- News
Letter from the COPE co-Chairs: November 2018
…survey. If you would be interested in getting your voice heard, please register your interest here." And finally, we want to welcome four new Council members: Timothy Devinney from Leeds, Gavin Swanson from CUP, Laura Wilson from Emerald and Daoxin Yin from… - Case
Paper submitted by a PR company without the knowledge of the authors
…had given permission for their name to be attached to the paper, asked who was the corresponding author, and also if they wished to declare any conflict of interest. This produced a very interesting flurry. One author said the paper had been produced as a result of a seminar to which he and the other contributing authors had been invited. He himself believed that he was simply giving advice to the… - Case
Dual submission, salami slicing, redundant publication, or all three?
…the companion paper. Many journals have this sort of provision in their instructions to authors. These make authors think twice about attempting inappropriate dual submission. What would happen if an editor requests the author to provide the companion paper and the author refuses? The COPE guidelines on redundant publication state that at submission, authors should disclose details… - Case
A survey of doctors’ opinions, with no IRB approval or written consent
…participants (all doctors) from this study seems low. Nevertheless, the survey might conceivably have included questions of a personal nature that could have caused distress (eg, reasons for immigration). The licensing board was not informed about the survey. If we report this doctor to the licensing board, it may well affect the author's chances of employment in country B.… - Case
Has formal ethical approval been granted that satisfies publication criteria?
…interventional study. (B) These players are under age and therefore warrant additional protection. (C) These players are vying for selection and there is no obvious protection from them being coerced into participation Whilst new training regimens are being introduced into clubs all the time, if the findings are intended to be disseminated through formal publication, then ethics approval… - Case
An enquiry about arbitrating reviewers
…the editor is introducing bias, even by showing a third reviewer the previous reviews. All agreed that the editor needs to make the decision on what he thinks is best for his journal. The journal could, perhaps, audit the process and see if there is any evidence of bias (i.e. whether papers that undergo review by a third reviewer are more or less likely to be accepted than those that are reviewed by… Audit your journal
…Instructions for Authors. In the present version of the audit we have provided links to other COPE documents and the most relevant external resources. If you have suggestions for other resources or links that might be helpful, please use the contact form to let us know.…- Discussion documents
Sharing of information among editors-in-chief regarding possible misconduct
… Becoming an editor of a journal is an exciting but daunting task, especially if you are working alone without day to day contact with editorial colleagues This guidance has been updated following a COPE Forum Discussion in 2013, initiated in… - News
Creating and implementing research data policies: COPE webinar report
…availability, and, if available, to require persistent identifier/s and applicable licence information. The guidelines ask for certain TOP Statements to be provided in journals, as explained in a preprint about implementing the guidelines. Audience questions covered practical… - Case
Dispute arising from peer review of a rejected comment and published correction
…nothing at all. The groups have been informed of this, and that the journal remains amenable to publishing a statement if the two parties are able to agree a form of words between themselves. Nevertheless, the publisher regularly reviews its working practices and editorial policies, and this case has contributed to a change of the policies enacted by the publisher to reduce the likelihood of… - News
Letter from the COPE Chair: June 2019
…payers. It also addresses issues of protecting and promoting the scholarly record which is a common issue for us all. We hope that this different lens on the issue will be helpful for our members and the community of scholars who also use our materials. If you would like to be notified when the COPE Predatory Publishing Discussion Document is available, please - Case
Allegation of reviewer malpractice
…independently by the Journal. Bias by the reviewer and collusion seems more likely if the reviewer was nominated by the author. Journal A encourages nomination of suitable reviewers, but only uses them sometimes, and always with another one chosen separately. The editor of Journal A is seeking legal advice about revealing whether the reviewer was nominated by the author. The Journal is also going to introduce… - Case
Competing interest
- This case raises serious concerns. The connection was not made clear and this is a full conflict of interest. - The paper should be retracted. - The author should be asked explicitly if s/he had been paid by drug companies to write this review.… - Case
Author dispute over need for retraction
…retract the paper. The institution now plans to contact the journal to request that the paper be retracted. If the journal does not retract the paper, what other options are available to highlight the dispute between the authors? Should this dispute be brought to the attention of readers, given that that case for retraction is inconclusive?… - Case
Author dispute over internal report
…they have made every effort thus far to comply with author A. Author A believes that there is still merit in a paper bringing together the data discussed in the offending article, but with correct attribution and incorporation of some data from author B’s PhD thesis. This article would be written by author B alone, with acknowledgement of the help from authors A, B and D. If all authors… - Case
Image manipulation as a general practice
The advice from the Forum was for journals to strengthen their guidance on this issue. Journals should provide clear guidelines in their instructions to authors on what is acceptable. Original data, such as gels, should not be used as illustrations, without an explanation. Line drawings, for example, can be used to illustrate a point, but if original data are being used just to illustrate… - Guidelines
How to handle authorship disputes: a guide for new researchers
…Acknowledgements may be acceptable to a journal when contributions do not constitute authorship. Authors should describe what each author contributed to the research project. The order of authors should be decided jointly between the authors and make it clear the editor the reasons behind the author order. All authors should be listed. People should not be added as authors if… - Discussion documents
Who 'owns' peer reviews? September 2017
This COPE discussion document introduces issues and guidance around the ownership of peer reviews. Questions discussed include: who has ownership of peer review comments; who gets to determine whether a review can be made public, and if so, which parties would be required to consent to its publication. The document also covers whether the sharing of reviewer comments breaches the… - Seminars and webinars
European Seminar 2019: Exploring Publication Ethics Issues in the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences
… 4) 54% of respondents experience issues with the way authors receive and respond to criticism with 27% of them flagging this as a frequent issue. Editors reported feeling responsible for mentoring authors, such as encouraging them to keep revising manuscripts and to focus on constructive comments. They also saw themselves as mediating the relationship between author and publisher if peer… - Guidelines
Ensuring consent for publishing medical case reports
…information laws, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 in the USA. Journals should make a blank copy of the form available on their website and require authors to attest that it, or a form that includes all the elements of the form, has been signed by the patient or a proxy. If the patient or proxy has signed a form that differs from the form adopted by…