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Academic Publishing

All articles tagged with #academic publishing

AI-generated fake citations flood scientific literature, study finds
science18 days ago

AI-generated fake citations flood scientific literature, study finds

A Lancet study led by Columbia University researchers finds a growing share of citations in scientific papers are fabricated or AI-generated. Analyzing 2 million papers and 97 million citations, they identified about 4,000 fabricated references across 2,800 papers, with the rate rising from 2023 to 2025 and into early 2026. The rising prevalence could skew systematic reviews and clinical guidelines and reflects broader shifts in citation culture toward checklist-style referencing. Publishers report varying levels of tooling to flag or validate citations, underscoring the need for stronger verification as AI use in research grows.

Dataset unmasks the price range of fake first-author slots in the paper-mill market
science1 month ago

Dataset unmasks the price range of fake first-author slots in the paper-mill market

A dataset called BuyTheBy compiles over 18,000 advertisements from seven paper mills across multiple countries, revealing first-author slots selling for roughly $56 to $5,631 and showing some ads align with published papers. The study notes the market is evolving with AI, making enforcement difficult, but provides a starting point for publishers to curb fraud. The dataset isn’t comprehensive (omits Iran/China mills) and can’t confirm completion of purchases or final publications.

AI-Driven Reboot of Scholarly Publishing
technology2 months ago

AI-Driven Reboot of Scholarly Publishing

Tyler Cowen asks for ideas on how AI should transform academic journals; commenters propose AI-led triage and grading, disclosures of AI use, open-access reforms, machine-readable submissions with supporting artifacts, transparent AI pipelines, auditing, and new funding models, while skeptics caution that AI cannot fully replace human reviewers or authorship, highlighting both opportunities and risks in rethinking scholarly publishing.

Retractions, AI Slop, and the Watchful Eye of Peer Review
science3 months ago

Retractions, AI Slop, and the Watchful Eye of Peer Review

Retraction Watch’s Weekend Reads roundup recaps a week of publishing scrutiny: headlines about a researcher’s alleged poisoning obfuscation, plagiarism accusations, fake references, and dozens of retractions due to compromised peer review; it also highlights AI-related issues in arXiv’s new rules (endorsements for first-time posters and English submissions) and a broad set of discussions on replication, ethics, and data use. The post notes the Hijacked Journal Checker with 400+ entries, the Retraction Watch Database surpassing 63,000 retractions, COVID-era retractions over 640, and 50 mass resignations, and invites donations to support the work.

AI-suspected technobabble prompts Springer Nature inquiry into prolific editor
science4 months ago

AI-suspected technobabble prompts Springer Nature inquiry into prolific editor

A Turkish associate professor and editor, Eren Öğüt, faces a Springer Nature investigation after reviewers flagged multiple 2025 papers that read like technobabble, use irrelevant MATLAB code, and lack reproducible data or overlaid brain images. His unusually high volume of peer reviews (about 650 in one year) and roles as editor across journals raise concerns about editorial bias and integrity, with critics noting AI-assisted editing and a pattern of single-authored works that resemble prior templates. The investigation focuses on methodological gaps, data sharing, and potential misrepresentation of results in Neuroinformatics and related journals.

Irish Finance Professor Loses 12 Edited Journal Papers
business4 months ago

Irish Finance Professor Loses 12 Edited Journal Papers

A finance professor in Ireland, Brian Lucey, had 12 papers retracted from journals he edited by Elsevier, citing editorial conflicts, though Lucey disputes the grounds for retraction and highlights widespread similar practices in finance and economics publishing. The retractions, which involved highly cited articles, have sparked debate about editorial ethics and conflicts of interest in academic publishing.

NEJM Launches MMWR Rival Amidst Scientific and Ethical Concerns
science-and-medicine7 months ago

NEJM Launches MMWR Rival Amidst Scientific and Ethical Concerns

The article summarizes recent developments in scientific publishing, including NEJM launching a new public health report rival, a former NIH official's paper receiving an expression of concern, and a study revealing that 1 in 5 chemists have intentionally added errors during peer review, highlighting ongoing issues of misconduct and integrity in research.

Peer reviewers favor articles citing their own research
science9 months ago

Peer reviewers favor articles citing their own research

A study analyzing 18,400 articles suggests that peer reviewers are more likely to approve manuscripts if their own work is cited, raising concerns about citation bias and coercive practices in peer review. Reviewers who request citations of their own work tend to be less likely to approve the article, and language used in reviewer comments may indicate coercion, highlighting potential issues in the peer review process.

Royal Society in the UK Adopts 'Subscribe to Open' Publishing Model
science-and-publishing9 months ago

Royal Society in the UK Adopts 'Subscribe to Open' Publishing Model

The UK Royal Society is transitioning eight of its journals to the 'subscribe to open' (S2O) model, which makes content freely accessible if enough libraries subscribe, aiming for 100% open access. This move aligns with a broader trend among scientific publishers adopting the S2O model to promote open access, with varying degrees of sustainability depending on subscription levels and financial support from scientific societies.

Frontiers to Retract 122 Articles Over Unethical Network Links
science-and-technology10 months ago

Frontiers to Retract 122 Articles Over Unethical Network Links

Frontiers is retracting 122 articles across five journals after uncovering a network of authors and editors involved in unethical practices like citation manipulation and undisclosed conflicts of interest, linked to over 4,000 articles across multiple publishers, highlighting ongoing issues with research integrity in academic publishing.

AI Chatbots Enter Academic Peer Review Process
technology1 year ago

AI Chatbots Enter Academic Peer Review Process

A study led by James Zou from Stanford reveals that 7-17% of sentences in peer reviews for computer science articles in 2023-2024 were generated by large language models (LLMs). These AI-generated reviews are characterized by a formal tone, verbosity, and a lack of specificity, often appearing close to submission deadlines. Zou suggests that fostering more human interactions in the review process, such as through platforms like OpenReview, could mitigate the dominance of AI in peer reviews.

"Reforming Academic Publishing: The Push for Diamond Open Access"
academic-publishing1 year ago

"Reforming Academic Publishing: The Push for Diamond Open Access"

Arash Abizadeh advocates for "diamond" open access in academic publishing, where universities and libraries directly fund journals, eliminating commercial pressures and making research freely accessible. This model addresses the high costs and restricted access of current publishing practices, but faces challenges due to the prestige associated with established commercial journals.