- Case
Manuscript submitted based on retracted paper
A paper was published in a journal. After publication, the author contacted the journal to ask for withdrawal of the paper because of some mistakes. After careful and considered review of the content of this paper by a duly constituted expert committee, the paper was found to be incomplete due to the dependent variable used in the analysis and the literature review used. The paper was… - Webform
Registration for the 2023 COPE seminar, Publication Integrity Week
…a waiting list for the session. If you are unable to attend, please let us know by replying to the registration email, so that we can allocate your place to someone else. Alternatively, contact us at [email protected] Authorship and AI tools
…Authors who use AI tools in the writing of a manuscript, production of images or graphical elements of the paper, or in the collection and analysis of data, must be transparent in disclosing in the Materials and Methods (or similar section) of the paper how the AI tool was used and which tool was used. Authors are fully responsible for the content of their manuscript, even those parts produced by an AI…- News
In the news: June Digest
…the "necessary transition to full and immediate Open Access". https://www.coalition-s.org/revised-implementation-guidance/ Data sharing In order to simplify research data policies across journals to avoid confusion by researchers and journal staff, the Data Policy Standardization and… FORUM DISCUSSION TOPIC: comments please
…practice remain between journals” (Vaught et al., 2017). The COPE Retraction Guidelines describe when journals could use expressions of concern. For example, editors should consider an expression of concern if: • they receive inconclusive evidence of research or publication misconduct by the…COPE webinar: Allegations of misconduct
…enter into this form is collected, processed and stored by COPE. To know more about what COPE does with your data and why we need to collect it, read our Privacy Policy: https://publicationethics.org/resources/privacy After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.…- News
Letter from the COPE Chair: December 2019
…took advantage of the generosity of Dr Frits Rosendaal, senior professor at Leiden University Medical Center and COPE Council member, who graciously took the lead in the organisation of the programme. Also on the seminar programme was another Leiden scholar, Dr Thed van Leeuwen, from the Centre for Science and Technology Studies. In June, 2020, we will continue this pattern by holding our North… - 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… - News
Text Recycling Research Project: update March 2021
…text recycling in STEM fields; to help build consensus among stakeholders; and to promote ethical and appropriate practice. Now in its fourth year, the multi-institution project is funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation and led by Cary Moskovitz of Duke University in Durham, NC, USA. Text Recycling Research Project advisory board The TRRP formed an Advisory Board in 2021 with… - News
Diversifying editorial boards
…under-represented groups, for example by: Approaching early career researchers and others who have contributed to the journal as reviewers or authors. Ask existing board members to mentor those with less experience. Asking existing board members for recommendations (be clear that you are particularly interested in nominations from countries or groups not currently well-represented on the… - Case
Unusual consent process in a vulnerable population
The editor wrote to the IRB’s secretary and chairman. Unfortunately, as is often the case with IRBs in low income settings, there was only a mailing address (no email, no fax, no telephone number). The editor sent his letter in the post by priority mail, and so assumes that it was received. He awaits a response. However, in the mean time, the editor received a letter from the senior… - Case
Potentially fake academic affiliation
Journal A published two studies from a group of authors from country X. The editor of journal A was contacted by journal B who had some concerns as they rejected a paper from the same group. The author did not respond well to the decision and repeatedly sent harassing emails to the editorial office of journal B. Journal B investigated the manuscript closely and found that: The… Press
…principles also cover ownership and management, copyright and licensing, and editorial policies. They stress the need for inclusivity in scholarly publishing and emphasise that editorial decisions should be based on merit and not affected by factors such as the origins of the manuscript and the nationality, political beliefs or religion of the author.- News
Letter from the COPE co-Chairs: December 2018
…the European Research Council has the political power to set policy and wield influence, and aims to make full and immediate open access a reality by 2020. Coalition S shared policy ideas back in September 2018 and on November 27th added thoughts about Plan S implementation. While we were writing this Letter, Nature reported that… - News
New Website goes live!
…filters to allow easier searching. Better access to an archive of over 400 cases. These are searchable by keyword and year. A clearer layout for the News, Opinion and Events page. COPE’s new Code of Conduct for Publishers in addition to the revised Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors are now available on the… - News
Nuffield Council on Bioethics report on the on The Culture of Scientific Research in the UK
…of institutions. Above all, we welcome the recognition that the culture in science has to have ethical practices at its core – in the report’s words, that we need “an environment in which ethics is seen as a positive and integral part of performing research”. This would chime firmly with COPE”s experience. Research and publication ethics is not driven nor is it broken by one or two… - News
Collaboration
…from COPE’s institutional partners. In order to collaborate, associates and partners need to communicate openly and put aside personal desires, which is thoughtfully communicated in the “Opinion on Opinions” commentary by the COPE vice-chair. Numerous other collaborative activities are detailed… - News
New flowcharts: ethical concerns in data publication
…Working Group, in collaboration with COPE, developed recommendations for the handling of ethical concerns related to the publication of research data for four categories of data issues. This was followed by the development of policy templates to help journals, publishers, and data repositories… - Case
Should editors get involved in authorship disputes?
…interpretation of the data. This letter was forwarded to the authors, who acknowledged that the American author had highlighted some major errors which they corrected in a further revision of their paper. But they disputed his interpretation of their data. The Finnish authors acknowledged the advice given by the US author, but did not declare any financial input from him. They denied that he should have been… - Case
Plagiarism
…seems likely that the co-authors are unaware of the plagiarism by the first author. The editor of Journal A wrote to the corresponding author to point out the apparent plagiarism and to ask for an explanation. The corresponding author replied, apologising profusely for the error and saying that he would withdraw the paper for consideration while further investigations were made. He explained that the…