Wiley, a prominent academic publisher, disclosed yesterday that a substantial number of its journals, including those under its Hindawi subsidiary, have encountered widespread paper mill activity. This revelation follows Hindawi's history of hosting numerous paper mill papers, necessitating subsequent retractions.
The implementation of Wiley's Papermill Detection service across more than 270 of its titles revealed alarming statistics: between 600 to 1,000 papers per month were rejected prior to peer review. Notably, the service flagged 10-13% of the 10,000 manuscripts submitted monthly to these journals, indicating pervasive paper mill infiltration.
Wiley detailed the multifaceted approach of its detection service, comprising six distinct tools. These include scrutinizing for similarities with known paper mill papers, identifying "tortured phrases" and other dubious content, detecting irregular publishing patterns by authors, verifying researcher identity, identifying generative AI hallmarks, and assessing manuscript relevance to the journal.
Moving forward, Wiley intends to advance this detection service through collaboration with Sage and IEEE, transitioning into the next phase of testing.
In response to inquiries regarding rejected papers and collaboration with other publishers, a Wiley spokesperson emphasized the service's role as a supplement to human integrity checks. Flagged papers undergo closer examination by editors, enhancing the publishing workflow's integrity.
Addressing the broader issue of paper mill usage, Wiley underscores the need for collective action across the scholarly communications landscape. The company supports initiatives like United2Act, aimed at fostering dialogue among stakeholders to reform academic reward systems and mitigate paper mill incentives.
Last year, Wiley announced the discontinuation of the Hindawi brand, prompted by challenges stemming from paper mill infiltration. This strategic decision, coupled with enhanced detection measures, reflects Wiley's commitment to upholding research integrity amid evolving challenges in academic publishing.
