New course on ethical publication practices for researchers
On March 20, 2025
Research integrity is a rapidly growing and increasingly pervasive issue, with unethical practises contaminating the entire scholarly communications ecosystem – from data and image manipulation to create false findings, to predatory journals and paper mills. Already struggling under the combined burdens of the rankings obsessions and the ‘publish or perish’ ethos on the one hand, and the financial incentivisation to publish research of dubious provenance and quality on the other, scholarly communications are now also being further undermined by the rapid rise in unethical generative-AI usage at every stage of the research cycle.
Yet, while we are bombarded with news announcements about data manipulation, surging paper mill production, the soaring rate of article retractions, and the growing risks of predatory journals – it is not always clear what this means for us as individuals, as researchers and authors and editors. in particular, while we might be aware of the broader issues, understanding and identifying specific examples of unethical practises – by publishers, by our peers, and even perhaps by ourselves – can be difficult, especially as there is a lack of practical guidance and step-by-step guidelines for us to follow.
That is why our Chief Academic Officer (and acting Head of Publishing) Dr Emily Choynowski collaborated with KnE Learn to produce a special course for researchers and journal editors on ethical and unethical practises in publishing.
This short 2-hour self-paced course is free, and provides an overview of the knowledge and skills needed to navigate the complexities of academic publishing and safeguard the integrity of research. The course consists of the following three modules:
- The Consequences of Unethical Publication Practices
- Identifying Predatory Journals
- Author-Led Malpractice
For more details and to take the course, visit KnE Learn today!