STM Integrity Hub launches new research integrity tool

Pilot program will detect duplicate submissions that may indicate paper mill activity

Oct. 12, 2023 – THE HAGUE, Netherlands. STM Solutions today announced the launch of a pilot program to detect duplicate submissions to scholarly publications. Submitting the same manuscript to multiple journals simultaneously is, in most cases,  against publisher policies and often indicates the work of paper mills, which produce and sell fraudulent research. 

This workflow, part of the STM Integrity Hub, represents the first time duplicate submissions can be detected across different journals, publishers, and submission systems while upholding robust confidentiality and privacy standards. IEEE, IOP Publishing, ACS Publications, Taylor & Francis, Sage, and PeerJ are among the publishers who have already signed on. 

“The journal ecosystem is very siloed in nature, which has been exploited by paper mills and other bad actors spamming journals with identical, often fake manuscripts,” Hylke Koers, CIO of STM Solutions,  said. “The duplicate submissions workflow represents a milestone in collaboration between academic publishers, marking the first moment that we are able to automatically detect duplicate submissions across different publishers and editorial systems. We expect more publishers and journals will join this pilot soon, which we expect  will evolve into an important tool against systematic misuse.” 

The STM Integrity Hub, which was founded by STM members and developed by STM Solutions, safeguards research integrity by allowing publishers of all sizes to share data and experiences and offering a variety of tools to identify and respond to materials that violate standards. Most recently, in April, the Integrity Hub released the MVP of a paper mill detection tool designed to flag several indicators that suggest a manuscript originated from a paper mill. 

Tony Alves, senior VP at HighWire Press and chair of the Duplicate Submissions Working Group, expressed excitement about this pivotal move to eliminate publishing misinformation. “It is fulfilling to see that the industry has come together to tackle the challenges of misinformation and fake science by building a collaborative infrastructure that flags suspect material early on in the publishing workflow. Much hard work went into defining policies and procedures that safeguard confidentiality and protect research interests while screening for duplicate submissions, and I am happy to see we are now moving into this phase.”

About STM

The International Association of Scientific, Technical and Medical Publishers (STM) is a nonprofit foundation dedicated to advancing trusted research worldwide. STM consists of over 140 members in the academic publishing industry. The STM Integrity Hub is a collaboration between STM member publishers to support research integrity through data, intelligence and technology.