Authorship guidance and discussion from COPE, and register for the next Forum to discuss new cases and give advice to fellow members.
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COPE Digest
MAY 2020, Vol 8
Issue 5: Authorship
Welcome to the May issue of COPE Digest.
I am delighted to have this opportunity to introduce myself to the broad readership of the Digest as the new Chair-elect of COPE, a position I will hold for a year before I become Chair of COPE. COPE is entering a critical phase in its life. The organisation has expanded rapidly, so we need to focus on our strategic goals set out last year. This includes better communication with our members, an increase in the range of guidance we offer, expansion of membership in underrepresented areas (South America, India, and China), and a focus on embracing university members. With your support, and the diligent efforts of the COPE staff, I look forward to many exciting years ahead.
The focus of this month’s Digest is authorship. Criteria and guidelines for authorship across most specialties have a common set of minimal criteria: (1) substantial contribution to the work and (2) accountability for the work that was done and its presentation in a publication. Yet, despite this common understanding, authorship remains one of the most vexing issues in publications, where escalation can involve multiple individuals and institutions.
COPE published an Authorship discussion document ([link removed](AUTHORSHIP_MAY2020_DIGEST)) in September last year, an update of “What constitutes authorship?”. Based on a review of Forum cases related to authorship, this document offers practical advice on addressing the most common issues around authorship. This is especially timely in light of the results from last year’s member survey ([link removed](AUTHORSHIP_MAY2020_DIGEST)) and a recent study of the publishing ethics landscape for AHSS editors ([link removed](AUTHORSHIP_MAY2020_DIGEST)) : both identified contribution and co-author claims as significant ethics issues.
For those interested in understanding the behaviours of authors that most likely lead to disputes, take a look at Charon Pierson’s June 2019 presentation at the World Conference on Research Integrity. Charon presented an analysis of 134 authorship cases ([link removed](AUTHORSHIP_MAY2020_DIGEST)) which found that some of the most prevalent behaviours included questionable changes to the author list after submission (27%); ghost, guest, or gift authorship (19%); and submission without the knowledge of one or more authors (19%), to name just a few.
As with all of our discussion documents, we welcome feedback and comments...
READ MORE ([link removed](AUTHORSHIP_MAY2020_DIGEST)) >
COPE Vice-Chair and Chair-elect Daniel Kulp
COPE Forum
[link removed](AUTHORSHIP_MAY2020_DIGEST)
NEXT FORUM: TUESDAY 2 JUNE
4.00pm - 5.30pm BST, by webinar
COPE Members Only
Our June Forum will follow the usual format where we discuss a topic brought to our attention by members, followed by four members' cases presented for discussion and advice from all those participating in the Forum.
MORE INFORMATION AND REGISTER ([link removed](AUTHORSHIP_MAY2020_DIGEST)) >
** DISCUSSION TOPIC: WHAT PEER REVIEW MEANS IN THE ARTS, HUMANITIES, AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
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Questions posed that are open for discussion with participants to the Forum:
* Are there differences in gender and diversity issues in these disciplines in peer review from others?
* What mechanisms might be introduced to deal with language quality and inclusivity matters?
* Are standards of expertise different when addressing certain topics that have social, gender, transgender, race and ethnicity involved in the research?
* Are some topics off limits for some researchers? Whose problem is this?
Please do leave any comments, whether or not you are planning on joining the meeting. Anyone (members and non-members) can comment on the topic ([link removed](AUTHORSHIP_MAY2020_DIGEST)) on our website before it is discussed at the Forum.
[link removed](AUTHORSHIP_MAY2020_DIGEST)
[link removed](AUTHORSHIP_MAY2020_DIGEST)
In the News
** LATEST PUBLICATION ETHICS NEWS
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This month COPE Council members have gathered news items that include articles on authorship, data sharing, COVID-19, and more. Here are just a few:
* Honorary and ghost authorship remain prominent types of unethical authorship and the incidence remains high worldwide. The authors describe the most effective means to cope with these issues.
* A review of retractions in medical sciences publications show that 65% result from misconduct, with plagiarism the most common type. Authorship and peer-review manipulation also contribute.
* A survey of users of Research Gate, a network for researchers to share papers, shows that the work being done by participants has shifted significantly since the pandemic.
READ ALL NEWS ([link removed](AUTHORSHIP_MAY2020_DIGEST)) >
**
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The most recent authorship cases, brought to COPE Forum for discussion and advice in 2019:
* 19-05 Duplicate submission and authorship dispute ([link removed](AUTHORSHIP_MAY2020_DIGEST)) : What should the journal editors do to resolve the situation and how can they avoid it in future?
* 19-08 Authorship issue related to misleading action of one author ([link removed](AUTHORSHIP_MAY2020_DIGEST)) : Should the journal reject the manuscript? Is it unsalvageable at this point?
* 19-09 Deceased author ([link removed](AUTHORSHIP_MAY2020_DIGEST)) : After a manuscript was accepted, an author passed away before they could complete conflict of interest and copyright transfer documents. What can the editors do to ensure transparency?
* 19-14 Removal of an author ([link removed](AUTHORSHIP_MAY2020_DIGEST)) : the author in question is uncontactable. What course of action does the #C0PEForum advise?
* 19-15 Authorship dispute during review process ([link removed](AUTHORSHIP_MAY2020_DIGEST)) : A reviewer alerted the journal that a manuscript appeared to be the work of a researcher not listed as an author.
MORE CASES ([link removed](AUTHORSHIP_MAY2020_DIGEST)) >
** NEW MEMBERS
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Welcome to new COPE members who have joined us as journal, publisher or associate members. 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 COPE's Core Practices.
NEW MEMBERS ([link removed](AUTHORSHIP_MAY2020_DIGEST)) >
Other Events
Visit our events page to read more about upcoming events which include discussions on publication ethics issues.
* The Association of Learned & Professional Society Publishers are hosting a webinar on new research assessment policies in China, 4 June 2020.
* The International Society for Medical Publication Professionals (ISMPP) Meeting will now be held by webinar on 16-18 June, 2020.
* Medical editors annual short course, Oxford, UK, 11-13 November 2020.
EVENTS ([link removed](AUTHORSHIP_MAY2020_DIGEST)) >
** COPE Digest Editor:
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Nancy C Chescheir, MD, Editor-in-Chief, Obstetrics and Gynecology
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