COPE: The committee on publication ethics

Abstract

T hrough the foresight of Elsevier and its stable of scientific journals, the AJO-DO has joined over 4000 members of the committee on publication ethics, or COPE. This organization provides a forum for publishers and editors of peer-reviewed journals to strengthen the integrity of material submitted for publication. Membership benefits of COPE are numerous and include a searchable archive of cases and advice related to handling ethical problems, a blog on publication ethics, auditing tools for your journal, and regularly updated guidelines on ethics for authors and editors. I found COPE’s version of ‘‘Guidelines on Good Publication Practice’’ to be particularly helpful to me in dealing with complications that arise on receipt of many articles submitted for peer review and future publication. Questions are routinely raised on issues such as authorship, conflicts of interest, peer review, and advertising. Problems that arise are often interesting and can evoke strong feelings on all sides; the voice of an organization such as COPE, with vastly more experience in reaching a workable resolution, is valuable.