Integrity in publishing : some considerations for dealing with complaints about author misconduct

Complaints made to editors about an author's unethical behaviour relating to work submitted for publication or work that has already been published must be dealt with in accordance with The Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Despite the ramifications of breaches of ethical practice, there is little published information about how complaints relating to author misconduct are managed. This paper provides an overview of the subject and will be of interest to authors and would-be authors.