- Case
Editor manipulation of impact factor
…only references the editor-in-chief asked for? If the suggested papers are truly wide of the mark, authors can simply ignore them. It is also unclear if the additional references came from one of the reviewers and are being reiterated by the editor-in-chief or if the editor-in-chief stated them independently. In either case, the tone and context would indicate coercion versus trying to improve… - Case
Author cannot be located
…consent and signed copyright or licence agreements. Some journals may have a policy permitting one author to sign on behalf of all the authors, but if the journal's policy requires that the forms are individually signed by each other author, then the paper cannot be published. The editor might like to set a deadline for the author(s) and let them know that the journal will rescind the… - News
Case Discussion: Editor and reviewers requiring authors to cite their own work
…href="https://publicationethics.org/files/u7141/Forum%20discussion%20topic_final.pdf">Citation Manipulation” from the COPE Forum December 2012 that does indirectly address this topic. This discussion addresses the circumstance in which “an editor or others affiliated with a journal pressure an author to add citations from that journal for the implied purpose of increasing citation rates, and by extension, journal impact factor”. While our case doesn’t specifically state that the… - Case
The single authored, unbelievable, randomised controlled trial
A randomised controlled trial submitted to a journal showed that a nutritional supplement could dramatically improve one aspect of the health of the elderly. The study was a follow up to a trial reported in an international journal eight years previously. Why had there been so much delay? Why were the results reported in this study not reported in the previous study? There was only one author… - Case
Appropriate scope of review for retractions
…influential. 3. Many of the articles were published in the 1970s/1980s or earlier. 4. Other areas of the author's work/findings seem contrary to current scientific standards (and potentially harmful). Question(s) for the COPE Forum When responding to an institutional report recommending retraction of certain articles, should editors review the other works of an author… - Case
Unethical withdrawal of a paper
The terms author A and author B will be used to refer to the corresponding and non-corresponding authors, respectively, of the paper in question. The term Editor will be used for Editor A of our journal and Editor B of the other journal involved. The term Editorial Assistant will be used to refer to the person who is in charge of correspondence for our journal. Author A presented… - Case
What constitutes authorship?
…make a substantial scientific contribution to the article and that the notice in the acknowledgments was appropriate. Authors X and Y hold similar views as to what author Y's contribution was, but different views on whether this is sufficient for authorship. The editor notified authors X, Y and the administrative head of the institute, and recommended that the parties resolve the matter among… - Case
Concerns over research by an author in numerous, separate publications
…asking for more information and emphasising that strict confidentiality is assured. The Forum noted that the editor has a duty of care with regard to the journal’s published papers. The editor should contact the reviewer(s) of the 2004 paper that was published in his journal and ask them to look again at the paper. Other advice was to contact the other journals where the author has published as they… - Case
Complaint regarding letters to the editor
…who wrote the letter to the editor. Most people are pleased that their comments are considered, even if they are not published. It was therefore a surprise when an author complained that his response had been provided to the person who wrote a letter about the article. The author's complaint was that he had prepared the response for possible publication, rather than as a personal reply. The… - Case
Duplicate publication in possibly four papers
…mention of any previous publication in their covering letter. For the third paper, which shares authors, we had no evidence of duplicate publication until we heard from the editor of the foreign language journal who said that it came from two other articles. However, the editor did not say in which journals these were published. Again, the authors checked the box indicating that the paper was… - Case
Author disagreement regarding article corrections
The Forum agreed with the editor that these are not conflicts of interest, but differences in opinion between the authors. A conflict of interest statement would not be appropriate in this instance. The Forum suggested that the journal could ask the disgruntled co-author to submit a letter to the editor for publication in the journal, outlining his concerns. Raising these concerns in public… - Case
Seven plagiarized manuscripts in one month by the same corresponding author
…plagiarised article was published 6 years ago by authors from an Asian country. In line with the COPE flowchart on suspected plagiarism in a submitted paper the corresponding author was asked for an explanation. The response stated that there had been a mistake and that the author wished to withdraw the manuscript. The editor in chief replied to say that the editorial board was not satisfied with the… - Case
Institutions paying authors to be named on papers
…also ask authors for proof of funding in the case of dual affiliations. If authors can produce a funding letter, editors should make sure it was issued at the time of the study and not after completion of study when the paper was submitted to a journal. Although letters can be forged, it might work as a form of deterrent. The Forum questioned if it is reasonable for journals to have a policy against… - Case
Author dispute over data presented in paper
…Education had concluded before deciding whether the paper should be retracted. The corresponding author responded to this letter and asked that the paper be retracted immediately and stated that the investigation would take several years. The Editor-in-Chief and the Publisher then wrote to the first author and asked for a full and detailed explanation as to the concerns raised by the corresponding… - Case
Conflict between two authors
An article was published in a journal. Seven months later an email was received from an author declaring that he was invited by the lead author of the article to help with statistical analysis and had made significant contributions to the paper. To his surprise, he realised that the article was published and he was not listed as a coauthor. The editor asked the complaining author… - Case
Author impersonating corresponding author without knowledge of coauthors
…there are mistakes in the article and that the co-authors disagree with some of the viewpoints in the article. The editor plans to investigate, if necessary with support from the universities, to establish whether the published article is scientifically flawed, and is reviewing what the appropriate action should be to address the authorship situation described. Question(s) for the… - Case
Deception in submitting manuscript for publication
The journal proceeded to let people know that they were contacted not through the editor. However, due to the fact that the editor had selected those who had been contacted (to accept their review), the reviews were considered. The paper was indeed accepted. The author was admonished for his inappropriate behaviour.… - Case
Interpretation of regulations: when is a waiver of authorisation acceptable?
- The journal should set guidelines as to the standard of consent to publication that it required. To publish, authors would have to meet this standard. - These regulations do not allow for named consent, and they work prospectively in that patients give their consent to any future publication. The publisher must then keep that information confidential. - Were the subjects of the study… - Case
The role of the lead author
…rationale for making further content changes and hence intends to resolve the situation himself by suggesting to any authors who do not agree with him that they are removed from the authorship list and acknowledged for any key contributions (as appropriate). Question(s) for the COPE Forum • Is the suggested handling by the lead author appropriate? Are there are other solutions… - Case
The double review
An author submitted a review to journal A in February 1997. It was accepted for publication in November, after peer review. The same author submitted a review on a similar topic—sufficiently similar that there was substantial overlap of content—to journal B in September 1997. Journal B accepted it in January 1998, after peer review. Neither journal editor knew of the parallel paper.