A Call for Independent Publishing Integrity Checking Systems
A need for certified bodies to safeguard publishing integrity which are independent of publishers.
“To uphold the quality and integrity of academic publishing, the scientific community and its funders are called to establish science and technology integrity checking systems that are fully independent of publishers.”
Fundamental principle supported by the undersigned
What iPIC and SPIN are meant to do
The proposal responds to the growing scale of fraudulent publications and increasingly automated production.
It calls for independent, scalable integrity screening and independent certification of those services.
Independent Publishing Integrity Checking (iPIC)
Independent centers would verify manuscript integrity before a submission enters a publisher’s peer-review process, with a focus on indicators or signals of potential integrity problems and fraud.
Science Publishing Integrity Norms (SPIN)
An independent governing and certification body would set, supervise and regulate iPIC.
Independent by design
Integrity-control systems should be separated from commercial interests associated with publishing volume, while publishers remain free to perform additional field-specific checks.
Stakeholder benefits
Scientific community
- Greater reliability of the scientific record and increased confidence.
- Reduced waste associated with irreproducible or fraudulent research.
- Reduced burden of peer review.
- Maintaining trust in research and researchers.
Publishers and journals
- Specialized, more consistent fraud detection and integrity flagging.
- Potential reduction of publishers’ own integrity-checking expenses.
- Shared integrity information and improved fraud alerts.
- Better access to checking capacity for small publishers.
Funders
- Lower burden from fraudulent papers and associated publishing charges.
- More researcher time available for research.
- Greater confidence in publication records used for funding decisions.
- Increased efficiency in reaching funding goals.
Public
- More effective tax spending for research and innovation.
- Higher quality research outcomes, R&D processes and technology solutions.
- Improved research-based decisions in health care, industry and security.
- More reliable public communication and media reporting of science.
Initial signatories
The document lists the following initial signatories and notes that others are invited to follow.
Sven Lidin
University of Lund, Sweden · President of The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
Dan Larhammar
Uppsala University, Sweden · former President of The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences; co-author of the Stockholm Declaration
Gerd Gigerenzer
Max Planck Institute of Human Development · Vice President, European Research Council (ERC)
Bernhard Sabel
University of Magdeburg & Sciii Foundation gGmbH, Germany · author of the Stockholm Declaration