The creation of a comprehensive and reputable network of knowledge depends on the COPE instructions. It is a clear indication of the authors and the organizations supporting them of the caliber of their work. The scientific method is supported and embodied in peer-reviewed literature. As a result, it's crucial to establish a consensus on minimum ethical norms.
Ethics topics to consider when publishing:
Authorship of the paper: Only those who significantly contributed to the conception, design, implementation, or interpretation of the reported study should be given the right to sign their names. Author contributions should be disclosed openly, for instance through a CRediT author statement.
Originality and plagiarism: The authors should make sure that their writing is their own, and if they have used someone else's ideas or words, they should make sure that they have properly cited or quoted them.
Data access and storage: Authors may be required to submit the raw data associated with a publication for editorial review; they should be ready to make the data available to the public
Multiple, or redundant publications: In general, an author shouldn't submit submissions that essentially describe the same study to more than one journal or principal publication.
Acknowledgement of sources: Proper acknowledgment of the work of others must always be given.
Disclosure and conflicts of interest: Disclosure of all relationships that might be perceived as posing a possible conflict of interest is required for all submissions.
Declaration of Competing Interests
All authors should disclose in their manuscript any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could be viewed as inappropriately influencing (bias) their work.
All sources of financial support for the conduct of the research and/or preparation of the article should be disclosed, as should the role of the sponsor(s), if any, in study design; in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; and in the decision to submit the article for publication. If the funding source(s) had no such involvement, then this should be stated.
Fundamental errors in published works: It is the author's responsibility to swiftly tell the journal editor or publisher of any substantial errors or inaccuracies in their own published works and to work with the editor to retract or correct the paper.
Reporting requirements: Authors of original research papers must include a truthful summary of the work done and an unbiased analysis of its relevance.
Authors of reports of original research should present an accurate account of the work performed as well as an objective discussion of its significance. Underlying data should be represented accurately in the paper. A paper should contain sufficient detail and references to permit others to replicate the work. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and are unacceptable.
Review and professional publication articles should also be accurate and objective, and editorial ‘opinion’ works should be identified as such.
It is not acceptable to enhance, obscure, move, remove, or introduce a specific feature within an image. Adjustments of brightness, contrast, or color balance are acceptable if and as long as they do not obscure or eliminate any information present in the original. Authors should comply with any specific policy for graphical images applied by the relevant journal, e.g. providing the original images as supplementary material with the article, or depositing these in a suitable repository.