Research Integrity in 2024: Addressing Misconduct and Building Trust with Dr. Marie Soulière

By Clara Slone Jan 21, 2025 26 0

The Year in Review series by the Asian Council of Science Editors (ACSE) highlights the pivotal developments that shaped the scholarly publishing landscape in 2024. Among the critical topics under discussion is research integrity; a cornerstone of scholarly communication that faces ongoing challenges such as data falsification, retractions, and ethical lapses. These issues underscore the importance of fostering a culture of trust and accountability across the global research community.

To explore this vital topic, ACSE invited Dr. Marie Soulière, an elected Council Member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and Head of Editorial Ethics and Quality Assurance at Frontiers, to share her expertise. With a distinguished career spanning biochemistry research and open-access publishing, Dr. Soulière has been at the forefront of advancing ethical standards, leveraging artificial intelligence tools like the AI Review Assistant (AIRA), and ensuring high-quality peer review processes.

In this interview, she reflects on the evolving challenges in research integrity and shares actionable strategies for building trust in scholarly publishing.

Q1: How has COPE contributed to addressing research misconduct, such as data falsification and plagiarism, over the past year? Can you share any specific initiatives or policies introduced by COPE in 2024 that have had a significant impact on promoting research integrity?

Recognizing the evolving nature of publication ethics, COPE has focused on education and resource dissemination to empower researchers, editors, and publishers with the knowledge to uphold integrity, with new types of misconduct and tools that have the potential to both support research or be employed to manipulate or fake data and peer review.

COPE has made significant strides in addressing research misconduct such as data falsification and plagiarism over the past year. In 2024, COPE council members engaged in over 20 workshops and presentations, providing crucial guidance on ethical publication practices. A major highlight was the Publication Integrity Week, which featured daily online sessions, attracting over 1,000 participants globally. This initiative facilitated discussions on combating misconduct and strengthening research integrity:

https://publicationethics.org/events/publication-integrity-week-2024

Furthermore, collaborative working groups of the United2Act against papermill initiative from COPE and STM were in full swing in 2024:

https://united2act.org/working-groups/

The groups developed valuable resources, including reports, infographics, and research articles, to tackle problematic practices in research publication by papermills.

Q2: What trends or patterns in research misconduct have emerged in 2024, and how has the scholarly community responded to these challenges? Are there any particular cases or scenarios that you believe have been pivotal in shaping the discourse around research integrity this year?

Significant trends in research misconduct emerged, particularly around the misuse of AI tools to generate or manipulate data, text, and images. This has prompted the scholarly community to acknowledge the crucial role of technology, both as a potential risk and a tool for detecting fraud. In response, major publishers and ethics bodies have revised their guidelines to directly address the misuse of AI. These updates emphasize transparency, particularly concerning author contributions and the ethical use of technology.

The recognition of independent researchers raising awareness about ethical issues has also been a trend, and has led to a broader acceptance of the use of external tools for the detection and prevention of misconduct.

The scholarly community's proactive response in updating guidelines and fostering dialogue around these issues has been essential in shaping the discourse on research integrity this year.

Q3: Retractions are often seen as a critical mechanism for addressing research misconduct. What improvements or innovations have you observed in the retraction process this year and How can publishers and editors ensure transparency and accountability when dealing with retractions while minimizing reputational harm to authors and journals?

In 2024, significant strides were made to improve the retraction process in scholarly publishing, focusing on increased transparency, accountability, and minimizing reputational harm. Standardized retraction procedures and improved communication have become more prevalent, with detailed retraction notices that clearly specify the reasons for withdrawal, and the assignment of DOIs to retraction notices for traceability and visibility of retractions.

COPE council members played a significant role in shaping these changes through participation in the NISO CREC Working Group, contributing to new recommendations on Retractions, Removals, and Expressions of Concern:

https://www.niso.org/standards-committees/crec

To ensure these processes are both transparent and protect individuals from undue reputational damage, publishers and editors are adopting clear, accessible retraction policies, the provision of detailed reasons in retraction notices linked directly from original articles, and ongoing education for editors and reviewers on ethical standards and retraction processes.

Collaborating with the authors’ institutions during investigations, promoting a culture where honest errors are acknowledged without stigma, and publishing metrics on retractions are some of the crucial strategies for publishers to balance integrity with consideration for the individuals involved. This holistic approach helps maintain trust in scientific publishing by correcting the record fairly and openly without focusing unduly on individual reputations.

Q4: Promoting a culture of trust and accountability is essential for maintaining research integrity. What strategies have proven effective in fostering such a culture within academic institutions and publishing organizations? How can COPE support stakeholders in creating an environment where ethical research practices are prioritized?

Fostering a culture of trust and accountability within academic institutions and publishing organizations is critical for maintaining the integrity of the research process. Various strategies have proven effective in achieving these goals, first and foremost dedicated education and training programs, with regular workshops, seminars, and online courses on research ethics, plagiarism, data management, and the consequences of misconduct help sensitize researchers and students to the nuances of ethical research.

In recent years COPE has expanded its membership program to include research institutions and organizations as part of its membership base and started to create specific guidelines and training material for them.

Additionally, COPE facilitates collaboration among editors, publishers, and researchers, building a community committed to shared ethical standards and solutions for publishing challenges. By emphasizing education and fostering dialogue, COPE helps create an environment where ethical research practices are prioritized, and solutions are found for publication ethics challenges.

Q5: With the rise of AI tools and other technologies, what opportunities and challenges do they present in detecting and preventing research misconduct? How should publishers and researchers navigate the ethical implications of integrating these technologies into their workflows?

To ethically integrate AI and technology in research and publishing, stakeholders should establish clear protocols for use, ensure continued human oversight to make nuanced ethical judgments, and conduct regular training on both the operation and ethical considerations of these tools. Regular evaluations are crucial to ensure the technologies remain accurate and unbiased. Transparency and accountability are key.

COPE has created a hub for discussions around the topic, with several seminars and guidance documents:

https://publicationethics.org/topic-discussions/understanding-current-guidance-use-artificial-intelligence

AI can process and analyze large datasets, identifying patterns that may indicate fraudulent activities such as data manipulation, plagiarism, or duplicate submissions, and subtleties that are difficult for human reviewers, editors and publishers to spot due to scope, volume and complexity. If used under the right conditions, the technology can be invaluable in detecting misconduct. However, it relies on training and patterns, and any new type of misconduct might go undetected for some time if the technology malfunctions, underscoring the need for human training to be able to detect integrity issues, and intervention to address any technological malfunctions.

Q6: Research misconduct can occur across diverse geographies and disciplines. How can COPE and other organizations ensure inclusivity and fairness in addressing misconduct globally? Are there any unique challenges faced by researchers in low-resource settings, and how can these be mitigated?

Research misconduct is a global issue, affecting diverse geographies and disciplines. COPE and similar organizations must ensure inclusivity and fairness in addressing these challenges. One of the key goals of the COPE Strategy for 2025-2028 focuses on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) to nurture and represent broader and more diverse scholarly publishing communities.

While many issues faced in scholarly publishing transcend borders, there are certainly unique challenges for researchers in low-income settings, and to provide relevant support, COPE has to be informed of these specific issues. Leading by example. COPE aims to increase the diversity in the Trustee board and council, as well as in the COPE membership, to enable broader representation, and listening to and engaging with under-represented disciplines and regions to develop specific resources and guidance tailored to their situations and requirements.

In terms of publication ethics, COPE aims to provide collaborative networks with organizations supporting others in their application of research ethics within limited research facilities.

Q7: As we move into 2025, what are the key priorities for COPE in continuing to address research misconduct and strengthen trust in scholarly publishing? What advice would you give to researchers, editors, and publishers to navigate the evolving landscape of research integrity?

The new COPE Strategy for 2025-2028 can be found here:

https://publicationethics.org/news-opinion/cope-strategy-2025-2028

As we enter 2025, COPE will concentrate on four key priorities: integrity, education, collaboration, and DEIA. The aim is to be proactive in addressing new challenges in publication ethics, offering support and educational resources to help editors and publishers maintain high standards. Achieving this requires ongoing collaboration, uniting diverse scholarly communities to listen actively and tackle emerging issues.

To navigate the evolving landscape, researchers, editors, and publishers should emphasize transparency and adhere to strict ethical standards. Implementing thorough peer review processes and leveraging technology to detect misconduct are essential. By fostering community engagement and offering continuous education, we can build a culture of trust and uphold the quality of scholarly publishing.

Q8: Drawing from your experience as a COPE Council Member, what lessons have you learned in 2024 that could guide the scholarly community in the years ahead? Is there a particular achievement or milestone from COPE’s work this year that you’re especially proud of?

One of the main lessons from COPE’s initiatives in 2024 is the importance of adaptability in policy and practice. As the landscape of scholarly publishing continues to evolve with digital advancements and the increasing use of AI, COPE has demonstrated that ethics guidelines and standards must continuously adapt to meet new challenges. This adaptability ensures that guidelines remain relevant and effective in promoting integrity in research and publication.

Another significant takeaway is the value of collaboration between various stakeholders in the scholarly community. COPE’s efforts in fostering exchanges with researchers, publishers, institutions, and technology providers have highlighted that addressing complex issues like research misconduct or ethical dilemmas in publishing requires a multifaceted and cooperative approach.

Notable achievements include the release of the COPE Strategy 2025-2028, the impactful work of the United2Act working groups, the insightful presentations and discussions during Publication Integrity Week 2024, and a new platform for the COPE website with enhanced member features.

Dr. Soulière’s insights underscore the critical role of ethical vigilance and innovation in addressing misconduct and fostering trust within the scholarly publishing ecosystem. As the research community continues to navigate the complexities of data integrity and accountability, her expertise offers a roadmap for maintaining high standards while embracing technological advancements.

ACSE is proud to feature her contributions to this important dialogue, inspiring publishing professionals, researchers, and industry leaders to champion integrity and collaboration as we look toward the future of scholarly communication. We invite our readers and ACSE Members to engage with these ideas and contribute their perspectives as we collectively shape the future of publishing.