Authorship and AI tools
…COPE position statement The use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT or Large Language Models in research publications is expanding rapidly. COPE joins organisations, such as WAME and the JAMA Network among others, to state that AI tools cannot be li…- Translated resources
Guías éticas para revisores pares
…-consider-when-asked-peer-review-manuscript-latin-american-spanish">Qué considerar al ser invitado a hacer una revisión por pares de un manuscrito Cómo reconocer la potencial manipulación del proceso de revisión por pares - Event
Workshop: Introduction to publication ethics
…href="https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_C0ovpFo_Sp2BeULr2AyfBA#/registration">REGISTER TODAY --> Introduction to publication ethics Monday 26 February 2024, 12:00-13:30 GMT / UTC This workshop is an introduction to the principles of publication ethics and how to use the guidance and tools available to embed publication ethics in a journal's daily practice. Trevor Lane and Anubhav Pradhan review the Ethics Toolkit and other COPE resources,… - 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… - Guidelines
Editorial board participation
…="https://publicationethics.org/sites/default/files/editorial-board-participation-cope-guideline.pdf" target="_blank">Guidance on editorial board participation PDF 71 KB Key points Editorial roles should be clearly defined to include: the number of reviews expected, definitions of review quality… - Guidelines
Managing the relationships between society owned journals, their society, and publishers
…Resources should be provided by the society to ensure a journal maintains transparent and ethical processes. Societies should be transparent in their process for selecting third party support for the journal, such as printers or advertising support. The journal website should clearly state its ethical practices for authors and reviewers. Management of the journal and ownership… - Guidelines
Sharing of information among editors-in-chief regarding possible misconduct
…cases may lead to faster resolution of investigations, as well as strengthen the pursuit of those where further investigation is warranted. It should be acknowledged that confidential treatment of author submissions is a fundamental aspect of scientific publishing, and sharing of information concerning a specific journal submission with individuals who are outside the journal’s review process… - Case
Author refusal to sign an ethics form
A journal has received a submission which is based on patient data (CT scan images). The data have been found to have been taken from an open-source repository. The authors are refusing to sign an Ethics Approval and Consent for Authors form. Questions for the Forum Is a signature in these cases compulsory? How would the Forum recommend we hand… - Case
Same cohort - same blood samples - multiple tests
…identified between the papers. The Editor of one journal is a reviewer for the other and they picked up the similarities based on the study sites, inclusion criteria, etc that indicate this is the same patient cohort, and the same sample has been tested for two organisms. We are concerned that this could be a case of salami slicing. Question: What is the recommendation… - Case
Retracting a 'Just Accepted' article
…versions may have been accessed and cited by researchers prior to retraction." The retraction notice should be worded clearly to reflect the rationale for the retraction: that is, that it went through a compromised review process. It should make it explicit if the authors were not found to be involved (as seems to be the case here). The journal could also offer the option to the authors of… - Guidelines
Ethics toolkit for a successful editorial office
…requirements for authorship and contributorship. Peer review processes, including what is peer reviewed, what model of peer review is used and how the process is managed must be transparent. Journals must have processes in place to respond to allegations of research, publication, and review misconduct whether before or after publication. Journals should clearly describe definitions… - Research
Paper mills research
…institutions and funders to review incentives for researchers to publish valid papers and not use services that will give quick but fake publication. Investigation of protocols that can be put in place to impede paper mills from succeeding in their goals. Review the retraction process to take account of the unique features of paper mill papers. Investigate how to ensure retraction… - Case
Potential image integrity flags on 15-year-old published papers
…they should feel able to inform the person raising the concern that they have done all they are able to do. If the article or its findings are felt to be of sufficiently high impact, then the journal should make an effort to investigate the concerns, both for the integrity of the published record, and to avoid a distorting impact on systematic reviews and citations. Some image issues can be… - Flowcharts
Fabricated data in a submitted manuscript
…proceed with the review. Related resources Suspected fabricated data in a published article Image manipulation in a published article … - Case
Plagiarism by a possible predatory journal
…systematic reviews. Since the article is in the public domain it is permissible to provide the full citation, including the name of the journal. This could also have an educative function if there is a risk that the predatory journal is using a web bot which is targeting many authors from the same journal. The editors could also consider making a comment on a site like PubPeer, though this is unlikely to… - Case
Editor adding reference to an author's work
…rectification in the online version is possible and it is. Author A has now appealed to the publisher for assistance in resolving the matter. The publisher proposed having the case reviewed by an ombudsman which is supported by both parties. However, the ombudsman proposed by Editor B is unlikely to be accepted by Author A. On that point the publisher came to the conclusion that further mediating… COPE Forum
…peer review, editing of reviewer comments Predatory publishing Ethical considerations around book publishing- Guidelines
Cooperation between research institutions and journals on research integrity and publication misconduct cases
…institutions and journals/publishers prioritise their shared interests and cooperate with each other where necessary. Institutions and journals should promote best practice among researchers, authors, reviewers, and editors (eg, through policies and training). Journals should make efforts to detect misconduct before publication (eg, by screening for plagiarism, paper mill manuscripts, and peer review fraud).… - Flowcharts
When institutions are contacted by journals
A journal editor or publisher raises an ethical issue or concern about an article either before or after publication. The flowchart offers the institution a step by step process on handling the issue. Guidance for when institutions are contacted by journals… Press
…transparency and best practice released 15 September 2022 The fourth edition of the Principles represents a collective effort between the four organisations to align the principles with today’s scholarly publishing landscape. Guidance is provided on the information that should be made available on websites, peer review, access, author fees and publication ethics. The…