Xinhua News Agency Tianjin, January 11, : Prices range from thousands to tens of thousands of yuan, and writing and distribution on behalf of others is "one-stop" - revealing the underground "paper factory"
Xinhua News Agency's "Xinhua Viewpoint" reporters Li Kun and Zhang Yuqi
National Health Commission Recently, the investigation and handling results of the 13th batch of medical research integrity cases have been reported. So far, a total of 310 cases have been reported in the past six months, of which 144 involve paper writing and investment, papers and data trading, accounting for nearly half of the total.
"Xinhua Viewpoint" reporters found that the underground "paper factory" is an important driving force for the purchase and sale of medical papers, providing full-process services for writing and distribution, and there is "production" from ordinary papers to top journal papers, casting a heavy shadow on scientific research integrity.
undercover investigation: "One-stop" writing and publishing on behalf of others
reporter contacted several "customer service personnel" of different "paper factories" as a cardiovascular doctor. He was told that as long as the time requirements were not too strict, journals of all levels could "write and publish on behalf of others".
reporter said he wanted to publish SCI paper in international journals. Some "customer service personnel" said that reporters need to provide basic information such as name, occupation, and research direction to "match" appropriate journals. Another "customer service staff" directly selected a journal from SCI District 3, saying that as long as you pay a 50% deposit, you can arrange your writing immediately, and send it to the reporter after the manuscript is completed. After the revision is satisfied, you will pay the full amount and arrange the publication.
In order to understand the whole process, the reporter had an in-depth exchange with a "customer service staff". The reporter asked how to "produce" a general journal paper. The other party first sent a provincial journal information for the reporter to verify, and then said that it could schedule the latest issue, write and send 1,600 yuan, pay a deposit of 600 yuan and publish the manuscript. After receiving the journal recruitment notice, pay the final payment. The electronic version of the journal will be issued first, and then the sample magazine will be mailed. After
paid the deposit, the other party sent three writing directions as required by the reporter. After the reporter selected, the other party sent a paper less than 2 days later and said that it was something they arranged for professionals to "write now" and could also be modified as required. Although the quality is average, the reporter's search did not find any large plagiarism. Subsequently, the reporter terminated the contact on the grounds that the publication time could not keep up with the purpose, and the other party said that he could change the publication and find a way.
is in another "paper factory". When the reporter expressed his anxiety to publish a top medical journal, the other party recommended a English paper on neck orthopedic research to the reporter and sent some of the content for the reporter to review and review, with a total "price" of 37,500 yuan.
"Paper Factory" sent to reporters part of the content of a basically written English paper on neck orthopedic research
"This manuscript is a manuscript written by top journal editors and ours. It was written by the teacher of the company team. If it is soon, it will be hired in a month." said the "customer service staff".
is not only a medical aspect. The reporter's investigation learned that the "paper factory" can produce papers in various disciplines, and everything is demand-oriented.
Revealed: How are professional papers produced and published?
"Research on the intervention effect and effect of angiogenesis factor A inhibitor in rats in endometriosis model" - This is an alternative topic of the paper received by Liu Yuan, deputy chief physician of obstetrics and gynecology at a tertiary hospital. As long as she approves of the topic and pays the relevant fees, the other party can help her write and arrange for the publication of top journals.
"The other party obviously knows the research direction I am engaged in. This topic looks very professional at first glance, which is quite surprising." Liu Yuan said that she often receives such information.
From writing to publishing, how do professional papers be "produced"?
Liu Qingyu, who once worked for the "paper factory" and almost officially joined the "writer", said that the "paper factory" can achieve "mass production". The works written according to the routine are actually not very good. They just work hard to understand their preferences and dislikes of major journals, and then choose scientific research fields that are easier to match formulas to make a fuss. "Just like the teacher in the TOEFL IELTS composition class, there are many useful test routines."
A professional anti-counterfeiting person summarized the structural characteristics of the English topic of the medical " Eight-Legged Articles " produced by the "Paper Factory": biomolecule + verb + cell process + cancer type/cell type + preposition + verb + biomolecule. As long as you simply change the cancer cell types and biomolecule, you can "change" a new paper.
However, Liu Qingyu also said that those who participate in the "production" of medical papers are people with certain scientific research capabilities, so they can ensure that the quality of the papers written will not be too poor. They have received systematic medical education, many of them have graduated from doctoral degrees in medicine and entered some "biotechnology companies". Some people do not even know that they are entering a "paper factory" before joining the job. "Many times, the benefits of buying and selling scientific research results are more than the benefits obtained by doing scientific research itself," said Liu Qingyu.
Writing is only one aspect. Whether a journal paper can be published mainly depends on the attitude of professional reviewers. Typically, the editor invites several reviewers to conduct peer review. According to doctors and "customer service personnel" who understand the situation, the "paper factory" contributes a large number of articles from time to time, which is becoming increasingly close to some journals. Many paper "producers" in the "factory" have even become gold medal cooperative reviewers of some journals.
According to a "customer service staff", their "paper factory" directly bribed the journal editors, "collect money to do business", and all the articles you want to publish can pass peer review and other processes without any obstacles.
"buy" chat history between reporters and "paper factory"
industry insiders introduced that under the "operation" of "paper factory", some papers that have been fabricated and will be accepted by journals have their positions as " corresponding author " or "first author"; some journal editors will even ask for manuscripts for a request, and after the "factory" completes the manuscript, quickly find buyers and sells the author's position to make a profit.
severely rectify paper writing and improve the review of scientific and technological achievements
reporter searched on the China Judgment Document Network with "paper writing" as the keyword, and found that there have been 20 judicial documents in related cases in the past three years. Regarding the contract writing, the court's judgment is mostly "violating the public order and good customs of , and the agreement is invalid."
Some disputes about publishing papers have also occurred frequently. The People's Court of Licheng District, Jinan City, Shandong Province recently concluded a case. In May 2020, Li signed a "SCI Entrusted Service Agreement" with Company A, with the agreed service fee of 54,000 yuan. As a result, Company A failed to publish the paper as agreed in the contract. Li urged the refund but failed and sued Company A. In the end, the court ruled that the contract between the two parties was invalid and asked Company A to refund the service fee.
It is worth noting that many cases involve criminal offenses. Under the temptation of high returns, some fraud gangs began to put on the cloak of "paper factory" to cheat money. The existence of
"paper factory" not only disrupts the fairness and justice of talent competition, but also damages the authenticity of scientific research work. , director of orthopedics at Tianjin First Central Hospital , Xia Qun , said that the papers produced by the "paper factory" are out of practice, and journal papers with fake data will even "distort" related scientific research work.
In 2019, the Ministry of Science and Technology and 20 other departments jointly issued the "Rules for Investigation and Handling of Scientific Research Integrity Cases (Trial)", which clearly stipulates that "buying, selling, writing papers or project applications" are included in scientific research breach of trust. Since last year, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the National Health Commission and other departments have conducted investigations on suspected fraudulent papers found. Some have been revoked for professional title appointments, some have been suspended from their posts for five years, and some have been restricted in project application, project establishment, award evaluation and other qualifications...
"my country's heavy blow in the field of scientific research integrity has set a good start to rectify the phenomenon of 'paper factory'. To completely eliminate the writing and distribution of papers, it is necessary to continuously reform, optimize the talent evaluation mechanism, improve the quality of scientific research results review, and reduce the opportunity for illegal speculators to take advantage of." Xia Qun said. (Liu Yuan and Liu Qingyu are pseudonyms in the article)
