- Case
Retraction update?
…Ethical Scientific Publications of the journal feels that they owe it to the readers of the journal to clarify all of the problems with the data reported in the original paper (as well as in the other papers).… - Case
A systematic review on a country’s health problem written by non-native authors
…not include primary data collection and analyses. Questions for COPE Council Are there ethical issues that the journal should be aware of? Could the non-inclusion of authors from the country under study be a firm ground for rejection? … - Discussion documents
Responding to anonymous whistleblowers, January 2013
…anonymous including fear of a loss of position (especially for more junior participants in a research or clinical project) should their name come to light. More recently, however, a new phenomenon has arisen – that of individuals using the anonymity provided by the web to provide tip offs on a range of issues relating to publication ethics. This document suggests how editors should respond. We welcome… - Case
Reproducibility of methodology
A whistle blower contacted journal A regarding two published articles. The articles focus on the effect of energy healing on an in-vitro model of disease. The whistle blower raised concerns about the appropriateness and reproducibility of the energy healing methodology used. The authors were contacted to provide an explanation of the methodology as there was a lack of clarity in… - Case
Authorship of a commentary
…Is it ethical for the associate editor to author a commentary on a manuscript they handled? … - Case
Author cannot be located
…accept decision if the deadline is not met, perhaps changing to a "withdrawal" if the journal system allows. The editor should make sure all of the coauthors are aware of any decisions. The editor might give the authors the opportunity to resubmit an unchanged version of the article later, subject to meeting all the usual ethical checks before publishing, if the research is still relevant. - News
In the news: January 2021
…Publication ethics news January 2021 Each month, COPE Council members find and share publication ethics news. This month the news includes articles on image manipulation, peer review, preprints, and more. Research integrity A - Case
Duplicate publication
Sixteen randomly chosen papers were examined from a PubMed search of 370 publications between 1995–2000 by the same author. Two papers were virtually identical, differing only in the form of the introductory paragraph and the list of authors. Neither publication acknowledges the other. Another paper reported a “second ever published case”, and two subsequent papers reported the same “second” ca… - Case
Can a journal retract a paper against the recommendation of an institutional investigation?
…an institutional investigation does not find misconduct. The editor is responsible for the ethical standards of their journal, and if the editor has independent evidence that warrants correction or retraction, it is appropriate for the editor to express concern and retract, regardless of the findings of the institutional investigation. While an institutional investigation should not be "ignored",… - Seminars and webinars
Post-publication critiques
…="https://publicationethics.org/resources/flowcharts/handling-post-publication-critiques">Handling post-publication critiques COPE flowchart Addressing ethics complaints from people who submit multiple issues COPE discussion document Back to top … - News
Case discussion: critiques after publication
…investigating and addressing concerns received at any time about the integrity of published research. If editors receive readers’ concerns about an article’s integrity, they are ethically bound to act. The editor needs to decide if the paper needs to be retracted, referring to the COPE Retraction Guidelines, and could ask the author’s… - Case
Attempt to supress legitimate scientific results
…responding to ensure the paper is corrected. I think this indicates the concern that these parties have in ensuring the information is accurate. The errors of fact and subsequent speculation to consequences related to worker safety and fumigation efficacy are problematic.” The editor gave this matter urgent attention by reviewing the paper and checking the journal’s ethical guidelines (which are… - News
Case discussion: Possible breach of reviewer confidentiality
…peer review processes are transparent, understandable, and accessible. In particular, the type/s of peer review model offered and instructions about expected responsibilities, behaviour, performance, and ethical standards of peer reviewers should be clearly stated in the journal’s website and invitation to review. Relevant COPE guidance that can be referenced or incorporated into journal… Self-Citation - Forum discussion November 2017
…SELF-CITATION - WHERE'S THE LINE? A recent post on Scholarly Kitchen raised some interesting points about the ethics surrounding citation, and specifically self-citation. Previously, COPE has discussed related issues surrounding- Webform
COPE Asia-Pacific Workshop, Melbourne 2020
…Publication ethics workshop Tuesday 15 September 2020, 1-4.30pm Jasper Hotel, Melbourne About Registration Special offer: ISMTE 2020 Asia-Pacific Conference Your privacy - Case
Failure to ask permission
…that the two references are sufficient, and that the author’s only mistake is leaving off an acknowledgment on one of the tables, which they will remedy at the next printing. (1) Have the authors acted unethically? (2) Do I have an ethical duty to take this further, or should I just continue to enjoy my retirement?… - Discussion documents
Best practice in theses publishing. March 2017
Introduction Traditionally, theses for higher degrees were published by universities in hard copy only. Now increasingly, these are also archived and may be made freely available via university repositories. They may or may not have associated licenses such as those from Creative Commons which also allow reuse. Questions have arisen at COPE forums and other venues… - Discussion documents
Sharing of information among editors-in-chief regarding possible misconduct
Handling ethics cases can be a difficult, complex task, particularly when multiple papers and journals are involved. These guidelines have been developed to help editors conduct investigations with greater efficiency and effectiveness, and support consistency, fairness and transparency in communicating with authors and institutions. - News
Letter from the COPE Chair: November 2020
…saw a team at Texas Tech University launch the first phase of the STEM Training in Ethics of Publication Practices (STEPP) programme; a 3 year project, supported by the National Science Foundation, to research and develop training on the topic of predatory publishing. Our colleagues at the - Case
Potential duplicate publication
…different readerships on “x” screening must surely be beneficial if the basic messages reach more readers. ” 5. Finally, they stated that “We are more than aware of the ethical considerations, as several of our members have sat on LREC and national agency ethics committees. ” The editors are concerned that the duplicate publication will skew data on the screening of x condition and that there is now…