iThenticate Explores "The Pressure to Publish" in Scholarly Research

Report examines how technology and globalization are influencing the rate of scholarly misconduct

OAKLAND, Calif., Oct. 12, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- iParadigms, the leader in plagiarism prevention software, today announced a new report that examines how technology and globalization are impacting the field of scholarly research. The report relies on experts in the field of scholarly research to examine some of the most pressing challenges facing researchers and publications. The study entitled "The Pressure to Publish" can be downloaded for free at http://www.ithenticate.com/pressure-to-publish-free-white-paper.

Similar to other industries experiencing significant disruption, scholarly research is being transformed by globalization and technology. These two forces promise to deliver significant benefits in terms of research, innovation and academic advancement. They are also increasing the competitive pressures of scholarly publishing by introducing a greater number of participants into the fields of research and publication.

Key findings of the report include:

• Submissions to high impact journals are at an all-time high – Leading publications have seen a ten-fold increase in submission volume with acceptance rates falling below five percent.
• Misconduct cases are increasing – The increase in submissions, access to technology, and rewards for publication in high impact journals are leading to an increase in scholarly misconduct and retractions.
• Lack of intellectual property processes – There are no globally accepted processes for ensuring intellectual property is respected, exacerbating the number of misconduct cases, retractions and corrections.

"The pressure to publish in scholarly research has increased to a level unimaginable a few decades ago," said Robert Creutz, general manager of iThenticate. "With this increased pressure, it is no surprise that misconduct issues and retractions are increasing."

The study offers steps the research community can take to combat the rise of misconduct and retractions in publications, including setting better standards around the use and protection of intellectual property and using technology to screen for originality in submitted manuscripts.

To learn more about the changing landscape of scholarly publishing, please visit www.ithenticate.com.

About iParadigms, LLC and iThenticate
iParadigms, LLC is the world's leading provider of web-based solutions for plagiarism prevention. The company's products include Turnitin, used by educators worldwide to check students' papers for originality, to enable web-based peer review and for digital grading of student work. iParadigms' iThenticate solution enables publishers, research facilities, government agencies, financial institutions, legal firms and now authors and researchers to reliably check submitted materials for originality before publication. The company's solutions check millions of documents each month and are used in over 100 countries. iParadigms is headquartered in Oakland, CA with an international office located in Newcastle, United Kingdom. iParadigms is backed by Warburg Pincus.  http://www.iparadigms.com and http://www.ithenticate.com .

All products and services mentioned in this document are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

SOURCE iParadigms, LLC