- Case
Concerns regarding image manipulation and inconsistent figure legends
…responses satisfactorily addressed all the issues queried and the university was asked to investigate. The university confirmed that the investigation procedure was underway but could not predict how long it would take. At the Editor-in-Chief's request, the university agreed to keep the journal informed of progress with the investigation. Despite prompting, no response had been received over 3 and a half… - Case
Institution alleges that paper includes fabricated data
…perpetrator was or the specifics of the affected data. We were therefore unable to determine how severely affected the validity of the overall paper was and whether a retraction or correction was necessary. Our initial response was to request further information from the institution and the author. Initially, we were informed by both parties that, as a result of Federal privacy laws, they were unable… - Case
An enquiry about arbitrating reviewers
…the reviewer is the one making the final decision or “arbitrating” on the acceptance of the paper. The editor can keep the author informed of the process, but does not need to give details on how many reviewers are consulted. The Forum advised that the editor should obtain consent from the reviewers to share their reports with a third reviewer. The Forum noted that there is no evidence that… - Case
Review of a book written by an editor of a journal
Two scholars and professional colleagues, A and B, serve as co-editors of a peer-reviewed international journal. Editor A, who recently had a book published, has requested that editor B solicit a review of the book from a scholar in the field. Editor A would like this review to be published in the journal that they edit together. Editor B is concerned that this situation would put him in… - Discussion documents
Preprints
The COPE preprints discussion document addresses how preprints serve research communities, with guidance on navigating the ethical challenges and opportunities presented to journal editors. COPE welcomes comments which add to this ongoing debate. The benefits of preprints are addressed such as accelerating research communication and establishing precedence; giving editors opportunities… - Case
Possible plagiarism
…retraction/correction processes for books. It is not considered by book authors or editors as a standard process. While plagiarism in books seems to be common, there are no clear guidelines on how to handle it. However, the Forum would still advise following the COPE flowcharts on plagiarism and contacting the institution if appropriate. … - Case
Duplicate publication
Author X contacted the editor of Journal A to enquire whether the journal would be interested in a review of a new concept in the treatment of a disease, written by author X and two co-authors. Author X said that his co-authors had suggested writing the paper for another journal but he had convinced them to submit the paper to Journal A. The editor invited submission and, after peer review,… - Case
Publishing complications and patient safety
…specific patient demographics, such as age and gender, and I would do so without written patient informed consent. Question(s) for the COPE Forum Would this publication violate COPE guidelines? If yes, how could this be resolved? Is there any other way to resolve these issues? … - Case
The hazardous drug used in an unlicensed way
_ Where there has been no hypothesis, but yet the treatment has worked, what should then transpire? _ The authors were not suggesting that this was research, and it is not possible to assess how hazardous the treatment was from the information given. _ The treatment should have been carried out with patient consent, and the editors must be satisfied that this has indeed been obtained. _ This… - News
COPE Workshop at 4th WCRI, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, May 31–June 3, 2015
COPE will be leading a workshop at the 4th World Conference on Research Integrity in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on publication ethics for editors, members of editorial boards and reviewers on Sunday May 31, 2015. This is an excellent opportunity for participants to discuss current trends in publication ethics, learn about how to handle possible misconduct… - News
Letter from the COPE co-Chairs: January 2019
…and plenary sessions: Plenary session on predatory publishing Symposium on Transparency 2025 A debate on preprints Focus track on responsible authorship Later in the year, we’re delighted to be joining COPE representatives in the Netherlands who will be hosting COPE’s European Seminar in the city of Leiden on 23 September 2019. We’ll give you… - Webform
Facilitation and Integrity Subcommittee
…against our member editors, journals or publishers. COPE will not consider complaints or concerns against member universities or research institutes. COPE does not undertake investigations, and cannot consider cases that are the subject of ongoing legal procedures. How to submit your concern Please read the - Case
Exposing citation manipulation and fraud in the community
…advice on how to share the information and what should be said. The identities of the authors will be evident when a retraction notice has been issued, and it can then be reported that they have been retracted as a matter of public record. COPE would advise sharing the findings with the authors' institution(s) so that appropriate investigations can be undertaken by those institutions. - News
COPE shortlisted for Publons Sentinel Award: outstanding advocacy, innovation or contribution to #PeerReview
…--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We're delighted to be shortlisted for the Publons Sentinel Award for outstanding advocacy, innovation or contribution to scholarly peer review. The winner will be announced on Tuesday 19th September.… - News
COPE in 2023: Update
…We have formed a working group of Council Members and held an inaugural meeting to outline some of the issues - as seen both internally within COPE and externally among both the membership and wider community. We will be continuing the conversation as a full Council at our annual retreat next month to agree a direction which the working group will consider on how to take forward. 4. We… - Case
Multiple complainants for a single article
…patience in the back-and-forth communication. If not, how should we reply to the complainants? Could you please confirm if our process of the case is in accordance with the COPE flowchart? Are there more efficient ways to handle the multiple complaints like the above case? What could we do if we receive new letters of accusation on the same article in the future? … - News
Letter from the COPE Chair: September 2020
…commitment to Peer Review Week is an interactive, virtual workshop with break out groups to discuss real cases raised by COPE members to identify issues in peer review and how to handle them. This is a new format for COPE and the response has been so successful that we currently have a full registration and a wait list. Given the popularity of the workshop, we plan to extend this format to other discussion… - Discussion documents
Best practice in theses publishing. March 2017
…venues as to whether publication of theses, especially freely available ones, should be considered as “prior publications” when work from a thesis is submitted for publication to a journal. This document sets out some of the issues and suggests principles to consider. We welcome feedback on this discussion document, after which it will be published as a guidance document. We particularly welcome… - News
Diversity, equity, inclusivity and accessibility: COPE commentary
…How COPE is working on diversity, equity, inclusivity, and accessibility COPE is committed to creating an inclusive and equitable culture, where all voices are welcomed and heard, and difference is celebrated. Through our words and actions, we have been working – and intend to continue working – for real change. As you may know, in March 2021 we… EASE/ISMTE joint meeting
COPE will be holding an interactive workshop at the joint meeting of the European Association of Science Editors (EASE) and the International Society of Managing and Technical Editors (ISMTE). In this workshop, a number of cases based on real-life examples brought to COPE, and covering some of the most pressing problems currently faced by editors and journals, will be discussed. Co-Secretary…