Research integrity: why it matters and how Elsevier can help protect the interests of your journal

Elsevier is committed to working with the community and our society partners to ensure that content published in our journals is trustworthy.

As the volume of published content has risen, so too has the number of ethical concerns flagged to journals by Elsevier’s integrity checks, diligent readers, or dedicated research integrity sleuths. At a European roundtable on Confidence in Science, Elsevier’s CEO Kumsal Bayazit conveyed the following key principles in maintaining trust in science: “…scholarly publishing should be high-quality, transparent, open, trustworthy and equitable. These are important and ambitious goals to be achieved together.” It’s a challenging time for the research ecosystem with the rise of paper mills – systematic operations that aim to manipulate the publishing process, leading to some substandard or entirely fake articles. This has also led to an increase in retractions and sometimes journal deindexation and closure.

It’s a challenging time for the research ecosystem with the rise of paper mills – systematic operations that aim to manipulate the publishing process, leading to some substandard or entirely fake articles. This has also led to an increase in retractions and sometimes journal deindexation and closure.

In Elsevier’s Research Integrity & Publishing Ethics (RI&PE) team we’re seeing increasingly complex cases including papers containing suspected inappropriate generative AI use, schemes involving the sale of authorship, and sophisticated attempts to artificially inflate individual and journal metrics. Cases frequently feature individuals working as part of a coordinated network to game the system, as shown in Box 1. These events risk building new research upon faulty foundations and can contribute to an erosion of public confidence in science. That’s why we’re committed to taking action, including catching potential misconduct prior to publication as well as making timely and transparent corrections to published articles when necessary.

Upholding research integrity requires editorial stringency

Safeguarding published content is challenging as unethical behaviors evolve and can occur at many stages in the research and editorial process (Table 1). As a former editor who transitioned to Elsevier’s RI&PE team in 2022, I have firsthand experience handling dubious submissions. Suspicious indicators included formulaic manuscript structures, tell-tale titles, logic flaws (e.g., the methods describing experiments not reported in the manuscript and inaccuracies in key terms), and problematic figures featuring image duplications or graphs generated from implausible datasets.

Table 1: Research Integrity can be divided into different types, each with its own set of desired characteristics and specific integrity breaches.

To identify problematic submissions, Editors must remain vigilant and ensure that authors adhere to the rigorous standards set out by the journal (and update the Journal’s Guide for Authors when missing or outdated policies are identified). Top tips to ensure submissions meet the required quality bar are outlined in Box 2.

Elsevier is leveraging technology to combat research fraud

Elsevier remains focused on upholding the highest standards of rigor and ethics to protect the quality and integrity of its published content (link to recent Elsevier article).

The volume, scale and complexity of cases have necessitated the development and testing of research integrity tools within Elsevier’s RI&PE team. Elsevier’s Data Insights hub is spearheading this effort by developing in-house technologies that can identify a broad range of research integrity signals,at scale, and detect patterns of behavior and misconduct across papers, journals and coordinated networks. The RI&PE team also evaluates third-party tools, and the most effective are adopted to interrogate submitted manuscripts and support post-publication investigations.

As your publishing partner, our team of over 80 ethics experts are ready to deploy our latest cutting-edge technologies and expertise to help investigate allegations of misconduct, advise on corrective action, educate editors on the latest signals of potential misconduct (such as citation manipulation and paper mills), and train editors to use investigative tools to help identify these signals in submitted articles more efficiently.

Tackling research fraud is a collaborative effort

As fraudsters find new ways to exploit vulnerabilities and evade detection, the publishing community needs to work together for the greatest chance of quashing these efforts. Elsevier is actively involved in various cross-publisher initiatives such as COPE, the European Association of Science Editors, and the STM Association. As a founding member of the STM’s Research Integrity Hub, we support the curation of resources like the Image Alteration and Duplications video series as well as lend our technology and expertise to aide in the development and testing of research integrity tools that directly benefit the wider scholarly publishing community.

A concerted effort from all stakeholders involved in the research process is required to combat research misconduct. Each must take responsibility for their own activities to preserve the research process and participate in regular forums to maximize awareness and find opportunities to share updates and innovate together. We have been proud to participate in the United2Act project in which an international, multi-stakeholder group (including publishers, academics, research integrity sleuths, and nonprofit organizations) has come together to collectively map out and publish strategies to combat paper mills.

How to protect your journals from research misconduct

Preserving the reputation of the journals we publish on behalf of our society partners from the impact of unethical research is critically important to Elsevier. The following checklist summarizes how you can ensure your journal is taking the right steps to avoid research integrity issues (Box 3).

Elsevier recognizes the importance of strong publisher-society partnerships to ensure the publication of trusted and high-quality content and we are committed to providing effective research integrity support for your journal. For more information about how your journal(s) could benefit from our expertise, please reach out to your Publishing Partner