IEEE Publishing Ethics Team Integrates New Detection Tools and Expands Integrity Initiatives

New Detection Tools Integrated

IEEE conducted a pilot program in 2024 to integrate tools from the STM Integrity Hub into the peer-review workflow of IEEE Access. This multidisciplinary journal publishes research across all IEEE fields of interest. The STM Integrity Hub provides a suite of commercial and STM-developed research integrity tools for scholarly publishers.

Enhanced Fraud Detection Capabilities

The new features include the Clear Skies Papermill Alarm, which identifies potentially fraudulent manuscripts at submission. Another integration is with the PubPeer database, allowing checks for previous PubPeer comments or retractions on references. A duplicate submissions detector identifies manuscripts submitted to multiple journals by different publishers, often indicating academic paper mill activity. These tools help prevent problematic content from being published by detecting issues upon manuscript receipt.

Expansion Across IEEE Periodicals

Following the successful pilot, IEEE began working last year to expand these services. All IEEE periodicals are anticipated to be included in the Integrity Hub screening by the end of this year. This expansion aims to standardize and strengthen research integrity across the organization's entire publishing portfolio.

Industry Engagement and Visibility

The IEEE Publishing Ethics Team participated in industry-wide initiatives with STM and renewed its membership in groups like the Committee on Publication Ethics. Team members also sponsored and presented at conferences, including the Council of Science Editors annual meeting and the Society for Scholarly Publishing’s annual meeting, to discuss research integrity investigations and standardization of publishing norms.