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June 21, 2022 by Gary Price

Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and STM Publish Research Report on Paper Mills

June 21, 2022 by Gary Price

From a Committee on Publication Ethics Blog Post:

COPE and STM undertook a study with Maverick Publishing Services, using data from publishers, to understand the scale of the problem of paper mills. The study also involved interviewing stakeholders – research investigators, publishers, and Retraction Watch.

All stakeholders believe that the issue of paper mills is a real threat to the integrity of the scholarly record. Collective effort is needed because publishers are clear that they cannot solve this problem alone. A joint effort by publishers, funders and research institutions is needed.

[Clip]

Key points

  • Paper mills are the process by which manufactured manuscripts are submitted to a journal for a fee on behalf of researchers with the purpose of providing an easy publication for them, or to offer authorship for sale
  • There is a pressure to publish for researchers and for some it is necessary to advance their career, and in some countries use of such services are perceived to be less unacceptable.
  • Fake papers are being identified both during the submission process and after publication.
  • There are indicators, usually a combination of factors, editorial staff can look out for during the submission process.
  • Tools and processes are increasingly being used to identify paper mills.
  • After publication concerns are raised by readers and following investigation, which can take some time, papers will be retracted.
  • Research integrity teams are retracting multiple published fake articles.
  • The submission of suspected fake research papers, which is often associated with fake authorship, is growing.

Recommended actions

  • A major education exercise is needed to ensure that Editors are aware of the problem of paper mills, and Editors/editorial staff are trained in identifying the fake papers.
  • Continued investment in tools and systems to pick up suspect papers as they are submitted.
  • Engagement with institutions and funders to review incentives for researchers to publish valid papers and not use services that will give quick but fake publication.
  • Investigation of protocols that can be put in place to impede paper mills from succeeding in their goals.
  • Review the retraction process to take account of the unique features of paper mill papers.
  • Investigate how to ensure retraction notices are applied to all copies of a paper such as preprint servers and article repositories.

Learn More: Read the Complete Post, Access Additional Resources

Direct to Full Text Research Paper
16 pages; PDF.

 

Filed under: Companies (Publishers/Vendors), Data Files, Journal Articles, News, Open Access, Publishing

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About Gary Price

Gary Price (gprice@mediasourceinc.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. Before launching INFOdocket, Price and Shirl Kennedy were the founders and senior editors at ResourceShelf and DocuTicker for 10 years. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com, and is currently a contributing editor at Search Engine Land.

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