News & Opinion
News / COPE Research Grant - deadline 1 June 2012
21/5/2012 3.48pm
The closing date for applications for COPE's research grant is 1 June 2012. Any COPE member can apply for a grant (up to £5000) for a research project into publication ethics. See http://www.publicationethics.org/resources/research for more details and an application form.
Opinion / What constitutes 'self-plagiarism'?
21/5/2012 9.52am by
Last month, Nature News blog reported on an emminent chemist who was investigated for 'self-plagiarism' or duplicate publication. Apparently a number of paragraphs were almost identical in a number of papers he published. The most recent paper, published in Journal of the American Chemical Association, has since been retracted with the statement: "This article was removed by the publisher due to possible copyright concerns. The Journal’s Editor is following established procedure to determine whether a violation of ACS Ethical Guidelines to Publication of Chemical Research has occurred."
Read the Nature news item and comments from readers here. What are your views on self-plagiarism? Let us know in the comments below.
UPDATE: here is the latest on this from Retraction Watch.
Opinion / Nature discusses proposed libel reforms in the UK
18/5/2012 3.56pm by
An article in Nature discusses the proposed libel reform law that was included in last week's Queen's Speech. This legislation directly addresses the concerns of researchers and scientific groups. You can read the full article here.
News / COPE receives top award from Council of Science Editors
17/5/2012 10.19am
COPE has been awarded CSE's highest honour for its significant contribution to improving scientific communication by promoting high editorial standards.
The Meritorious Achievement award will be presented to Dr Virginia Barbour, Chair of the COPE council, in a ceremony scheduled for the CSE Annual Meeting, which will be held this year in Seattle, Washington, USA on 20-21 May 2012.
"We are delighted to receive this prestigious award from CSE and to join the distinguished list of individuals and organisations that have been honoured for their meritorious achievement" says Dr Barbour. "Working with like-minded organisations is a fundamental part of COPE's work and this award underlines the increasingly important role we are playing in the international scientific publishing community.
"The importance of ethics, specifically publication ethics, has never been more critical in global research and publishing. COPE's expansion in membership and activity is a reflection of how seriously editors worldwide take their role in ensuring standards of publication ethics are upheld."
The full press release can be seen here.
News / Appointment of new COPE Ombudsman
14/5/2012 12.18pm
COPE is very pleased to announce the appointment of the new COPE Ombudsman, Suzanne Morris. Suzanne Morris is the Postgraduate Coordinator at the Sustainable Minerals Institute, University of Queensland, Australia. Suzanne also holds the role of Research Integrity Officer at the University of Queensland. Suzanne is passionate about research integrity and developing skills in research higher degree students and early career researchers to help them negotiate the path to achieving successful research careers. Suzanne is also a well known speaker on the subject of negotiating for authorship and author order.
The COPE Ombudsman is a voluntary position. The Ombudsman adjudicates complaints brought against COPE by its members; appeals against COPE rulings or advice relating to complaints against COPE members for not following the COPE codes of conduct for editors and publishers; or if two or more members cannot agree on how to handle a complaint involving both their publications.
News / Election of COPE council members May 2012
8/5/2012 8.58pm
Voting for the 5 vacancies on COPE council is now open and will remain open until Wednesday 23 May 2012. All Full and Associate Members are entitled to vote. Please note: there is only one vote per journal title, even for journals with multiple editors. The vote should be cast by the Member editor, who is usually the Editor-in-Chief, or otherwise by the nominated contact for the journal. See here for more details and to cast your vote.
Opinion / Nature Editorial on Publishing Risky Research
7/5/2012 9.28am by
There has been much discussion recently on how journals handle risky or "dual use" research - ie research that has the potential to be used for harm. A Nature Editorial (http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v485/n7396/full/485005a.html) now discusses where things stand with regard to a pair of papers submitted to Science and Nature of papers reporting mammalian transmissibility of avian flu as a result of artificial genetic manipulation. One paper is now published in Nature (http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature10831.html).
Opinion / New declaration on Publication Ethics in China
1/5/2012 10.07am by
Recent articles in the Scientist and Nature discuss publication ethics in China and point to a recent declaration by editors of the China Association for Science and Technology (CAST) to follow guidelines issued by CAST in 2009. This declaration is one part of increasing awareness of the importance of publication ethics and the need for journals within China to address the issue.
Opinion / New York Times reports on the sharp rise in retractions
19/4/2012 11.28am by
The NYT discusses how the sharp rise in retractions is prompting calls for reform. Read the full article here.
News / Revised and updated flowchart
17/4/2012 3.16pm
How COPE manages complaints against member journals has been revised and updated and is now available via the website here. Note: this revision has not yet been incorporated into the translated versions of the flowcharts. These will be available shortly.