[Paper Review] Publication and collaboration anomalies in academic papers originating from a paper mill: Evidence from a Russia-based paper mill

Anna Abalkina|arXiv (Cornell University)|Dec 26, 2021

Academic Publishing and Open Access35 citations

TL;DR

This study identifies 434 suspicious academic papers linked to the Russia-based paper mill 'International Publisher' LLC by analyzing 1,009 coauthorship-for-sale offers from 2019–2021. It reveals widespread anomalies in authorship, collaboration patterns, and journal submissions—including reprints from hijacked journals—and estimates the value of coauthorship slots at $6.5 million, highlighting systemic academic misconduct across 39 countries.

ABSTRACT

This study attempts to detect papers originating from the Russia-based paper mill International publisher LLC. A total of 1009 offers published during 2019-2021 on the 123mi.ru website were analysed. The study allowed us to identify at least 434 papers that are potentially linked to the paper mill including one preprint, a duplication paper and 15 republications of papers erroneously published in hijacked journals. Evidence of suspicious provenance from the paper mill is provided: matches in title, number of coauthorship slots, year of publication, country of the journal, country of a coauthorship slot and similarities of abstracts. These problematic papers are coauthored by scholars associated with at least 39 countries and submitted both to predatory and reputable journals. This study also demonstrates collaboration anomalies and the phenomenon of suspicious collaboration in questionable papers and examines the predictors of the Russia-based paper mill. The value of coauthorship slots offered by International Publisher LLC in 2019-2021 is estimated at $6.5 million. Since the study analysed a particular paper mill, it is likely that the number of papers with forged authorship is much higher.

Motivation & Objective

• To detect academic papers originating from the Russia-based paper mill 'International Publisher' LLC.
• To identify patterns of suspicious collaboration and forged authorship in fraudulent papers.
• To analyze the strategies used by the paper mill to submit papers to both predatory and reputable journals.
• To estimate the economic value of coauthorship slots sold by the paper mill.
• To provide detectable predictors of paper-mill-originated manuscripts for journals and publishers.

Proposed method

• Analysis of 1,009 coauthorship-for-sale offers posted on 123mi.ru (2019–2021) to identify matching papers.
• Cross-referencing paper titles, coauthorship slots, publication years, journal countries, and abstract similarities to detect suspicious matches.
• Validation of suspicious papers via journal indexing (Scopus, Web of Science), publication history, and retraction records.
• Identification of papers previously published in hijacked journals through republication patterns and metadata anomalies.
• Assessment of collaboration anomalies, including mismatched coauthor affiliations, topic misalignment, and atypical coauthor counts.
• Estimation of the economic value of coauthorship slots based on offer pricing and transaction volume.

Experimental results

Research questions

• RQ1 What proportion of papers identified through coauthorship-for-sale offers are linked to the 'International Publisher' LLC paper mill?
• RQ2 What collaboration anomalies are present in papers originating from the Russia-based paper mill?
• RQ3 How do paper mills strategically submit papers to both predatory and reputable journals?
• RQ4 What role do hijacked journals play in the paper mill’s distribution strategy?
• RQ5 What are the key predictors of fraudulent papers originating from this paper mill?

Key findings

• At least 434 papers are potentially linked to the 'International Publisher' LLC paper mill, including one preprint, 15 republications from hijacked journals, and one duplication paper.
• The paper mill offered coauthorship slots to scholars from at least 39 countries, indicating an international reach beyond Russia.
• The value of coauthorship slots sold by the paper mill between 2019 and 2021 was estimated at $6.5 million.
• More than 800 scholars from over 300 universities were involved in fraudulent authorship, with one scholar coauthoring 22 suspicious papers.
• Suspicious collaboration patterns include mismatched coauthor affiliations, topic misalignment with coauthors’ expertise, and unusually high average coauthor counts compared to typical Russian research norms.
• The paper mill used diverse submission strategies, including one-paper-one-journal, high-acceptance predatory journals, and dishonest collaboration with editors and reputable publishers.