COPE stands for “The Committee on Publication Ethics” and is a form of peer-reviewed journal to talk about matters related to the integrity of the scientific record. COPE encourages editors to report ethical problems in the publication process.
In concordance with Elsevier’s commitment to supporting the journal’s editor in controlling the cases of violation of publication ethics, all Elsevier-published journals joined COPE in January 2008.
Background
Founded in 1997 by a number of medical journal editors worried about publication misconduct such as plagiarism, unethical research, passing off fraudulent data, and so on, COPE was initially a gathering of individuals. Later COPE turned into a limited company (“incorporated”) and a not-for-profit organization.
Role
In the case of an ethical complaint, COPE will not investigate, nor it offer any judgment on the right or wrong of given allegations. What COPE does in such situations is to investigate and determine whether the journal involved has behaved based on the COPE code of conduct and best practice guidelines for editors.
Cases
The COPE Forum meets in London, and the members can introduce cases for advice. All members and appropriate guests can attend this Forum in person or by telephone.
Members who are signed in are invited to submit a case in advance, which is anonymous before circulation and then discussed during the Forum, with the advice given on appropriate action. Members should provide feedback on their cases at subsequent meetings.
There is a database that contains all the cases submitted to the Forum, anonymously and free of any information about the submitting journal. All COPE members have access to this database. It is useful in answering queries about cases similar to those discussed before. It is also a useful research tool.
Furthermore, it is also possible for the members to seek confidential advice on subtle ethical issues, for example between Forum meetings from COPE’s chairman.
Other facilities
Other membership advantages include:
- Free attendance at the annual seminar
- A website with members area: blog, sample letters, presentation
- Publication ethics audit tool
- Newsletter
- eLearning program on how to handle and stop misconduct
COPE informs editors about the relevant initiatives and invites them to attend Forums, workshops, and meetings. It also contacts them in reference to specific cases involving their journals.
Inquiries
For any queries regarding your journal’s membership with COPE, refer to http://publicationethics.org/contact-us to have access to the member area or about COPE, its website, policies, activities, or publication misconduct.
Note:
COPE charts show the general process of investigation in visual form, communication, and decision-making and for this reason, are useful tools for editors. There are petty differences between COPE-recommended procedures as described on these charts and procedures recommended by Elsevier. Therefore, it is recommended that editors discuss and agree with their publishing contact on a course of action together.