Misconduct in research momentarily rose high up the agenda of the British medical community after Malcolm Pearce, an obstetrician and gynaecologist, was found in 1995 to have forged a series of papers. The case made the front pages of the newspapers and led to the downfall of a president of a royal college. Despite calls for action on research misconduct, the issue has not been tackled. Now Britain has another high profile case, and perhaps me profession will be awakened from its torpor. In the meantime, editors-who are regularly confronted by cases of possible misconduct-have decided to help themselves. We have set up the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
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