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Welcome to the January issue of COPE Digest.
Looking forward into the new year, we see significant actions and opportunities before us. We know that we are stronger when we work together, and we need this strength more than ever in facing the threats before us. The integrity of the scholarly record is being threatened by paper mills and a new position statement from COPE on paper mills calls for united and immediate action to help identify and halt these fraudulent actions.
This statement is being released in support of the United2Act (U2A) Consensus Statement, which outlines five key collaborative actions to address the problem of paper mills. The United2Act Consensus Statement is the outcome of the May 2023 virtual Summit which brought together representatives from research bodies, publishers, researchers/sleuths, and universities from 15 countries. The participants of the Summit have committed to keep the discussion alive, and develop and execute plans, through working groups associated with each action. We encourage members to keep up to date on efforts to identify and stop fraudulent actions by paper mills using COPE and the STM Integrity Hub. COPE continues to offer opportunities to participate in discussions on paper mills, sharing guidance and practical examples.This month's guest editorial from Portland Press is a society's experience of paper mills.
In 2024, COPE will initiate a new strategic plan which will be the main focus of our annual retreat in June, where our subcommittees will work to turn the plan into concrete actions. We will update on this in the upcoming months. Joining us at the retreat will be our two newest COPE Trustees, James Kigera and Emilio Sanz-Alvarez. James is Editor in Chief of the Annals of African Surgery and an orthopedic surgeon and lecturer at the University of Nairobi. He brings a perspective from the African subcontinent to COPE and hopes to use this position to promote high standards of publication ethics in the area. Emilio is Managing Editor of the European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology and a Professor of Clinical Pharmacology at the University of La Laguna. He is an expert in Bioethics and brings particular expertise in plagiarism and ethics of design, development, publication of clinical research projects, and predatory publishing.
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Finally, COPE members have the opportunity to register for two events...
READ MORE >
COPE Chair Dan Kulp
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PAPER MILLS: COPE POSITION STATEMENT
All stakeholders believe that the issue of paper mills is a serious threat to the integrity of the scholarly record. COPE is working to support editors, journals, publishers, universities and research institutes in addressing the issue of paper mills and considers this a high priority for all stakeholders involved in research and publication integrity. COPE supports the United2Act consensus statement on action against paper mills and will be taking part in its action plan. We urge the research community to take immediate action at every level of the publishing process to identify and halt these fraudulent activities. We encourage members to continue the discussion around this through COPE and the STM Integrity Hub.
READ FULL POSITION STATEMENT >
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UNITED2ACT
Against paper mills
“United2Act has mobilised an impressive group of international stakeholders to solve the problem of paper mills. The launch of the Consensus Statement marks the start of concerted efforts by five working groups to act on the identified areas. We are all committed to delivering real progress over the next 12 months and will be reporting on these actions regularly.”
Deborah Kahn, Co-chair United2Act
UNITED2ACT >
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TACKLING PAPER MILLS
A society publisher's perspective
Zara Manwaring describes the challenge faced by the journal Bioscience Reports in 2020, when an anonymous reader alerted them to potential issues in over 50 papers. She outlines the investigation, subsequent correction of the literature, and the processes and policies which have been revised.
READ MORE >
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LIGHTNING TALKS
COPE Members Only
New for 2024 COPE introduces Lightning Talks! We've created Lightning Talks to increase awareness and confidence in specific topics. Each talk will begin with a short introduction from experts, and then open up to discussion and questions from the audience. Join us to learn more, let us know your thoughts and experiences, and help shape future COPE guidance.
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Artificial Intelligence
TUESDAY 30 JANUARY
13:00-14:00 GMT/UTC
We begin the Lightning Talk series with an introduction to current issues in AI, and some new directions and successes with AI tools in scholarly publishing.
READ MORE & REGISTER >
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YOUR PUBLICATION ETHICS CASES
COPE Members Only
COPE Members: if you have a publication ethics issue you are currently dealing with and need advice from other COPE members, submit your case for discussion and advice at the Forum in March. For more urgent queries submit a case for advice from COPE Council members.
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COMMITMENT AGAINST PAPER MILLS
A news story in Nature reports on the United2Act Consensus Statement, and features interviews with Deborah Kahn, Co-chair of the United2Act steering group, research integrity analyst Anna Abalkina, who is involved in the working groups, and Adam Day, who has developed a paper mill detection tool called The Papermill Alarm. “There’ve been too many empty words. This is intended to actually deliver,” says Kahn of the statement.
NATURE ARTICLE >
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A VISION FOR EUROPEAN RESEARCH & INNOVATION
ALLEA, the European Federation of Academies of Sciences and Humanities, has released the guiding principles for the forthcoming 10th European Union Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (FP10). The principles guarantee ambitious investments in science, open collaboration, and excellence across disciplines and borders, advocating for reinforced basic research, open science, research integrity, academic freedom, diversity, and inclusivity.
ALLEA STATEMENT >
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GENERATIVE AI IN SCHOLARLY COMMUNICATIONS
An STM paper provides a framework for authors, publishers, and reviewers on the proper use of generative AI in scientific publications. Possible issues regarding intellectual property rights, privacy, and security are emphasised.
WHITE PAPER >
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Submitting a guest editorial or opinion piece to COPE
We welcome guest editorials and opinion articles regarding research and publication ethics from COPE members. Please read the COPE guest editorial policy before submitting your article.
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COPE Digest Editors:
Itamar Ashkenazi, COPE Council Member
Trevor Lane, COPE Trustee and Council Member
Managing Editor, Sarah Gillmore, COPE Engagement & Outreach Officer
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