- 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
Case discussion: self-plagiarism and suspected salami publishing
…manuscript processing, including signed copyright transfer and/or publishing agreements. Trevor Lane on behalf of the COPE Education Subcommittee… - News
Guest editorial: Data availability statements
…responsibility lies with authors and editors to be aware of such relevant regulations at the time of publication to be articulated in the DAS. The inclusion of a DAS in articles should promote actual data sharing, recognizing that data sharing is a fundamental step towards increasing the reproducibility and trustworthiness of science. However, as indicated by Ian… - Case
Withdrawal of acceptance based on potentially unconsented data
…even a research type letter, the authors could remove the affected material and references, without referring to the retracted papers. If the letters cite the papers in the context of journalology, or criticise the same issues that underlie later retraction, it could be argued the letters could stay, with an explanatory editorial note (see for example - Forum discussion topics
Ethical considerations around book publishing
…href="https://publicationethics.org/events/cope-forum-tuesday-23-march">publication ethics cases will be presented for discussion and advice from the Forum participants. Register to attend the Forum, Tuesday 23 March, 2-3.30pm (GMT). The Forum takes place by webinar and is available to COPE members only. --> Your comments Anyone… - Forum discussion topics
Peer review models
…introduction to the COPE Forum discussion on the topic "Peer review models" with COPE Council Member, Patrick Franzen. COPE Forum discussion Peer review sits at the core of scholarly publishing.… - Case
A lost author and a new hypothesis
A paper was published in January 1998,and seven authors were credited. B was thanked for his contribution in the acknowledgements section. One year later B wrote to the editor, outlining two alleged incidents related to this paper. First, the cohort reported in the January 1998 paper was one that B had been working on since the early 1990s. In 1992–3 he sought collaboration with another researc… - News
New Members: July-October 2019
…href="https://publicationethics.org/core-practices">Core Practices. New members ACS Chemical Heath & Safety Advances in Operator Theory Annals of Functional Analysis - Case
Alleged unauthorized use of data and possible dual publication
…Since the reviewer’s evaluation of the method did not contain any concrete arguments, the senior author assumed that the reviewer was referring to a polemic about the method by another author, published in the same journal in which the senior author countered these arguments. The method continues to be the most widely used, cited over 90 times (the associate editor points out that it was cited mainly… - Case
Author of rejected letter blames global bias against his message and undisclosed conflicts of interest
…think it might be a conflict of interest. We would then assess their response against our current requirements regarding declarations of interest. Dr C quickly sent a couple of inflammatory emails in his usual style, where he repeated that there is a “universal conflict of interest that must be disclosed” because 90% of authors, editors and reviewers belong to the same bias ‘advocacy group.’ He… - Event
COPE webinar: Standards in authorship
…are just some of the questions we intend to cover during the webinar. There will be an open discussion with questions from attendees. You can email your question in advance or ask questions during the webinar. The webinar is free, and open to COPE members only. Register for authorship… - Seminars and webinars
Inclusive language: policing or progressive?
…initial !important} /*-->*/ /*-->*/ Back to top Chaired by COPE Trustee… - News
Case discussion: repeated complaints about a review
…guidelines), registered publicly in advance (eg, on PROSPERO), or submitted to a peer-reviewed journal as a protocol paper or registered report before the actual research starts. Meta-analyses may need statistical adjustments to minimise or correct for biases. An additional sensitivity analysis that omits inferior primary studies may be… The ethics of audit and research
…are issues around the ossification of process, how innovation and change can be accommodated, and about the perverse incentives that any bureaucratic system imposes on everyone who interacts with it. In a recent paper in the BMJ (2005; 330: 468-73), Derek Wade…- News
Case Discussion: Lack of trial registration leads to new concerns about study conduct and ethical review/approval
…Trevor Lane on behalf of the COPE Education Subcommittee… - News
Authorship and Contributorship focus: an editor view and research institution view
…://publicationethics.org/resources/seminars/copes-first-webinar-information-shared-discussion-and-practical-advice-common">COPE’s webinar on “Standards in Authorship.” Mark Hooper and colleagues from QUT shared several resources on authorship and publication. In addition, Siu-wai Leung, University of… - 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
Who ensures the integrity of the editor?
An editor came across a letter from the editor-in-chief of his journal to a reviewer that asserted he had recommended the acceptance of a manuscript. He had in fact recommended the opposite, both verbally and in writing. The paper in question was a guideline on the therapeutic choices for a relatively common medical condition. The authors had claimed their conclusions and therapeutic recommenda… - News
Intellectual property focus
…guide authors in when not to post work to a preprint platform. Publishers and editors could further assist authors by helping to update the SHERPA/RoMEO database, an online resource on publisher copyright and self-archiving policies. Authors' contributions to journals must in turn respect the intellectual property rights of… - 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…