Human oversight combined with technology

Maintaining the confidence and trust of the scientific community in the quality of the information we publish is paramount. We work with our editors and reviewers, and the scientific community more broadly, to ensure the integrity of published research. That includes investing heavily in both human oversight and AI technology to help prevent and detect problematic content.

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Supporting our in-house experts

We have a dedicated team of in-house experts who work solely on research integrity and publishing ethics. It’s their job to prevent fraudulent articles from being published, and to investigate any concerns that arise after publication. If necessary, we then correct the scientific record in a timely and transparent manner.

Critically, we monitor the integrity of papers during every stage of the publishing process, both before publication and after. Manuscripts are screened at multiple points in the publication process and every concern examined by our team.

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Investing in technology

We invest heavily in sophisticated, data-driven technology to help our in-house team and our editors detect plagiarism, fraudulent content or other issues across the submission, editorial and peer review process, as well as in published articles. They examine more than 100 data points indicating potential integrity and ethics misconduct and new data points are added as behaviors change. 

This combination of technology and human expertise enables us to respond to new and evolving behaviors and trends, and enhance our tools and processes to prevent the publication of unethical research.

Providing editors with the tools they need

Our 34,000 expert editors worldwide have full independence as they manage the editorial and peer review process from submission to conclusion. To support them in ensuring the integrity of published research, we provide extensive resources on Publishing Ethics 在新的选项卡/窗口中打开 and bespoke training materials 在新的选项卡/窗口中打开. These tools help Editors with the full breadth of editorial work — from receiving a submission to making a final decision, dealing with ethics cases, and managing and developing a journal and editorial team.

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Human oversight combined with technology

Supporting our in-house experts

Investing in technology

Providing editors with the tools they need

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Rigorous standards and processes

Collaborating to safeguard confidence in research

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