2026
STM
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Drawing on insights from 18 experts across 13 publishing organisations, this project examined three areas central to safeguarding trust in the scholarly record: capacity, practice, and collaboration.
The report, which was released by STM’s CEO Caroline Sutton at the 2026 APE Conference, highlights how publishers are increasingly investing in research integrity. This includes dedicated teams and screening technologies that combine automated detection with expert human judgement to identify issues such as paper mill activity, manipulated peer review, and AI-generated content. These checks are being embedded across the full publication lifecycle, from initial submission through to post-publication monitoring, with policies continuously updated to respond to emerging risks.
Training and education for editors, reviewers, and authors also emerged as a key area of investment, supporting long-term resilience.
The report provides a clear picture of a publishing ecosystem in transition — moving from reactive checks to more proactive, system-wide approaches.
It was a real pleasure to work with Research Consulting on a recent project for STM. Their service was professional and clear from the contracting stage through to completion.Dylan and Andrea, my key contacts, were highly organised and efficient, setting up regular check-ins and keeping me updated on progress throughout. They listened carefully to our needs and demonstrated a strong understanding of the scholarly publishing landscape, which made their advice and approach especially valuable.Research Consulting were also very responsive to our feedback, calmly adapting as needed as the work unfolded. I would be very happy to work with them again. Leila Jones, Chief Operating Officer, STM
