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Welcome to the January issue of COPE Digest.
As we settle into 2021, COPE is planning a series of virtual interactive workshops, webinars, a virtual seminar, along with our regular quarterly Forums. A cycle of virtual activities will begin with an interactive workshop in February. As we did last year, the workshops will be repeated to accommodate members in different time zones. Stay tuned for our upcoming virtual offerings on various topics of interest to our membership.
At our COPE Forum in December, we held an exploratory discussion of what COPE and other industry organisations might do to further our individual and collective stance against predatory publishing. Dr Kelly Cobey described an authenticator project for journals, from the Centre for Journalology, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, University of Ottawa, as a one stop shop for evaluating journals. Two promising ideas that will be further discussed include the development of a multi-stakeholder compact with industry signatories to work for the promotion of publication ethics and against any existence or proliferation of predatory publishing. The other idea is to declare more formally the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing (perhaps with other similar guidelines) as the standards for publication ethics. Members also suggested that COPE should develop a flowchart to deal with issues related to predatory publishing. Readers can see a summary of the Forum discussion. We welcome your feedback.
There has been increased interest in research data sharing in recent years, and as data sharing in the context of publications becomes more common, this can bring new and complex ethical challenges. COPE is collaborating with a newly launched FORCE11 Research Data Publishing Ethics Working Group to address the need for guidelines and resources that support authors, data curators and editors in the handling of ethics cases related to research data. The working group will develop resources, such as overviews of example cases and flowcharts, for the handling of different types of concerns.
COPE has formed a working group to develop guidance on name changes in publishing, particularly for transgender, non-binary and/or gender diverse authors. In this issue of Digest, Rachel Safer, COPE Council Member and lead of the working group, describes the rationale and purpose of the project.
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Also in Digest is a guest editorial "A vision for a more trans-inclusive publishing world"...
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COPE Chair Deborah Poff
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AUTHOR NAME CHANGES AFTER PUBLICATION
Update on COPE guidance
In response to an increase in cases and queries in 2019 about author name changes after article publication, COPE formed a working group of Trustees, Council Members, publishers, editors, and authors to develop guidance on this important topic.
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Post-publication changes are typically accomplished with correction notices, which provide transparency for readers and ensure the changes downstream to indexing and discovery services. These notices are not appropriate in all circumstances however, particularly in the case of transgender, non-binary, and/or gender diverse authors because of the potential trauma caused by the continued circulation of their previous names and the risks to which disclosure of their gender identity subjects them.
Beyond drafting guidance that makes the process easier, the COPE working group has the additional goal of making the process more consistent for authors, journals/publishers, and relevant third parties.
At its core, the group is being driven by high level principles that are detailed in a guest editorial entitled A vision for a more trans-inclusive publishing world, featured in this issue of COPE Digest.
We anticipate sharing the initial guidance document within the next few months.
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Guest article: A vision for a more trans-inclusive publishing world
Transgender, non-binary, and/or gender diverse—here shortened to “trans”—authors seeking to receive full credit for their work face unique challenges and risks. Trans people do not receive the same legal protections against discrimination as cisgender people worldwide; they are subject to significant risk of discrimination, harassment, and violence; and many experience a particular form of personal trauma connected to their pre-transition identities that makes them especially vulnerable within the academic community.
One significant source of epistemic labor, risk, and trauma for transgender authors, is the continued circulation of their previous name. In this article, the authors present five high level principles for trans-inclusive name changes in academic publishing and consider the implications of such a paradigm shift within the scholarly world.
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Latest publication ethics news
This month the news includes articles on research integrity, image manipulation, data sharing, peer review and more.
- The STM Association has released a draft taxonomy for peer review aimed at standardising definitions and terminology with the intention of building an evidence base for strategic investments and policy decisions, as well as to improve journal transparency and evaluation processes.
- Clarivate has announced that it will change the method for calculating the Journal Impact Factor to use the date of the online publication, not the print publication date, for all articles.
- This fifth edition of the State of Open Data explores issues including: the effect of COVID-19 on open access publications, the effect of data sharing statements, misuse of open access data, and issues of equity in open science.
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Advice on new cases
The cases presented at the COPE Forum on 15 December 2020, together with the advice given and updates on previous cases, are now on the COPE website.
New cases:
Updates on existing cases:
Next COPE Forum: Tuesday 23 March, 2PM (GMT)
COPE Members: if you have a publication ethics issue you're currently dealing with and need advice from other COPE members, you can submit your case for discussion and advice at our next COPE Forum.
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PREDATORY PUBLISHING: NEXT STEPS
Forum discussion
The full discussion held at our December Forum is now on our website, with questions we couldn't get to during the Forum which have since been answered by our guest speaker Kelly Cobey. Questions discussed by the Forum include:
- Should COPE use its criteria for membership as an instrument to evaluate standards of scholarly publishing vehicles?
- Should COPE and/or other industry organisations form a global compact of signatories to commit to the practice of research and publication integrity?
- Should COPE and/or other industry organisations act as a third party retraction service for authors who have unknowingly published with a predatory publisher?
READ MORE AND ADD YOUR COMMENTS >
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Visit our events page to read more about upcoming events which include discussions on publication ethics issues.
- Deborah Poff, COPE Chair, is an invited speaker at the UKRIO research integrity webinar 'Good research practise from the publishers' perspective', 20 January 2021.
- Simon Linacre, COPE Trustee, is presenting at the CIVICA (The European University of Social Sciences) online research ethics training session for PhD and postdoctoral researchers from CIVICA partner universities. 21 January 2021.
- ISMPP European Meeting 'Collaboration, connectivity and change: a holistic view of the scientific communications environment in 2021'. 26-17 January 2021.
- CSE 'Short course on publication ethics', 29 January 2021.
READ MORE >
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COPE Digest Editor:
Nancy C Chescheir, MD, Emeritus Editor, Obstetrics and Gynecology
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