- Case
A member of an author group listed on a paper denies authorship
…concerning that study. This would give the reader more confidence in the system. All agreed that the best course of action is to have a policy on this issue for future such incidences.… - News
Letter from the COPE co-Chairs: August 2018
…articles, then talk about what type of citation practice is considered manipulation, that could result in suppression of a journal in the Journal Citation Report (JCR). Reviewers and editors are at the front line, determining the academic value of citations to ensure the integrity of the content. Geri Pearson COPE co-chairs - News
Letter from the COPE co-Chairs: March 2019
…I never forgot the experience and share this as we talk about COPE’s Core Practice of Authorship in this month’s Digest. The boundaries and rules around authorship have undergone some transformative changes in the past decades. Now the journal I edit requires a signed ICJME author… - Case
Nuisance author
…You can listen to the podcast of this case from the menu on the right An author submitted a paper which went through the review process and was rejected. He is now sending abusive emails to me, the editor, and spamming an enormous number of people in his research area and the government (he even tried to contact the royal office) as a protest. He continues to submit his paper (over 20… Outcomes of editors' attempts to investigate research misconduct
…Plagiarism 7 2 2 2 14% Total (%) 79 16 (20) 15 (19) 23 (29) 36 (46) In about one in five cases, the individual was exonerated. But in about 20% of cases,…- News
Reflections on the COPE North American Seminar 2019
…(AHSS). Two panel sessions covered 1) an overview of the issues involved in inclusivity and diversity and 2) the challenges and suggested solutions for scholarly communications with 6 speakers and a lot of time for discussion and audience participation. Following lunch, the participants participated in an interactive workshop discussing up to 6 challenging cases of misconduct or questionable practices… - News
Paper mills in the news
…href="https://publicationethics.org/node/55256">Paper mills research report. Editors, join us for a webinar in September when invited speakers will share their experience on how to manage paper mills. Related resources Practical steps for managing paper mills, COPE Webinar, 20 September 2022 - Case
Suspected image manipulation involving four journals
…other editors but in a neutral manner, without accusations or blame. The COPE guidelines "Sharing of Information Among Editors-in-Chief Regarding Possible Misconduct" (http://publicationethics.org/files/Sharing%20_of_Information_Among_EiCs_...) provides practical guidance on this… FORUM DISCUSSION TOPIC: Authorship, contributorship, who's doing what, and what do we need?
…once they arise. However, it is now not clear whether authorship guidelines reflect current research practices, let alone future needs, and there is increasing discussion whether contributorship or some other method should be used instead. Questions for discussion: How frequently do you see authorship disputes at your journal – and if so of what type?…- Case
Lost raw data
The Forum was unanimous in the view that if an editor is made aware that the raw data are missing, they would not publish the paper. However, the Forum agreed that it is not practical to ask authors to submit their raw data, although some journals do ask for certain types of data to be deposited in a public database and some journals ask for original digital images. But if an editor asks an… - Flowcharts
Changes in authorship: Removal of author – before publication
COPE's guidance, as a flowchart, on what to do for removal of an author before publication. Changes in authorship: Removal of author - before publication - Flowcharts
Changes in authorship: Removal of author – after publication
COPE's guidance, as a flowchart, on what to do for removal of an author after publication. Changes in authorship: Removal of author - after publication - Event
World Congress on Research Integrity WCRI2024
…on “Tackling racial and ethnic bias when translating research into policy.” In particular, she will focus on the need for diversity in authors, referees, and editors when reporting and disseminating research results. Dan Kulp, COPE Chair, will be a panellist in the symposium “Toward responsible clinical trial data sharing practices.” It will be an exciting meeting, and I look forward to… - Case
Possible overlapping publications/data
…actually true. As editor of journal A, I forwarded all the information to my publisher. I plan to contact the authors on review and after discussion with COPE. My publisher has also informed journals B and C of our plans to contact COPE before taking any initial action. As well as asking for guidance on how best to handle this case, we would like COPE’s opinion on which journal should be… - News
Diversity, equity, inclusivity and accessibility: COPE commentary
…build on our efforts. First, at our residential Trustee and Council meeting in June, we engaged a professional trainer to challenge us on our understanding of systemic bias and inclusive practice. We were asked to identify key areas in our work where we encounter unconscious bias and to identify these in ourselves. We discussed COPE’s sphere… - Case
Institution wants to retract despite ongoing legal proceedings
Generally, it is best if journals do not get involved in legal arguments. The advice would be not to proceed with the requested retraction while there are ongoing legal proceedings. The Forum acknowledge this is not a perfect solution as legal proceedings can be lengthy. However, the journal might take the stance that until the institution or the author who complained states exactly… - Seminars and webinars
COPE webinar: Enhancing partnerships of institutions and journals
…one of which is the Office of Research Integrity (ORI).The challenges institutions face are confidentiality requirements, groups working on different timelines, and who journals should contact. Three US Research Integrity Officers (RIOs) set up a working group to discuss key topics and develop best practices. Both RIOs and journal editors experience similar problems in interactions with each other… - Case
Disputed authorship
…· She sounded like a contributor, not an author. · It is common practice to put people on abstracts even when they had only had a small part. · It is dangerous practice to involve someone at one level (in this case the… - Case
Misunderstood requirements for authorship
…identified. It was his belief that such a practice was expected and condoned in this country. Professor Y did not catch this error since Dr X submitted the manuscript to your journal without his review and input. Your email and the resulting meeting allowed me to fully explain this misunderstanding to Dr X in hopes that he does not make similar mistakes in the future. It also provided a mechanism by… - Case
Publishing a letter concerning a paper published in another journal many years ago
Recently, Journal X received a letter to the editor based on an article published in another journal about 8 years previously. The editors of Journal X believe this letter is important to their readers. The original article was a seminal paper which changed practice. However, a group of authors challenged some of the data published in this trial in a subsequent review published about…