ASM: Supporting ethics checks and editorial vetting with Dimensions Author Check

Challenge

Protecting research integrity requires publishers to build a clear picture of researchers, their publication histories and professional networks. ASM publishes 17 journals, with its Ethics and Integrity team handling concerns before and after publication, from authorship and plagiarism to research misconduct and emerging threats such as paper mills.

Reviewing a concern often meant searching multiple sources to establish an author’s publication history, assess their expertise and determine whether an issue was isolated or part of a wider pattern. Spotting connections between researchers was particularly difficult, especially across institutions.

ASM’s Editorial team faced a similar challenge. As the society’s global reach has grown, it needs a consistent way to assess researchers being considered for editorial board roles through Open Calls, as well as contributors to invited content initiatives such as the New Voices series. Dinesh Soares, Assistant Director, Editorial, explains: “We want a clear, complete picture of a researcher’s publication record before making a decision on their suitability.” Candidates are also less likely to disclose previous retractions in a competitive application process, so the team needed a reliable way to find them.

Solution

Already a Dimensions user, ASM recognized Author Check’s potential to bring together information about researchers, their publications and affiliations. Today, it supports research integrity work across both its Ethics and Integrity and Editorial teams.

Post-publication reviews. When a concern arises, the Ethics and Integrity team searches for the author using an ORCID iD, or their name and affiliation, to review their publication history and co-author networks. This helps the team assess whether a concern may be isolated or part of a wider pattern, and provides context when reviewing authors’ responses. “It presents everything in a more structured framework, in one place, that helps us focus on what we want to look at further,” says Aashi Chaturvedi, Senior Program Officer, Ethics and Integrity.

Pre-publication screening. For suspicious submissions, including potential paper mill activity, the team uses Author Check to assess whether an author’s expertise aligns with the subject of their paper. As Aashi explains, “An author specializing in bacteriology is publishing in virology. And of course people make transitions in their careers, but sometimes the rest of the information doesn’t really add up.” Such discrepancies can prompt further review into the authenticity of the work and its authors.

Editorial vetting. ASM’s Managing Editors use Author Check when assessing potential editors, editorial board members and invited contributors. It complements existing checks by bringing together information about publication records, research expertise and previous retractions, helping inform recommendations to Editors-in-Chief. The Ethics and Integrity team also uses it for ethics reviews of prospective editors, board members and award recipients.

Author Check is particularly useful when researchers lack an ORCID iD. “Not everybody has an ORCID iD, which several tools rely on,” Aashi notes. Searching by current or previous affiliation can help the team trace researchers who have moved institutions, including when reviewing older concerns.

Results

Author Check has become the first step in the Ethics and Integrity team’s reviews. The team can use the initial review to identify which leads warrant closer examination, then follow links to individual articles in Dimensions to examine retraction notices and understand the context of previous concerns. As Aashi explains, “It has significantly added a structure to how we go about it.”

One of the most valuable outcomes has been the ability to spot connections between researchers that might otherwise be difficult to see. Author Check’s network view and strength of collaboration indicator help reveal relationships between co-authors, including those at different institutions.

In one analysis, the team identified three related groups of authors operating in the same geographical region. Although the researchers were affiliated with different institutions and had different corresponding authors, their publication patterns were similar. Author Check helped the team recognize the links between the groups. “It would have taken us much longer to identify that network had we not had Author Check available to us,” Aashi recalls.

For the Editorial team, the early benefit was “the added assurance it gives us before we approach researchers.” Reviewing publication records and retractions earlier in the process helps Dinesh and his colleagues assess candidates before progressing invitations and gives Editors-in-Chief greater confidence in recommendations.

Future plans

Both teams see opportunities to expand their use of Author Check. The Ethics and Integrity team is interested in further exploring reviewer and editor screening, particularly when teasing apart complex peer review manipulation matters, where connections between researchers can be difficult to establish.

The Editorial team also wants to make Author Check a more routine part of its workflows as its global editorial networks and commissioning activities grow. Dinesh explains: “We’d like to use it across more workflows. We also want to make greater use of its network and retraction insights so that our approach remains consistent and evidence-based.”

ASM has also subscribed to the Dimensions Author Check API and is working on its implementation. The API will enable ASM to integrate Author Check’s insights into its systems and workflows, supporting a more streamlined approach to researcher screening and assessment.

Conclusion

For ASM, Dimensions Author Check supports research integrity at multiple stages of the publishing process, from reviewing potential ethics concerns to screening researchers for editorial opportunities. Bringing publication histories, retraction information and author networks together in a structured view helps both the Ethics and Integrity team and the Editorial team identify relevant evidence and connections and make more informed assessments.

As ASM continues to expand its use of Author Check, including through the API implementation, the tool will play an increasingly important role in upholding the integrity of the research it publishes.

Find out more

Want to strengthen research integrity checks across your publishing workflows? Get in touch to discover how Author Check can help your organization.