Publication integrity: why does it matter? 
Trustworthy scientific publications are the cornerstone of knowledge, evidence based information, and science. Ensuring the integrity of scientific publications is crucial for maintaining the credibility and reliability of research, as it not only prevents the spread of misinformation, but also upholds public trust in science. In light of the increasing number of scientific publications per year, and complexity of scientific work, maintaining publication integrity has become more important than ever. 

Publication integrity: what are the challenges? 
Addressing integrity concerns publications is often arduous and protracted. By the time a journal decides whether to correct, express concern, or retract a paper, substantial delays of months or even years frequently occur. Given these challenges, the responsibilities falls on individual researchers to prioritize rigorous investigation into publication integrity and uphold the the credibility of their findings from the beginning. 

Tools for ensuring publication integrity: 
Every person at research fields who is involved in scientific education and research is individually responsible for monitoring and safeguarding scientific integrity. To support this, WUR Library has gathered several tools and platforms that have been developed to help researchers and institutions maintain the accuracy and high standards of publication integrity. Here are some tools: 

1.    Retraction Watch Database: 
Retraction Watch is a database and blog that tracks retractions of scientific papers. It highlights papers that have been retracted due to errors, misconduct, or other issues. Start by reading the user guide to find out how you can search for retracted papers. Then dive into the Retraction Watch Database to ensure you will never cite retracted papers! 

For Endnote and Zotero users, Retraction Watch Database now has been integrated into these reference managers. For more information, please check Endnote Integration (Or on Clarivate webpage) and Zotero Integration. 

 

2.    PubPeer:
PubPeer is an online platform for post-publication peer review. It allows scientists to comment on and discuss published research anonymously or openly. This platform promotes transparency and helps identify errors or issues in published papers, thereby contributing to the overall quality and reliability of scientific literature. 

An important aspect of the platform is that it allows anonymous commenting. At the same time, the platform tries to inform corresponding authors about comments on their paper. To comment on papers, go to the PubPeer platform and search for a paper by its title or doi. 

If you want to receive about comments on a paper, you can install the browser plugin. With the PubPeer browser plugin, a box from PubPeer appears when you're on the article’s webpage. Of course, this happens only when there are comments on the specific paper. Unfortunately, the color of PubPeer’s box is pale and might not always be easily seen. 

 

3.    scite_ 
scite_ is a search engine that uses artificial intelligence to identify if a citation in a paper supports, contradicts or just mentions the study. The scite_ database is still growing: not all citations of every paper have been indexed. This means that you may not be able to identify all citations. But, scite_ can still give you crucial information during your literature search.

You can use scite_ in two ways: (a) by using the search engine on the website and (b) by installing a plugin for your web browser (Firefox and Chrome). The browser plugin notifies you when you're on a website of a scientific paper. Both ways work best if you search for a specific title or DOI. 

 

4.    Signals:
Signals helps researchers, journal editors, and research integrity professionals to identify and prevent publication fraud. It enables them to gauge the legitimacy of a research article by surfacing robust insights about the authors from article metadata. These insights are called "signals" (Note: the platform requires registration for using). 

 After paste the DOI of a paper in the searching box, the tool will start analysing the paper and thus give the recommendations based on various perspectives. If the paper was retracted, Signal will also put the information in the first high light, it also offers information if the journals of searched paper has been indexed by Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ). For more advanced settings, the user can also configure the setting by clicking the gear button on the right. 

 

5.    Redactek: 
RedacTek is an platform designed to enhance research integrity and ensure the credibility of scientific publications. Its services include: 

·       Retractions – Tracked to three generations of sources. 

·       Chrome Browser Plugin – Alerts for articles as you browse. 

·       Author self-cites – Articles flagged when authors cite their own work 25% or more. 

·       Crossref Data – Integrated a full complement of reference sources + DOI and PMID numbers. 

·       PubPeer Comments – Post-publication peer review alongside our other tools. 

·       Predatory Journals – Partnering with Cabell’s, we identify articles and sources published by predatory journals, who do not properly conduct peer-review of their publications (coming soon). 

Conclusion: 

Scientific progress relies on the trust and credibility of academic colleagues’ commitment to the accuracy of scientific outputs. Maintaining the integrity of scientific publications is a collective responsibility. Therefore, it is encouraged the use of these tools and promote a culture of integrity among researchers. Advocate researchers to proactively ensure the accuracy and honesty of their work. By working together, we can uphold the highest standards of scientific integrity.