- News
In the news: May 2021
…provides a useful summary of publication ethics including the responsibilities of authorship. ORCID have launched their support of the CRediT taxonomy, which means that authors’ roles within a research paper will be filtered to other systems that read ORCID data creating greater transparency and recognition. This Artificial intelligence (AI) in decision making: Forum discussion topic November 2019
…where full technical automation is acceptable or even expected? Are there processes where full automation would be deemed unethical? Similarly, are the processes where AI-aided recommendations would be expected or deemed unethical? 3) What information do journals need to provide to authors (and reviewers) about AI tools in use at their journal? 4) What happens if an author…- Flowcharts
Handling of post-publication critiques
…a formal critique is received, journals often invite the original authors of the critiqued article to write a reply. The critique and response may be peer reviewed. Critiques are often challenging and there are considerations that a journal might face, which are described in the guidance. Journals should have a transparent policy for considering critiques. Critiques should be… - News
Where next in peer review? Part 2: COPE commentary
…the potential benefits of using AI-assisted automation in publishing, its ability ‘to improve the quality of the automation, lessen the burden on human participants, and increase the speed of the review process, ultimately sharing validated and peer reviewed research outcomes more quickly, and with reduced demands on editors, reviewers, and authors.’ However, it also identified several areas where… Potential paper mills
…Paper mills are often detected after a pattern of submission behaviour across several submissions and journals becomes apparent. There is wide variation in “signs” for paper mill activity which can be difficult to distinguish from honest and legitimate author behaviours. Even original data can be convincingly fabricated and must be independently verified, a challenge in itself for a busy journal with…- Seminars and webinars
Post-publication critiques
…co-founder of PubPeer, a not-for-profit website which allows readers and authors to comment on scholarly publications. Nick Wise is a researcher in fluid dynamics and an integrity ‘sleuth’ whose work has resulted in over 900 retractions. Peter Doshi is an associate professor of pharmaceutical health services research and leads the Projects Funded
…and validated. Attitudes will be measured on two cohorts: corresponding authors of papers submitted to the CMJ in 2009 (approx. 300 authors) and research fellows in biomedical sciences in Croatia (approx. 500 research fellows). By correlating the prevalence of plagiarism with attitudes towards plagiarism in the two study groups, we will attempt to identify cross cultural differences and reasoning…- News
In the news: May 2018 Digest
…Conflicts of Interest An article in HealthNewsReview.org discusses a paper published in the BMJ which was widely picked up in the news, but where the peer reviewers had close affiliations with the authors, and wonders if there are wider unexamined conflicts of interest in peer review. - News
In the news: March Digest
…Authorship A recent survey published in PLOS One of 6000 of the top cited authors examined how authorship is assigned, and what input was valued by the authors. The results demonstrate that people value activities beyond writing and analyzing data but the opinions are polarized. 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…- Forum discussion topics
Ethical considerations around watchlists
…a record of authors or journals who have behaved unethically, either for internal publisher/journal purposes or as a public reference point. Several publicly available watchlists have been removed in recent years owing to concerns around the lack of transparency in the criteria they use. Others note the legal, reputational, and data protection risks involved in maintaining such lists. However, with the… - News
COPE logo
Did you know that you can now download a unique COPE logo for your journal or website? On the COPE website, you can download a COPE logo with your membership number included and the date you joined COPE. This will demonstrate that you are a genuine member of COPE, and will send a signal to authors and reviewers that your journal upholds the highest ethical standards, that you intend to… - Event
COPE Webinar, Understanding Text Recycling, August 2020
…and legally, posing thorny challenges for both authors and editors. The Text Recycling Research Project (TRRP) aims to better understand this practice and support the development of more clear and consistent policies. Members of the TRRP will present and overview of their research to date—including surveys and interviews with editors and… - Event
COPE Forum: Friday 4 September 2020
…not you are attending the Forum. #C0PEForum Forum agenda and minutes 1. Update on COPE activities by the Chair 2. Forum discussion: Systematic manipulation of the publishing process via paper mills 3. New cases on the following: How to respond to a reader’s repeated concerns Authors requesting withdrawal of articles from… - Case
The wrong standard deviations, the over stringent selection criteria, and the overt attempt at advertising
_ Was this a simple mistake between standard error and standard deviation? _ Further meta studies should be requested. _ Further clarification from the authors should be obtained along with a request for the original data.… - Case
Anonymous case presentations (without patient consent) on a specialist society website
The editor was advised that patient consent must be obtained, and that patient details must not be modified in an attempt to provide anonymity. The specialist society will inform authors that they must obtain signed patient consent before cases can be published.… - Case
Research on volunteers without informed consent or ethics committee approval
This was clearly experimentation, but it was unclear whether this was done as part of emergency care. - The editor should write to the authors to ask them whether they obtained informed consent and ethics committee approval. - The editor should also write to the head of the institution to request an investigation.… - News
In the news: October-November 2021
…16px;">Authorship and contributorship In order to understand gender differences in authorship practices, the authors of a recent study published in Science Advances surveyed more than 5500 scientists internationally to understand experiences with authorship naming and ordering. They found that more than half of the respondents had… - News
Letter from the COPE Chair: May 2021
…but their name is added for reasons of perceived duty, respect, or friendship. The cases illustrate situations you might come across as an editor, with guidance and suggestions for both editors and authors in dealing with this type of unethical behaviour. COPE’s authorship discussion document, last reviewed… - Guidelines
Retraction guidelines
…manipulated peer review process The author(s) failed to disclose a major competing interest (a.k.a. conflict of interest) that, in the view of the editor, would have unduly affected interpretations of the work or recommendations by editors and peer reviewers. Notices of retraction should: Be linked to the retracted article wherever possible (ie, in all online…