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Issues for Authors and Publishers of Quality Scientific Research

Stephen Ackland

Editor in Chief

and

Rebecca Ciezarek

Associate Publisher

Asia-Pacific Journal of Clinical Oncology

Wiley

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The Research Publishing Landscape

In today's rapidly evolving research landscape, publishers, societies, and journal editors face mounting pressure to maintain publication quality while improving the author experience by shortening the time between submission and publication. While standardization might raise concerns about loss of identity or academic freedom, thoughtfully implemented publishing standards can enhance journal quality and strengthen research communities.

Today's research ecosystem:

An interconnected, digital-first world, with people collaborating across borders with ease. They share “preprints”, engage with readers and peers on social media, and increasingly rely on AI tools to discover and analyze research. This evolution demands modern publishing processes that are both rigorous and efficient, while maintaining the highest standards of academic integrity.

Rethinking journal identity

Contrary to common concerns, standardization of processes does not lead to homogenization of content or community. In the past, journal identity has sometimes been expressed through unique layouts, submission processes, and review practices. However, the true essence of a journal lies not in these mechanical aspects, but in its academic community, editorial vision, and the research it champions. Modern standardization preserves these essential elements while optimizing the underlying infrastructure of publishing, allowing journals to focus on what truly makes them unique: the strategic decisions of the team behind it, its scope, policies, and content. The result is enhanced community engagement and innovation, built on stable, efficient foundations.

How can standardization benefit journal publishing?

Standardization helps to create a consistent experience for all stakeholders and makes it easier to find the right information and take the correct actions, all with fewer errors and faster outcomes. Once a journal adopts a new standard or best practice, or harmonizes a workflow or process, we see a rapid improvement in the key metrics that authors value —such as time to first decision, in review, and to publication.

Underlying all standardization efforts is the goal to have a consistent data infrastructure upon which we can build tools, refine workflows, and report accurately. If journals use the same platforms, they can collect the same data at the same points from submission right through to online publication.

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Issues for Authors and Publishers of Quality Scientific Research

Outline

challenges and solutions
Research Exchange as a solution
Peer review processes, innovations
ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID)

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The Lifecycle of a Manuscript

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Research Publishing: Challenges and Solutions

Pressure to publish

Predatory journals

Transparency, integrity

Tech advances

Rise of AI

Inc. cost of access to literature, open access

Peer RV

??

Focus on integrity, and quality, new metrics

Embrace tech in all aspects incl. editorial and Ms review processes

Develop models

encourage and support RVers, simplify (use AI)

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Research Publishing: Rising Challenges

Fraud/cheating:

- plagiarism

- concurrent submissions

- illegitimate use of AI

- image manipulation

- papermills

- reviewer cartels

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Research Exchange�an integrated platform for manuscript receipt, evaluation, and publication�(used by authors, editorial staff, peer reviewers, publisher)

www.wileyauthors.com/researchexchange

1. RESEARCH EXCHANGE SUBMISSION

Built for simplicity

Submitting manuscripts just got easier, faster, and smarter.

Effortless submission: Research Exchange’s intuitive interface guides you through step by step.

AI-powered shortcuts: Automatically extract and verify key details, saving precious time.

Accelerated uploads: Submission now takes a fraction of the time compared to traditional platforms.

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2. RESEARCH EXCHANGE SCREENING

Protecting research integrity

Advanced tools for ethics and integrity let editorial teams focus on what’s important: peer review and editorial decisions.
Streamlined efficiency: AI-driven tools simplify ethics and integrity checks and create automated screening reports.
Wide-ranging tools: Research Exchange Screening checks manuscripts against the research ecosystem and author networks for plagiarism and high-risk content.
Pattern detection: Cross-portfolio and cross-publisher detection of concurrent submissions, papermill content, and more.

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3. RESEARCH EXCHANGE REVIEW

Peer Review -- “The ultimate collaboration hub”
Key features:

Smarter reviewer matching: Tap into a larger, more qualified reviewer pool.
Simpler workflows: Simplified open access options, clean and consistent data, and easy collaboration in one powerful platform.
Clear communication: Intuitive dashboards and consistent data keep teams aligned at every stage.

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REX User Guides

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Peer Review

expert
independent (external to Publisher and Journal)
Standards for peer RV*

Content Integrity,
Content Ethics,
fairness,
usefulness,
timeliness.

(recognition for RV)

* Allen, H et al. Standards for Peer Review. Learned Publishing, 2019

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Standards for peer review

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APJCO Review Workflow

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APJCO Review Workflow 2

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ORCID

Open Researcher and Contributor ID

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The Problem

damaging trust, wasting resources
fake accounts, impersonation, identity theft
lack of verification leaves door open
risk of excluding legitimate users

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Solutions

ORCID
institutional email address
institutional sign-in
passport/other govt document
direct contact
other trust markers

Richard Northover et al., STM-assoc.org

International Association of Scientific, Technical & Medical Publishers

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The Value of an ORCID

Open Researcher and Contributor ID

ORCID ID - a unique persistent identifier, free of charge to researchers
managed by a global NFP collaborative (STM*)
all who participate in research scholarship and innovation are uniquely identified and connected to their contributions

“your researcher CV”, available to:

everyone
limited
you only

*International Association of Scientific, Technical & Medical Publishers

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The value of an ORCID