Understanding Research Integrity – Challenges and Frameworks, Part One
Scope
Integrity is the cornerstone of scholarly research, yet it is increasingly challenged by issues such as errors, misconduct, and retractions. This two-part webinar series explores the foundations of research integrity and the systems that support it. In Part 1: Understanding the Landscape, we’ll examine the principles, pressures, and practices that shape ethical research. In Part 2: Upholding Integrity, we’ll take a closer look at the role of retractions—why they happen, what they signal, and how institutions, publishers, and researchers can respond to protect the credibility of the scholarly record.
Confirmed speakers for Part I include Mohammed Hosseini, Assistant Professor, Preventive Medicine (Biostatistics and Informatics), Northwestern University; Jason Hu, Vice President of Research Integrity at Taylor & Francis Publishing Group and Working Group Chair for United2Act; and Gráinne McNamara, Research Integrity/Publication Ethics Manager, Karger. Maria Zalm, Senior Editor, Team Manager Publication Ethics, PLOS, will serve as the moderator.
A sincere appreciation is extended to Nettie Lagace, Silverchair and Mitchell Scott, University of Kentucky, for their efforts in bringing this program together and participation on the NISO Education Committee.
Event Sessions
Speakers
Maria Zalm, Senior Editor, Team Manager Publication Ethics, PLOS, served as the moderator for this program.
The following questions were discussed by our speakers:
How is “research integrity” understood within the context of global initiatives like the UNESCO recommendation on open science?
What current issues, such as retractions or unethical publishing practices, pose the greatest challenges to research integrity?
How can frameworks like the Leiden Initiative for FAIR & Equitable Science and COPE guidelines be applied effectively across different institutions?
Who should take the lead in ensuring stronger adherence to research integrity policies, and what forms of enforcement are most practical?
How can open science be advanced while still safeguarding confidentiality, intellectual property, and participant privacy?
What are the risks when researchers share data through personal websites, Google Drive, or Box instead of established repositories with metadata?
In what ways can collaborative efforts like United2Act and the recognition of “sleuths” contribute to detecting and preventing misconduct?
How can publishers, libraries, funders, and other stakeholders better coordinate to strengthen ethical publishing practices?
What kinds of training programs—such as the SDU library-led initiative—are most effective for early-career researchers in building integrity awareness?
Looking ahead, what new developments or trends could present the next major challenges for maintaining research integrity?
Related Information and Shared Resources:
UNESCO recommendation on open science - The UNESCO Recommendation on Open Science is the first international standard setting instrument on open science.
Leiden Initiative for FAIR & Equitable Science - LIFES is a global association that unites public and private data owners, users, ASPs and communities to jointly evolve the ecosystem for FAIR, equitable and sustainable data reuse for science & innovation
From the journal Nature: Low-quality papers based on public health data are flooding the scientific literature - The appearance of thousands of formulaic biomedical studies has been linked to the rise of text-generating AI tools By Miryam Naddaf
Retraction Watch: Noticed: Sleuths are starting to get credit for retractions - Pseudonymous sleuth Claire Francis has flagged thousands of papers over the years, so they rarely see something new. But an email from Frontiers about an upcoming retraction on a paper Francis originally flagged offered just that: The option to be acknowledged in the retraction notice.
From the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE): Guest edited collections - Journals should carefully manage guest edited collections, taking into consideration the potential for unethical behaviours, such as citation cartels, inappropriate commissioning practices, and peer review fraud.
Critical gaps in ethical publishing knowledge among researchers in China, reveals new survey - Joint study by Taylor & Francis and National Science Library of the Chinese Academy of Sciences is published in the Journal of Data and Information Science
Strengthening research integrity: A library-led program for early-career researchers - The University of Southern Denmark (SDU) implemented a library-led training program to support early-career researchers in upholding ethical research practices, which is critical for maintaining trust and excellence in academia.
United2Act - a growing international movement taking decisive action against the collective challenge of paper mills in scholarly publishing.
United2Act Working Group 1: Education & Awareness - United2Act working groups have prepared a number of draft resources as a first step to delivering on the actions in the Consensus Statement. Additional resources are also being developed. (Other United2Act Working Groups)
United2Act The Papermill Educational Toolkit
From the journal Nature: AI content is tainting preprints: how moderators are fighting back - Preprint servers are seeing a rise in submissions seemingly produced by paper mills or with help from AI tools.
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