- Case
HIV homeopathy
The Forum questioned whether in fact there was a local ethics committee, which may be a reason why the authors obtained approval in their own country. However, the Forum was unanimous in their view that the authors had behaved unethically. All agreed that the editor had done all he could and there is little more action that he can take, although some advised contacting the ethics committee or… - Case
Inadequate reporting of a trial, despite earlier rejection from a different journal
…author to the journal (ie, the protocol) should not be sent to another journal, as this is privileged/confidential information. It is up to the second journal to contact the author and ask for this material. If the author does not respond, then the journal that had actually published his work (journal 2) should contact the author’s institution.… - Case
Ethics approval for survey design
…would be approved. But most universities require researchers to wait for that approval—there is no right of retrospective approval. The Forum believed that the journal took the correct decision in rejecting the article and should not seriously consider an appeal. However, a suggestion was to consider contacting the original IRB to ask if they had a policy about retrospective data collection and if… - Research
Editing of reviewer comments: a COPE survey 2020
…thoughtful, unbiased, thorough reviews of the work in question and to not be subjected to hostile or personal attacks. In 2020 COPE shared a survey with members and non-members asking for views from editors and publishers on an editor's ability to alter the contents of a submitted peer review. The questions we asked include: Is it acceptable to make changes to the contents of a peer… - Translated resources
Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing (Portuguese)
…Transparência e melhores práticas, edição atualizada, Version 4.0, 2022 Transparência e melhores práticas Português - Revisado por Luciano Panepucci, após tradução automática via Documentos Google. Version 4.0, 2022. Edição anterior: Princípios de Transparência e Boas Práticas em… - News
Authorship and Contributorship focus: an editor view and research institution view
…Two perspectives COPE Education Subcommittee focus—what does it mean to be an author? COPE’s Core practice #2 on authorship and contributorship recommends that members… - Event
COPE North American Seminar and Forum 2011
…wishing to attend the Forum should contact the administrator for details on how to join COPE.COPE members are invited to submit cases for the Forum on 31 October. Members can submit cases to the Forum whether or not they are attending the Seminar on 31st October, but anyone presenting a case should be present at the Forum Meeting on the 31st, either in person or by telephone. Please submit cases… - News
In the news: September 2020
…/new-policy-will-allow-authors-easy-route-to-change-names-on-previous-publications.html" target="_blank">update their name on previous publications with the American Chemical Society (ACS). ACS has published a new policy which allows this without treating it as a formal correction. Unwelcome acknowledgments, where someone is listed as author without their consent, can often be used to imply endorsement of… - Discussion documents
Diversity and inclusivity
…knowledge. Shared characteristics between author and reviewer has an impact on peer review and publication outcomes. English language requirements of indexing databases may be catalysing and sustaining biased, discriminatory and disproportionate publication behaviours globally. Commitment to ethical principles of diversity, equity and inclusivity should include the development and… Membership: universities and research institutes
COPE announced the launch of membership for selected universities and research institutes in May 2022. An initial group of universities and research institutes have joined as members and will help ensure that the dedicated resources provide the appropriate support and guidance that universities and research institutes need: Aston University |- News
In the news: January Digest
…Association, calls for a “slow science revolution” suggesting that it would be worth restricting the number of publications that a researcher could publish each year, to reduce the information overload which is caused by the current pressure to publish. Foreword, COPE Report 2005
…you are not already a member, I hope too that you will consider joining, and that you will let us know what else you think COPE should be doing to protect the integrity of biomedical publication. Fiona Godlee Editor, BMJ Chair of COPE 2003-5…- Case
Duplicate publication?
As the papers in question were not from the editor’s own journal, the Forum reasoned that really the editor is in the position of whistleblower. The advice from the Forum was to submit a letter detailing the issues. In this way, even if it is rejected for publication, the editor will have to respond in some way and the matter will be in the editorial system. If the letter is rejected, then the… - News
Letter from the COPE Chair: December 2019
…We look forward to working in partnership with all of our members and the larger scholarly community in the coming years. We send you all best wishes for the New Year. COPE Chair - News
In the news: September 2018 Digest
…review can be improved? https://www.nature.com/articles/s41477-018-0230-x Publication ethics issues in AHSS: New study
…a range of resources to support journal editors and publishers on all aspects of ethical issues in research publishing. The study was commissioned to address perceptions within COPE that Arts, Humanities, and Social Science members may not consider COPE to be as relevant to them as to Science, Technology, Medicine members. This primary research project was the first COPE has carried out…- Case
Claim of plagiarism in published article
…handled differently. On a poll of the Forum audience, more than half agreed that the editor should reach out to the other editor, obtain their side of the story and perhaps then establish how proper correction of the literature can be done.… - News
Welcome new COPE members April-June 2019
Welcome to our new members who have joined COPE between April and June 2019. The new members have been assessed against criteria outlined in the Principles of Transparency and signing up to COPE shows that they intend to follow the highest standards of publication ethics and to apply COPE principles of publication ethics outlined in the