- Case
Is there a time limit for submitting a critique of a published article?
A letter to the editor was submitted to a journal with a comment referring to a study published a year previously. The reader raised concerns about the study and interpretation of the results. The editors of the journal examined the peer review comments of the manuscript and found that the aspects in question were missed out. The journal sought expert advice from an independent reviewer who com… - News
Case discussion: Suspected plagiarism
…discipline. The similarity index needs to be reviewed carefully, and experienced editors will look at all aspects of the article and the sources when deciding if there is significant overlap. Is there a minimum cut-off score below which there is no need to check for plagiarism? One study found… - Case
Can a journal retract a paper against the recommendation of an institutional investigation?
A research article, published several years ago, was alleged to have integrity issues relating to some of the figures. Following detailed checking of the figures, the editors confirmed these issues and found more issues. The authors provided the raw data, some of which also had integrity issues. An institutional investigation concluded that the data were sound but the editor still feels uneasy… - Case
An ambiguous plagiarism case
A paper was published in journal A. The plagiarism check tool did not show any similarity during the peer review process. Some time after publication of the paper, the editor-in-chief was contacted by an author who had published a paper in journal B. They claimed that the paper published in journal A was plagiarised from their MSc research project thesis and asked journal A to ret… - Case
Undeclared author conflict of interest
A journal published a study related to a pilot programme run by an online mental health support resource which, at the time of publication, had a for-profit spinoff. At the time of the publication, this resource would share “anonymised” user data with the spinoff to create and market customer service software. Although this practice of sharing data has since been stopped, the authors of the man… - Case
Request to remove author from submitted manuscript due to academic misconduct
Regarding a submitted (but not yet accepted) paper from a scientific collaboration, one of the authors has asked whether an instance of academic misconduct or - for that matter - any non-scientific but rather unsavoury personal facts or accusations (e.g. a penal or civil proceedings) can be considered as a valid ground for requesting that the journal remove an author from the paper, as per the… - Seminars and webinars
Webinar 2020: Understanding text recycling
…allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Pvbn5M0eENA" width="100%"> Summary Cary Moskovitz explains TRRP's current definition of Text Recycling and the differing perspectives on when text recycling is or is not appropriate. Michael Pemberton shares key… - Forum discussion topics
Predatory publishing: next steps and where do we go from here?
…href="https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/5201748139806364687" target="_blank">Register to attend the Forum, Tuesday 15 December, 2-3.30pm (GMT). The Forum takes place by webinar and is available to COPE members only. --> Related resource COPE's Predatory publishing discussion document Your… - Case
Managing an editor’s undisclosed conflict of interest in a published article
An opinion piece on a polarising political and technological topic was published. A discussion ensued on social media, and shortly after, the publisher received a formal complaint stating that the editor-in-chief of the journal, who had managed the peer review process for the manuscript, had a conflict of interest and should not have made the final acceptance decision. When the publishing team… - Case
Article published at two journals after withdrawal from first journal
Journal B was contacted by a group of authors who had published their article in Journal B a few months previously. The authors were concerned as they found that their article had been published by Journal A, a journal they had previously submitted the article to but withdrawn prior to publication. Journal B requested the withdrawal confirmation from the authors, and this was duly provided. On… - News
Case discussion: Editor manipulation of impact factor
…journal-level citation metrics are widely quoted as an indicator of journal influence, but also widely misused in research evaluation systems. They are known to be prone to manipulation, such that Clarivate Analytics suppresses titles from its Journal… - News
Letter from the COPE co-Chairs: December 2018
…librarians and funders in China voiced support. For “E” and our economic forces, let’s take trends in global research spend. OECD countries spent over USD1trillion on research first in 2010, and continued to increase that budget… - News
Case Discussion: Data fabrication in a rejected manuscript
…their policies regarding data sharing, what data should be made available, and when and where data should be archived. For example, Scientific Data and - Forum discussion topics
Systematic manipulation of the publishing process via “paper mills”
…href="https://publicationethics.org/resources/research/paper-mills-research">Paper mills research report, COPE & STM, 2022 Systematic manipulation of the publication process, COPE guidance updated 2022 Potential “paper mills” and what to do about them – a publisher’s… - News
Post-publication conflicts of interest
…Trevor Lane on behalf of the COPE Education Subcommittee Related resources Editorial conflicts of interest COPE Forum discussion 2022 Terms and conditions
…href="#Top">Back to top Related pages Membership: universities and research institutes Page history Page last updated: 27 May 2022…- News
Case discussion: repeated complaints about a review
…href="https://publicationethics.org/resources/seminars-and-webinars/retractions-taxonomy">Reducing the inadvertent spread of retracted science”, and industry efforts are being made to detect citations of retracted papers. The Cochrane website has guidelines for dealing with Membership application FAQ
…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:- News
Diversity, equity, inclusivity and accessibility: COPE commentary
…within the wider publishing community. In March 2022 we issued a position statement which stated that COPE is committed to creating an inclusive and equitable culture, where all voices are welcomed and heard, and difference is celebrated. Through our words and actions, we intend to work for… COPE Privacy notice
…aria-level="1">Software service providers such as Monday.com, Airtable and Basecamp, that support administrative activities Marketing and engagement service providers, such as Mailchimp and Hootsuite Insights and analytics service providers, such as Google Analytics Form software service providers, such as Jotform and SurveyMonkey