- Case
“I was acknowledged but I should be an author”
…from the author that was originally shared with the complainant and that I have seen). The analysis presented in the published paper was slightly but not substantially different from one of a number that the complainant had earlier performed. The author insists that neither of these points is correct and that the complainant had no role in the formation of the paper but rather had suggested… - Case
Personal remarks within a post-publication literature forum
…emotive), give him the chance to edit them further and then send the final version to him (Member B) to “check”, although we made it clear that he had no power to veto it, but rather to ensure that the edited comments were not seen as personal anymore. He agreed to the approach. We did all of the above. Member A was happy to have his comments edited, we showed it to Member B who was… - Case
Publication of papers from industry sponsored symposium
Our scientific/medical Society added a Special Symposium to its Annual Meeting Program. The symposium organiser, who is an academic member of the Society, invited seven speakers, all from academic institutions, in addition to himself to speak at the symposium. Support for the symposium as a whole was solicited independently by the Development Committee of the Society and had no influence on… - Case
An article in a high profile journal that potentially misappropriates research published in lower impact journals
…published work should be published unless Editors have convincing reasons why they cannot be”. Hence if the editor refuses to publish the complaint then the author could call into question their compliance with COPE’s Code of Conduct. However, in his or her defence, the editor would probably note that posting the authors’ comments on the website constitutes publication, given that there is no… - Case
Dispute over authorship and usage of research protocol
…communicate with one another in order to find a resolution to the problem and agree how, or if, this paper should be published in a journal issue or whether it should be retracted outright. Dr Z has since written to Professor X saying that there was no agreed usage of the protocol or publication plan and that he was kept informed of the ongoing project. Dr Z reiterated an offer to change the list of authors… - Case
Is it unethical to reject unregistered (or late-registered) trials?
…the editor to decide whether or not a study should be published. All authors should now be aware of the regulations so there is no excuse for not registering a trial. However, it was pointed out that many journals do not require trial registration and so the authors can always have their work published elsewhere. Editors need to balance the benefits of having a strict policy requiring prospective… - Case
Findings of a published trial called into question by a subsequent audit of trial conduct
…accurate by our journal). The following concerns were raised by the regulatory authorities:(1) There was no medical involvement in the process for informed consent, which was delegated to a non-medical practitioner. The country’s regulations require that a medical practitioner informs a participant and confirms this. The local ethics committee has been informed by the regulator about this… - Guidelines
Retraction guidelines
…to subscribers) State who is retracting the article State the reason(s) for retraction Be objective, factual and avoid inflammatory language Retractions are not usually appropriate if: The authorship is disputed but there is no reason to doubt the validity of the findings The main findings of the work are still reliable and correction… - Case
Author refuses to comply with editorial review prior to production and publication
…of the journal (independent of the earlier process and with no conflicts of interest) to arbitrate the case, with both sides agreeing to accept the outcome. The editor may wish to check that the journal guidelines clearly state the procedure about copy, technical, and/or style editing and formatting, so that authors know what to expect. It should also be pointed out that the journal… - Case
Is ethics committee approval necessary for retrospective clinical studies?
A journal received a manuscript on risk factors for a disease, which had no ethics committee approval or dispensation. The clinical data were collected from the electronic and physical histories of the patients during hospitalization. The authors stated that the study was not submitted to an ethics review board because these data are "secondary." In some countries, this type of research will… - Case
Authors requesting withdrawal of articles from similarity check database in order to re-publish
…database. Crossref is seeing an increasing number of requests like this, where authors are asking for their articles to be removed from journals that they no longer perceive to be a suitable place for publication. Removing the article from the Similarity Check database will allow the author to publish elsewhere, but it could be argued that this obscures the scholarly record by “hiding” the fact that… - Case
Deceased author and author delaying publication
…the journal publishes the paper, a note on the proof should make clear that this author has died before they were able to approve the proofs. If the surviving author is not being responsive, the journal should consider approaching their institution or their peers within a departmental or co-investigators, stating that the journal might not be able to proceed with publication if no response is… - Case
Should we retract a published paper with a high similarity match?
…research and the 2022 paper contains no new wet lab findings. The Editorial Office then issued an internal audit and noticed that in the peer-review process, one reviewer and an associate suggested rejecting the paper. The Editor-in-Chief accepted the paper as a final decision and it was published. Recently, we contacted some board members to review the manuscript again, and the board member… - Case
Post-publication correction because of lack of consent
…them with a 'formal reprimand', although no further action was taken. The journal will almost certainly have to redact at least part of the article (in addition to issuing a retraction notice) in the interests of protecting the identity of the participants. It is not possible to retrospectively anonymise the information. Question for COPE Council What are… - Case
Plagiarism case
…graphs/figures, given the identical equations? While the COPE flow charts are there as a guide, there is no substitute for common sense in looking at particular cases. The editor is going to have to determine if there is sufficiently 'new' information (in terms of new data and results) to make the call on issuing a correction or a retraction (not an Expression of Concern where an outcome is not… - Case
Author with recidivist behaviour involving simultaneous submissions
…appropriately and would recommend that the editor/publisher contact the offending author's institution with the evidence so that the institution can determine whether or not to conduct an investigation into the author's unethical behaviour. This behaviour has to be tackled at source. The journal could check their author guidelines to ensure they are clear regarding the requirement of no simultaneous… - Case
Should we allow pseudonymous authorship?
…may be helpful to consider developing some, for example, along the lines of ‘No fictitious name should be listed as an author or coauthor.… Membership subscription fees
…financial hardship may apply to COPE Council for reduced membership subscription fees. Notes Prices in UK Sterling, no VAT is charged for membership. All payments must be made by electronic transfer. Cheques are not valid. Related pages- News
Artificial intelligence in the news
…conventions go together, enabling them to produce text on almost any topic. Threats and opportunities As this study of AI in higher education observed last year AI is often seen in very binary terms, particularly that of threat as opposed to opportunity. While no one doubts that AI tools are here to stay – and some scholarly publishers… Seminars
…Office for Research Ethics and Integrity at the University of Melbourne Download presentation [PDF 1MB] CrossMark: there is no final version — Geoffrey Bilder, CrossMark View presentation Poster: Legal…