- News
Case discussion: Suspected plagiarism
…from the author? • How long should we wait for a response from the author before reporting to the institute? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Case discussion This case is categorised as a violation of Intellectual Property (IP) standards, which is a - Case
Potential image integrity flags on 15-year-old published papers
…is unlikely. Questions for the Forum After how many years is it acceptable to leave a case unresolved because it would be ineffectual to pursue an investigation? Is there a cut-off point? If there is a cut-off point then should the journal respond to the comment/concern, for example, by posting a note on PubPeer to say that due to the age of the paper and… - Case
Dispute arising from peer review of a rejected comment and published correction
…potential risks? • While recognising the publisher’s original comment/reply policy contributed to this matter, does the Forum have any advice on how the publisher/journal could or should handle similar disputes in future? The policy has been amended to reduce the possibility of conflicts of interest. • How far should the publisher go in trying to resolve disputes between groups (especially… - Guidelines
Retraction guidelines
…COPE's Retraction guidelines for advice and guidance for editors: when should a retraction be considered, what to include in a notice, how quickly to issue a retraction, who should issue a retraction, and what to do when there is inconclusive evidence of a retraction. COPE Guidelines are formal COPE policy and are intended to advise editors and publishers on expected publication… - Case
Lost raw data
In a nutshell, if someone has lost their raw data, workup data and laboratory books (so that in effect their data cannot be checked/queried/verified/substantiated) what would be the implications of submitting his/her results to a journal? I have a very clear view. I would not do it. However, others seem to think that if you cannot prove that the results are wrong, then they must be accepted on… - Case
What involvement should a journal have in a dispute about an article published in the journal?
…data to produce a new paper (if, indeed, a re-analysis leads to new results). Should they not choose to pursue this, the journal intends to publish the scholar’s reply and original author’s response, likely alongside a final word from the editor-in-chief. Any response or outcome along these lines is still pending. How might editors ensure the integrity of data beyond the safeguards built into… - Case
“Medical research” using data in the public domain
Information on competitors participating in a popular sporting activity was obtained from a website in the public domain. The authors used this data to see if the competitors' personal characteristics (height, weight etc.) affected their chances of winning. The editor asked the authors how they obtained consent from the competitors for this study. The authors responded saying that this data… - Discussion documents
Artificial intelligence (AI) in decision making
The COPE 'Artificial intelligence (AI) in decision making' discussion document introduces issues to be considered alongside the opportunities AI solutions offer in the publication process, with recommendations on best practices. The use of AI in the publication process is intended to increase the speed of decision making during the review process and reduce the burden on editors,… - Case
Enquiry regarding copyright/retractions
…or updated) but that Editors/Publishers are not in agreement as to whether this is appropriate or how this should be approached. Aside from making a judgement on whether the submission is ‘redundant’ to the record, the journal’s main concern is that, if they consider the paper, they should avoid breaching the copyright/publishing agreement made between the other publisher and the… - News
In the news: July 2020
…coin. He opines that preprints allow for speed of publication and that steps need to be taken to ensure that readers understand that there is a corresponding higher degree of uncertainty. He describes the concentric circle of scientific knowledge discovery to dissemination to the public and how information needs along this pathway differ. COVID-19 publications on preprint servers have certainly… - Seminars and webinars
Handling a case of misconduct
…for collaboration. She also identifies two further issues which recur through the session: the time taken to resolve allegations, and the increased number of complex and systematic problems which are being uncovered. Subsequent investigations can be complex: for a publisher the case can involve a range of issues; information can be reported from many different sources; necessitate liaising with… - Case
An unpublished PhD thesis included in an institutional library is submitted to an academic journal
A manuscript was submitted to Journal A. A routine CrossCheck report revealed a 70% match to the author's PhD thesis. The journal recommended that the author expand the article with new content. The author raised an objection, arguing that the PhD thesis is not published in a journal, but is only included in the institutional library. The journal noted that related issues had… FORUM DISCUSSION TOPIC: comments please
…considered to be a potential attempt to manipulate an author’s own h-index. So where’s the line? What is a peer reviewer’s responsibility in terms of calling out self-citation? While journals often expect that reviewers will read a paper inside and out, front to back, how much time does a peer reviewer actually spend looking at the reference list? And even if they do…- Case
Retraction of the first article in the case of duplicate publication
…COPE. Regardless of the reason for the duplicate publication, or how it came about, we felt that as we had published second, the onus was on us to retract the article. We are concerned that the authors have chosen which published article to keep in the public domain and have avoided a retraction notice mentioning the duplicate publication. As there is no longer a duplicate publication, there… - Case
Image duplication
…and asked for the opportunity to repeat the experiments. The response was again reviewed by the senior editor and discussed at a meeting of the editorial board, which again confirmed the view that there was a problem with one particular image. It was therefore decided not to accede to the request and the author was notified that a retraction for one paper would be issued (earlier it had also… FORUM DISCUSSION TOPIC: comments please
…archiving and sharing. If there is no enforcement of a data sharing policy, and the infrastructure to support data sharing is lacking (it is currently patchy, although well developed in Australia, for example) and the editors do not have a policy of peer review of the data prior to acceptance of the paper, how will requiring data sharing actually improve the integrity of the research? Other questions…- Case
Potential redundant publication
…institution to request it also reviews the researchers’ raw data. _ How can the editors pursue this course of action if they do not wish to publish the paper? If the editors told the authors of their intention not to publish, their position would be weakened and the authors might not bother to reply. _ Editors are privileged whistleblowers as they are harder to attack than a colleague expressing concerns… - Case
Preprint plagiarism
…plagiarism has occurred from a preprint. Measures that the journal can take to help prevent this happening in the future could be for the journal to review their author guidelines to ensure there is sufficient information on how to cite preprints, if the journal allows preprint citations. If a case of plagiarism arises, the journal may wish to follow COPE’s flowchart on