Publishing Ethics Resource Kit for editors

The Publishing Ethics Resource Kit (PERK) is an online resource to support journal editors in handling publishing ethics allegations.

Useful links

• Elsevier’s policies on:

  • Publishing ethics (duties of editors, reviewers, authors and of the publisher)

  • Article correction, retraction and removal

  • Generative AI policies for journals (editor, reviewer and author policies)

  • Patient consent

  • Research data

• Legal guide for editors

• Templates for retraction and expression of concern notices opens in new tab/window

• Questions and answers

• Research integrity at Elsevier

  • Stay up to date with the latest alerts via Editors’ Update

  • Researcher Academy – ethics education modules for researchers opens in new tab/window

  • Editor Essentials opens in new tab/window

• Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) membership

• Research integrity and publishing ethics related organizations

Decision trees

General guidelines for handling allegations:

1. Authorship complaints

2. Plagiarism complaints

3. Multiple, duplicate, concurrent publication/simultaneous submission

4. Research results misappropriation

5. Allegations of research errors, falsification and fabrication

6. Allegations of image duplication or manipulation

7. Research standards violations

8. Undisclosed conflicts of interest

9. Reviewer bias or competitive harmful acts by reviewers

Form letters

A. To author A1. To author regarding a published article A2. To author regarding suspected plagiarism in a submitted article A3. To all contactable authors regarding an article retraction A4. To all contactable authors regarding image integrity issues B. To complainant re: author C. To institution D. To other journal (double publication) E. To funding agency F. To reviewer G. To complainant re: reviewer H. To reviewer's institution