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The role of scientific literature -

When it comes to making important decisions about the medical industry, scientific literature is an invaluable resource.

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Ideas and discussions -

Indeed, it is within the pages of scientific papers that experts introduce important new ideas and discuss potentially life-changing research. 

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The rise in fake studies -

Unfortunately, over the past decade, there has been a proliferation of fake scientific studies published in journals.

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Undermining the real work -

These so-called "paper mills" are hugely problematic, because they undermine the literature that many stakeholders rely on to make important decisions that affect human lives.

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Spotting a fake -

Paper mills can be very difficult to spot. And even when a fake paper is spotted, journals are often slow to retract it.

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High stakes -

However, given the serious, real-life consequences of this slippery crime, the race is on to find a solution.

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The scale of the problem -

As previously mentioned, fake scientific papers are often very difficult to detect. This means it can be tricky to know the exact scale of the problem.

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The original fake -

The earliest suspected fake paper was published in 2004, according to the Retraction Watch database.

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The Retraction Watch -

The Retraction Watch database details retractions and is operated by The Center for Scientific Integrity, the non-profit parent company of Retraction Watch.

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Multiple attempts -

Since then, there have been various attempts to establish the scale of the problem, although none of the numbers are certain.

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Broad analysis - For example, according to one analysis of 53,000 papers submitted to six publishers (although not necessarily published), between 2% and 46% were suspect submissions across journals. 

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Clear trend -

Despite being uncertain about total numbers, we can be fairly certain that the problem is getting worse. This trend is evident, for example, in data provided by major academic publisher Taylor & Francis.

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At Taylor & Francis -

According to Taylor & Francis’s director of Publishing Ethics and Integrity, in 2019, none of the ethics cases escalated to her team were about paper mills.

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Substantial increase in numbers -

In 2023, however, fake papers accounted for almost half of the ethics cases that came across her desk.

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Most targeted fields -

In terms of which academic fields are being targeted, analysts’ data shows that fields related to cancer and medicine are the hardest hit.

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Preventing important research -

Indeed, fake papers are slowing down progress in important research that has helped save millions of lives via medicine and therapies. 

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2022 testimony -

In July 2022, Australian scientist Jennifer Byrne testified in front of the US House of Representatives.

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Key statistic -

The House heard that nearly 6% of 12,000 cancer research papers screened have errors that could signal the involvement of a paper mill.

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Consequences for individuals -

While the publication of fake papers clearly has very serious consequences at the industry level, it is important not to overlook the ramifications for individuals.

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Case study -

For example, Jennifer Byrne had to close her cancer research lab in 2017 because the topic of her research had started to become the target of paper mills.

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Twenty years of work -

She had been researching and writing about a certain set of genes for two decades before she had to close down.

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Finding a solution -

So, what can be done to tackle the problem? On the one hand, stakeholders may be able to leverage technology to improve fake paper detection.

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Leveraging technology -

Indeed, some publishers have already begun to share data and technologies among themselves in an attempt to combat fraud.

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Help from tech start-ups -

Technology start-ups are also slowly starting to help. For example, Berlin-based scientific conference and communications company, Morresier, offers research integrity tools.

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Paper-checking tools -

There are also specific paper-checking tools available, such as Signals by the company Research Signals and Papermill Alarm by Clear Skies.

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The bottom line -

However, it seems clear that fake papers will continue to be a problem for as long as there is a demand for them.

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The problem with for-profit publishing -

And as long as academic work is at the mercy of for-profit publishing, there will unfortunately continue to be a demand for fake papers.

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Stop the monetization -

In order to put an end to this problem, it may be necessary to stop paying publishers for accepting papers and treat them as public utilities that serve a greater good.

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The current incentive -

As it stands, publishers have a financial incentive to accept academic papers with the most attention-grabbing results, even if they suspect the odd one may be suspicious.

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The sad reality -

Given that there are more than 50,000 journals on the market, someone wishing to sell a fake paper will eventually find someone who wants to buy it.

Sources: (Live Science)

See also: History's most notorious scientific experiments

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