Outcomes of editors' attempts to investigate research misconduct
…fund. The trust board had agreed with the consultant that if he went quietly, they would not inform the GMC or inform the police, and they would destroy the evidence. When I reported this man to the GMC, the medical director was the chair of the professional conduct committee. When I went to the NHS fraud squad they told me: "We don't really worry unless it's more than £15- News
Case Discussion: Inconclusive institutional investigation into authorship dispute
…the editor in the same position. A common thread through similar cases where an institutional investigation is not available or is inadequate is the need to escalate the case to a regional or national authority if one is available. That was the advice in this case. Editors may not know who to contact in some cases, which was the subject of a recent article in the November Digest ( - News
In the news: April 2021
…="https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/03/who-camille-no-s-fictitious-french-researcher-nearly-200-papers" target="_blank">created a fictional author, Camille Nous. The name of the fictional author has now been included on the author list of 180 journal papers in wide-ranging topics. The ethics of this protest are difficult as this "flouts the principle of taking responsibility alongside the credit of authorship", and if a paper… - News
In the news: May 2021
…tracking if the research papers listed on a scientist’s Google Scholar profile, where the funder has a public access mandate, are free to read. This interview with Anurag Acharya, the co-founder of Google Scholar explains the thinking behind this. Journal management In this - Case
Serial plagiarism by an experienced author
…appropriately. Where the overlap is found to exceed an acceptable level, we write to the author(s) providing a link to the full report and inviting them to withdraw the submission, or alternatively to revise it extensively to reduce the overlap and to indicate where they are quoting the work of others (or their own previously published work). We also ask for their comments on the overlap. If the… - Case
Undisclosed conflict of interest
…paper, unless there are serious concerns with the data. Hence the Forum would agree with the publication of an updated COI statement as a corrigendum, perhaps with an editorial notice. The Forum also suggested collaborating with the institution on their investigation. If the institution finds there are fabricated or serious flaws in the data, then the editor may wish to consider retracting the article.… Subcommittees and working groups
…of concerns and issues. Provide recommendations on general communication and expectations from journals and publishers in relation to concerns raised to their and COPE’s attention Refer concerns to the COPE sanctions process if/when deemed appropriate. Submit a concern or issue to the…- News
Case discussion: gift authorship
…unaware of the ICMJE authorship criteria. Other factors associated with gift authorship were an increasing number of authors and if the first author had previously offered someone inappropriate authorship. Journals, research groups, and institutions all need effective authorship training and better contribution declaration procedures, especially as trends in collaborative, interdisciplinary, and… - News
In the news: July 2021
…peer review and editorial process? Poor reproducibility of published research is a major issue which can lead to harm if the results of the research are spurious but implemented. The author argues that Open Science principles should guide publishers to open up channels specific to reproducibility by… - News
In the news: March Digest
…Moher, Director of the Centre for Journalology at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, is seeking feedback from stakeholders on proposed activities aimed at monitoring, measuring, and stopping predatory journals. Email [email protected] if you are interested in participating as soon as possible, and the research team will… - News
Guest article: Research misconduct
…they possess data which, if shared, might help to understand the problem of research misconduct better. However, journals and publishers are trapped in the same culture as individual researchers and institutions. They too are motivated to convey an image of excellence and infallibility. Publishers and journals, protective of reputations, are not open and transparent about the extent of misconduct… - News
COPE in 2023
…expectations from the wider research community who rightly expect that if journal is a member of COPE that they will follow COPE best practice standards. It is clear from external discussions that have taken place about COPE’s role that we need to make these expectations clearer and review existing policies and processes to ensure that they remain relevant to today’s needs. Accordingly, one such area that we… - News
In the news: June Digest
…. https://www.wiley.com/network/journaleditors/latest-content/better-peer-review" target="_blank">https://www.wiley.com/network/journaleditors/latest-content/better-peer-review Post publication peer review of PLOS articles is unusual-occurring for only 7.4% papers and it has been declining. About 1/3 of such comments are procedural (like copy editing comments) and of the remaining, only about 1/2 discuss the content of the paper. The authors note that if post… - News
Authorship and Contributorship focus: an editor view and research institution view
…from COPE’s Cases Database. Based on the nature of these cases, which often come down to two or more contradicting viewpoints, if an authorship dispute arises during peer review, there is little the journal can do other than put the manuscript “on hold” and refer the situation to the authors’ institutions. Due to the need for help from institutional contacts[HLT1] , journal collaboration with… - News
Letter from the COPE co-Chairs: April 2019
…-institutions-and-journals-research-integrity">stakeholders at universities, we need to work effectively with people around the world, and we need insights from people within disciplines that are historically less well-travelled by COPE. If the… Editing, reviewing and writing during COVID-19
We bring together support and guidance on issues that have come about during this crisis. The collection includes articles on how authors, editors and reviewers are handling their work during this period and guidelines developed in response to the changing environment and workflow. If you are a COPE member and have a particular publication ethics case that you would like to share with…History of COPE
…BMJ, The Lancet, British Journal of Anaesthesia, Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Annals of Rheumatic Diseases and Journal of Clinical Pathology, and the first open meeting was held in November 1997. Richard Smith (editor of the BMJ) wrote “[COPE] may not prove useful in the long term, and we will be delighted if it is made…- News
In the news: January Digest
…href="https://www.bmj.com/content/367/bmj.l6460" target="_blank">https://www.bmj.com/content/367/bmj.l6460 Systematic reviews and meta-analyses are widely used to inform clinical guidelines and decision making. Powerful organisations have emerged to construct a knowledge base in medicine underpinned by the results of systematic reviews. But what if systematic reviews are in fact doing more harm than good? - News
Where next in peer review? Part 1: COPE commentary
…manipulation of the peer review process COPE infographic Peer review suspected during the peer review process COPE flowchart Peer review suspected after… - News
In the news: October-November 2021
…available in 40 languages. Research misconduct Including investigators on grant applications who intend to offer little or no effort on subsequent work if the grant is awarded is labled "false investigator" and was admitted to by > 20% of respondents in…