to a formal retraction. In four cases, the enquiries concluded that there was some degree of overlap but not a deliberate attempt to deceive. A notice of duplication was published in just six cases. In most cases, the journal decided to take no public action.- News
Paper mills in the news
…presentations included a talk from Bernhard Sabel, professor at the Otto-von-Guericke-University of Magdeburg, on the topic Fake Publications from Paper Mills: A Global Threat to the Permanent Record. Sabel’s presentation mentions the openly advertised services aimed at students and low ranking institutions on various parts of the internet, and the… - Event
COPE Forum
Register for the July Forum The COPE Forum 4-5.30pm (BST) will be held by webinar and is open to COPE members. Taking part in the Forum allows members to contribute to, as well as learn from, the current cases being discussed. In addition to the cases we will be holding a discussion on "Preprints: What are the issues?" Deadline to register: Friday 21 July - Case
Partial disclosure of redundancy?
The paper was openly deceitful in the reference list, but the work was not discussed and the title in the reference list had been changed. The editor was advised to seek clarification from the authors, and to refer the matter to the head of the author’s institution.… - News
In the news: March 2018 Digest
…href="http://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/amp-amp0000263.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/releases/amp-amp0000263.pdf Sabina Leonelli highlights concerns over how big and open data are currently managed and how these concerns might be addressed - News
In the news: May & June 2022
…to data publication, but further community work is needed toward a responsible and cohesive data publishing ecosystem. Researchers who make their data sets openly available should be valued as highly as authors of published papers;… - News
COPE at COMPARE Life Sciences Workshop on Authorship, UK
…“Communication let me down…” Well it may do (to borrow a lyric from ‘Communication’ by Spandau Ballet), but it doesn’t have to, if communication channels are kept open. That was the take home message following a stimulating afternoon tackling some big questions around authorship with early career researchers of the joint COMPARE (Centre of Membrane Proteins and Receptors)… - Seminars and webinars
Post-publication corrections
…taxonomy of correction notes and comments, and making it easier for readers to raise concerns. Mandating pre-registration of studies could also be helpful in establishing whether research takes place on a trustworthy time-scale. Open research and greater transparency in peer review are all worthy aims, but there is also a need to address the root causes of some of the problems like paper mills. The…