Five problems plaguing publishing in the life sciences-and one common cause

Area of Science:

• Life Sciences
• Scholarly Communication
• Scientific Publishing

Background:

• Scholarly peer-reviewed journals are the standard for life sciences communication.
• The digital age has introduced issues like reviewer fatigue, fraud, paper mills, AI risks, predatory journals, impact factor misuse, and salami-slicing.
• These problems debase the quality and integrity of scientific publications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide a comprehensive overview of the impurities affecting scholarly publishing in the digital age.
• To discuss proposed and implemented solutions to mitigate these issues.
• To identify the root cause in the 'publish or perish' culture and researcher evaluation.

Main Methods:

• Literature review and analysis of current issues in scientific publishing.
• Examination of ethical concerns and their impact on research integrity.
• Discussion of systemic problems within academic evaluation.

Main Results:

• Identified key challenges including reviewer fatigue, fraud, predatory publishing, and misuse of journal metrics.
• Highlighted the role of artificial intelligence and unethical practices like salami-slicing.
• Recognized the 'publish or perish' culture and flawed researcher evaluation as underlying systemic issues.

Conclusions:

• Current issues in scientific publishing are symptomatic of a broader cultural problem.
• Reforming researcher evaluation and shifting the focus from quantity to quality of publication is essential.
• A global change in the perception of scientific publication's purpose is needed to restore integrity.