In April 2014, our journal received a case report from author A with co-authors B, C, D and E. After undergoing a first round of revisions pertaining only to the paper’s format, author A excluded co-authors C, D, and E from the revised version and retained co-author B, without notifying the journal of this change. After this change, the manuscript underwent the complete evaluation process, comprising peer review and revisions by the authors. It was accepted for publication in July 2014.
在评估过程中，作者A包括两个新的共同作者（作者F和G）。本文于2014年11月发表，作者A和共同作者B，F和G.从稿件提交的时间到出版时，被排除的共同作者C，D和E没有联系期刊或发送任何请求或评论关于他们的作者。
In May 2015, 7 months after the case report was published, our journal received an email from a legal advocate acting on behalf of the excluded co-authors C, D and E, complaining about the attested authorship of the case report. Co-authors C, D and E claim that author A is not, in fact, the first author and assert that the correct authorship and co-authorship should include the excluded authors C, D and E as the principal authors.
We sent the complaint made by the excluded co-authors C, D, and E to author A (the corresponding author of the published version) allowing him the chance to answer all of the allegations made by the excluded co-authors. In his reply, he assured us that he was the principal author of the case report, as originally submitted, and that it has no element of plagiarism. He further assured our journal that he and the co-authors listed in the published version had written the manuscript and made all the corrections proposed by the reviewers. He stated, “We have never indulged or indulge in such silly misdoings and in order to keep the personal relationship amicable, we would like to withdraw the case report despite it being the product of hours of hard work on our part”.
Question(s) for the COPE Forum
- Although this case does not represent a clear reason for retraction (eg, redundant publication, plagiarism or clear evidence that the findings are unreliable), should we issue an expression of concern?
- Is it possible for our journal to retract the case report in order to avoid serious legal problems in the near future?
如果共同作者C，D和E索赔是他们的工作，可能会根据抄袭判断本文的案例，然后是他们的工作，然后另一个作者采取了这项工作并将其作为自己的作用。所以它可以被视为思想的抄袭。但在采取此行动之前，需要解决作者问题。
However, given that the study seems to be sound, some argued that the paper should not be retracted. An expression of concern may be warranted, but again, as there are no issues with the content of the paper, it may not be necessary.
Has the journal gone back to the authors and asked them why this has happened? The editor could suggest that the authors look at the journal's authorship guidelines and determine who should be listed as an author. However, the Forum agreed that it is impossible for the editor to know exactly what is going on here, and so the journal needs to contact the institution and ask them to resolve this situation. It is not the editor’s role to sort out authorship disputes. Hence the Forum recommended contacting the authors' institutions in the first instance, before taking any action.
似乎在这里的期刊进程失败，论坛建议期刊应该收紧他们的流程，并确保他们在提交时检查作者的系统更加强大。如果期刊曾与所有作者联系，那么这一情况就可以避免，而不仅仅是相应的作者。期刊可以请求来自所有作者的电子邮件地址在提交纸质上，并复制所有作者关于与论文有关的所有通信。
Although the journal checks for plagiarism and authorship at the submission step, they have made their processes more robust to avoid future problems. The editor-in-chief sent several messages to the corresponding author and co-authors asking them to find agreement regarding authorship, based on the journal´s authorship guidelines. Unfortunately, no response has been received. The editorial board of the journal decided to give the authors another 2 months to respond. If no response is received, and considering the corresponding author already asked for retraction, the case report will be retracted.
Follow up November 2015
The authors did not answer questions from the journal regarding authorship of their case report. The editor has not retracted the paper and considers the case now closed.
注释
发布勘误表/ CORRIDEUM如何将遗失作者添加到研究中，特别是如果这是机构所需的要求？
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为什么编辑尚未收回案例报告，即使没有收到作者的回复？
在该杂志上出版的机构杂志杂志中可以采取更强的决定，这可能导致了对机构的建设压力，以帮助解决作者问题。
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