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Welcome to the February issue of COPE Digest.
I hope this newsletter finds you well. In this, our February issue, I am pleased to share some exciting updates with you. First and foremost, please join me in congratulating Nancy Chescheir on her election as Chair-elect of COPE. Nancy, who is the founding Editor-in-Chief of Reproductive, Female and Child Health and Emeritus Editor-in-Chief of Obstetrics and Gynecology, will assume the role of COPE Chair when my term concludes on 1 May. Having worked closely with Nancy over the past four years in her capacity as Vice-Chair, I can attest to her unwavering dedication and invaluable contributions to our organisation. During these challenging years, marked by the COVID-19 pandemic and increasing threats to scholarly research publishing, Nancy has been instrumental in guiding COPE through uncharted waters. Her involvement in key projects across COPE, from actively contributing to the development of our new strategic plan, drafting COPE guidance, contributing to the review of the membership application process, assessing applications, and leading on our events programme among many others, has been pivotal in shaping our response to emerging challenges in publication ethics.
I am also delighted to introduce our new COPE Advisors: Hong Zhou, Senior Director of AI Product Management at Wiley, and Amanda Sulicz, Publishing Ethics Specialist at IEEE. Their expertise will be invaluable as we navigate the rapidly evolving landscape of scholarly communication.
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In this issue we introduce a series of editorials with insight into COPE's four strategic priorities. This month the focus is diversity, equity, inclusivity, and accessibility.
READ MORE >
Daniel Kulp, COPE Chair
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BANNED TERMS IN SCHOLARLY PUBLICATIONS AND RESTRICTIONS ON RESEARCHERS' ACTIVITIES
COPE Trustees have published a COPE position in response to concerns raised regarding prohibition of specific terminology in scholarly publishing, and restrictions on researchers' activities and collaborations.
"We share the apprehensions expressed by our community of editors, authors, and publishing professionals about the potential effects these changes may have on scholarly communication, particularly with respect to academic freedom and to clarity of language and terminology in research articles." COPE believes that authors should be able to choose freely and safely what to submit to their journal of choice, and editors should be able to consider a submission based on their own editorial standards and policies, in the interest of advancing research in their fields."
READ COPE POSITION >
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DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSIVITY, ACCESSIBILITY
COPE's new strategy identifies DEIA as one of our four core goals with a commitment to ‘participate, support, understand’. These words were chosen to show that we intend both to listen and to take action, looking both internally to our volunteers and members, and externally to our guidance and leadership. They were also selected to hold us accountable to our promises to engage fully in what DEIA is.
We will nurture and represent broader and more diverse scholarly publishing communities by
- supporting editors, journals, and publishers in their DEIA activities with the aim of enhancing representation and inclusivity within scholarly publishing
- facilitating ways in which the COPE global membership can participate more easily in COPE activities and discussions to facilitate its voice being heard and listened to.
We have agreed a number of goals to help us achieve these aims.
READ MORE >
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INTERPRETATION OF QUALITATIVE DATA
This session, held during Publication Integrity Week 2024, raised ethical considerations surrounding the use of qualitative data, issues around data storage, participant consent, and the benefits of collecting data that speak to the human experience.
WATCH VIDEO >
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HOW INCLUSIVITY IMPROVES DATA QUALITY
The speakers talked about how research can be a tool for engagement and empowerment for under-represented and lower-income communities. They focused on issues associated with 'helicopter research', concluding that when projects are designed to be inclusive and culturally sensitive, their outcomes are more impactful and powerful.
The four speakers shared examples from their own research, and the panel closes with some thoughts about what journals can do to encourage good practice.
WATCH VIDEO >
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CITATION MANIPULATION
18 February 2025 12:00-12:45 GMT/UTC
This lightning talk aims to raise awareness and provide a forum to discuss current and future ways to better identify, prevent, and correct citation manipulation in academic work. There will be plenty of time for questions from the audience.
REGISTER TODAY >
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COPE FORUM
COPE Members only
COPE Members: if you have a publication ethics issue you are currently dealing with and need advice from other Members, submit your case for discussion and advice at the Forum, or from COPE Council.
The next COPE Forum will be held on Thursday 20 March beginning with a topic discussion, followed by discussion and advice by the participants about the cases submitted by COPE Members.
Topic discussion: Declaring funding sources for research
The source of funding for research should be clearly described in published manuscripts. This allows reviewers, editors, and readers to consider potential conflicts of interest. It also allows funding agencies to monitor the research output of their grantees and to try to prevent fraud. COPE is drafting a discussion document that will describe best practices for publishing complete funding statements.
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ETHICAL OVERSIGHT IN EDITORIAL PRACTICES
ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA
COPE Trustee James Kigara facilitated the session Ethical Oversight in Editorial Practices at the workshop in Addis Ababa on 25 January 2025. The workshop is one of a series hosted by the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC). It will be followed by another workshop on 17-19 February. The workshops aim to empower journal editors with the knowledge and strategies to enhance the visibility of African journals
During these workshops James covers:
- ensuring compliance with ethical standards
- handling conflicts of interest and ethical misconduct.
READ MORE >
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LEVERAGING AI TO ENHANCE RESEARCH WRITING EFFICIENCY AND UPHOLD ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
NINGBO, CHINA
COPE Council Member Jiayi Xu is representing COPE at this workshop hosted by Cactus Communications and the University of Nottingham. The workshop will take place on 13 March 2025.
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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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