A critically important, but often overlooked, component of research integrity is verifying researcher identities. Significant efforts have been made over the last few years into checking the content of manuscript submissions. However, most scholarly publishers require little more than a working email address to allow users to submit manuscripts for peer review and, if accepted, to become part of the permanent scientific record. This implicit trust in researcher identities is now being exploited in several ways, including authors recommending fake peer reviewers or claiming false co-authors, researchers using a fake identity to apply to become a guest editor, etc.
A cross-industry working group, established by The International Association of STM Publishers and reflecting input from across our community, has developed a set of recommendations for applying more stringent identity verification steps throughout the peer review process. In this session, we will present these recommendations and engage with the audience to hear their views on their value and feasibility.
Tuesday February 11, 2025 1:30pm - 2:45pm EST
Waterview AB
With increased concerns about the integrity of the scholarly record and rising numbers of retractions, it is more important than ever that researchers understand when they are about to read an article that’s been retracted or has received material updates. This sessions brings together several initiatives that aim to improve the visibility of retraction information for readers: The NISO CREC (Communication of Retractions, Removals, and Expressions of Concern) Working Group, the STM group on Content-update Signaling and Alerting Protocol (CUSAP), GetFTR and Crossref with their collaboration around Retraction Watch Errata and Retraction information, and ORCID. Panelists will discuss the benefits and drawbacks of various approaches to improve ‘retraction visibility’ and help researchers avoid problematic research. The conversation will also highlight how the GetFTR browser extension enables researchers to see retracted content alongside entitlement signals and how the ORCID author identifier can support research integrity and combat fraud.
Tuesday February 11, 2025 3:15pm - 4:30pm EST
Waterview AB
