# Editors: how to identify potential fraudulent activity in your journal

**URL:** <https://theplace.discourse.group/t/editors-how-to-identify-potential-fraudulent-activity-in-your-journal/219>\
**Category:** Publishing Ethics\
**Tags:** papermills, fraudulentresearch, peerreview, imagemanipulation, fabricateddata\
**Created:** [April 20, 2023, 10:25am UTC](https://theplace.discourse.group/t/editors-how-to-identify-potential-fraudulent-activity-in-your-journal/219 "2023-04-20T10:25:26Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Natalie\_Ridgeway](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/74df32/32.png) [@Natalie\_Ridgeway](https://theplace.discourse.group/u/Natalie_Ridgeway)\
**Post date:** [April 20, 2023, 10:25am UTC](https://theplace.discourse.group/t/editors-how-to-identify-potential-fraudulent-activity-in-your-journal/219/1 "2023-04-20T10:25:26Z")

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Systematic manipulation of the publication process is where an individual or a group of individuals aim to guarantee publication by repeatedly used dishonest or fraudulent practices. This includes fraudulent activity such as paper mills, peer review manipulation; inappropriate attribution of authorship; publishing fabricated or plagiarised research etc.

COPE has a number of guidance documents and flowcharts to help you spot, identify and prevent fraudulent activity in you journal.

- [Systematic manipulation of the publication process](https://publicationethics.org/resources/flowcharts/systematic-manipulation-publication-process)

- [Addressing concerns about systematic manipulation of the publication process](https://publicationethics.org/resources/flowcharts/multi-article-paper-mill) (supplement to the above guidance)

- [How to recognise potential manipulation of the peer review process](https://publicationethics.org/resources/flowcharts/how-recognise-potential-manipulation-peer-review-process)

- [Peer review manipulation suspected during the peer review process](https://publicationethics.org/resources/flowcharts/what-do-if-you-suspect-peer-review-manipulation-0)

- [Image manipulation in a published article](https://publicationethics.org/resources/flowcharts/image-manipulation-published-article)

- [How to recognise potential authorship problems](https://publicationethics.org/resources/flowcharts/how-recognise-potential-authorship-problems)

- [Fabricated data in a submitted manuscript](https://publicationethics.org/resources/flowcharts/fabricated-data-in-submitted-manuscript)

- [Fabricated data in a published article](https://publicationethics.org/resources/flowcharts/clone-what-do-if-you-suspect-fabricated-data)