The landscape of scholarly publishing has experienced transformative shifts over the centuries, but it is the digital revolution of recent decades that has ushered in a truly remarkable era. The digitization of the scholarly record has opened up a multitude of opportunities to revolutionize research dissemination and publishing workflows. However, alongside these benefits come challenges, especially with the increasing adoption of artificial intelligence (AI)-based tools, which hold promise but also pose risks to research integrity.
The emergence of AI-powered tools, including large language models like ChatGPT, has revolutionized various aspects of scholarly publishing, streamlining processes and enabling automation. These cutting-edge tools are exploring new frontiers, but their potential for misuse, particularly in generating AI-generated research papers, has raised concerns. The scholarly publishing community must now grapple with how to leverage these technologies responsibly while ensuring ethical practices and research integrity are maintained.
Research integrity, as defined by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), encompasses values of honesty, rigor, transparency, open communication, and accountability, with due care and respect for all involved in the research process. Upholding research integrity is of paramount importance in scholarly publishing, as it forms the bedrock of trust in the scholarly record and paves the way for future researchers to build upon previous work.
In this context, Learned Publishing invites submissions for a special issue dedicated to exploring the impact of digital innovations on research outputs and scholarly publishing workflow practices. The issue aims to delve into the benefits, challenges, implications, and recommendations for best practices in the future of scholarly publishing.
Authors are encouraged to submit case studies, industry updates, original research, or opinion pieces that shed light on the multifaceted ways in which digital innovations are transforming scholarly publishing. Potential topics that align with this theme include, but are not limited to: Alternate research outputs (e.g., datasets, data visualizations, GIS projects, digital humanities projects, and other multi-modal digital outputs); Case studies on the use (and misuse) of digital innovations in scholarly publishing; Digital innovations impacting publishing workflows (e.g., automation, manuscript screening tools, image manipulation detection, peer review, production); Guidelines and best practice recommendations; Prevention and detection of research misconduct; Protection of the publication record; Role and ethics of AI and machine learning in scholarly publishing; and Role of publishers in supporting best practices in research integrity.
The special issue aims to foster constructive discussions and provide a platform for in-depth exploration of the dynamic interplay between digital innovations and research integrity in scholarly publishing.
Learned Publishing welcomes contributions from scholars, researchers, and industry professionals, and detailed Author Guidelines can be found on the journal's website.
The call for papers represents a unique opportunity for the scholarly publishing community to engage in meaningful dialogue, chart a course towards responsible AI implementation, and reinforce the pillars of research integrity that bolster the foundation of scholarly advancement.
Deadline for submission is September 15, 2023.
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