COSIG
@cosig.net
The Collection of Open Science Integrity Guides (COSIG) is a constantly-expanding resource for performing post-publication peer review. https://cosig.net
Retracted scientific papers cited on Wikipedia tend to linger for years, according to a study examining nearly 1,200 citations.
Some Wikipedia citations to retracted papers persist for years, study finds
Retracted scientific papers cited on Wikipedia tend to linger on the popular website for years, according to a study examining nearly 1,200 citations. The study’s authors, led by Ph.D. candid…
retractionwatch.com
How can one learn to investigate the #integrity of published #scientific papers? This Community Page by @cosig.net, @reeserichardson.bsky.social, @solalpirelli.bsky.social presents COSIG, a collection of guides enabling anyone to perform forensic peer review 🧪#AcademicSky plos.io/43uZsbC
"Investigating the integrity of published scientific papers is key to the scientific process, but the necessary knowledge is in short supply." Check the COSIG team's new Community Page article in @plosbiology.org ! doi.org/10.1371/jour...
Introducing COSIG: The Collection of Open Science Integrity Guides
Investigating the integrity of published scientific papers is key to the scientific process, but the necessary knowledge is in short supply. This Community Page presents COSIG, an open collection of m...
doi.org
A Cochrane system for checking whether any of its thousands of published reviews include retracted studies has already turned up dozens of reviews that do and will now get closer scrutiny to ensure their results and recommendations hold up.
New system for flagging retracted papers finds scores of them in Cochrane reviews
Cochrane has implemented a new system for checking whether any of its thousands of published reviews include retracted studies in their analyses, the organization announced today. The effort alread…
retractionwatch.com
Today, COSIG and Sal Sleuthmander turn 1 year old! 🎂 Contributions to COSIG are the best birthday gifts we can ever receive, many thanks to all of our contributors 🎉
Haven't seen one of these in the wild in AGES. Scientific error-checking difficulty: very easy Why is this table definitely not real data?
Issue 44 of #rdmweekly is out! 📬 Including: ➡️ psychds - R Package @mekline.bsky.social ➡️ READMEBuilder @eivimeycook.bsky.social ➡️ Citations to Retracted Papers @cosig.net ➡️ Data Curation as Data Literacy Education @mikalarae.bsky.social and more! rdmweekly.substack.com/p/rdm-weekly...
RDM Weekly - Issue 044
A weekly roundup of Research Data Management resources.
rdmweekly.substack.com
Sleuths face various legal risks but they can also use the law for their advantage. ⚖️ COSIG's newest guide, number 3️⃣5️⃣, covers legal considerations for taking part in forensic peer review. Read it here: osf.io/q3y7s
The COSIG team is at #WCRI2026 ! Our poster is up at station 120. We'll all be there today from 12:00 to 1:30; come stop by!
With the COSIG team, we are also presenting our poster on the 5th, number 120, come see some examples of problematic content in scientific papers and try to catch them! @cosig.net @solalpirelli.bsky.social @yaamurozturk.bsky.social @reeserichardson.bsky.social
SS: We see advertisements for increasing your CV by writing Mendelian Randomization papers based on a simple tool, and we tested that LLMs can easily produce MR papers as well. These formulaic types of papers are also highlighted in the @cosig.net guidelines: osf.io/2kdez/files/... #WCRI2026
Can accommodate some more people at this Introduction to INSPECT-SR workshop tomorrow (April 30th). Book here or email/ message me directly: www.trybooking.com/uk/GATM It says (N America) because the time was chosen for that region, but all welcome
INSPECT-SR Training Workshop April (N America)
An introductory 2-hour online workshop will introduce participants to the INSPECT-SR tool for assessing trustworthiness of randomised controlled...
trybooking.com
I will be giving a BitesizeBio Webinar on Monday March 23 (5 pm UK time / 1 pm ET / 10 am PT). Title: "How to Find Errors and Misconduct in Biomedical Papers". Topics: sleuthing, @pubpeer.com, @cosig.net Register here: events.bitesizebio.com/how-to-find-...
Do you know what to do when a study you have cited gets retracted? COSIG's entry on Citations to Retracted Publications has been updated with what to do in this situation. Read all about it: osf.io/9q3as
Pseudoreplication is the practice of treating non-independent observations as if they were independent replicates. This can dramatically increase the rate of false positives. COSIG's newest entry covers how to spot them. Read it at osf.io/hyxvr COSIG 🎉now with 34 guides 🎉is available at cosig.net.
COSIG
The Collection of Open Science Integrity Guides
cosig.net
@sjmelchor.bsky.social writes for @nature.com about how to spot dubious papers, interviewing @elisabethbik.bsky.social, @abalkina.bsky.social, @jabyrnesci.bsky.social, myself and and my fellow @cosig.net maintainers @solalpirelli.bsky.social and Yagmur Ozturk! www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Five ways to spot when a paper is a fraud
Science sleuths share their common-sense tips for sniffing out fishy articles.
nature.com
Stealth corrections happen when a publisher makes changes to a scientific article after its publication, without issuing any public notice. To learn more, check out the latest COSIG entry on Stealth Corrections! osf.io/34nj5 COSIG (33 guides and growing!) is available at cosig.net.
New blog post: UnEDXpected Peaks Thanks to @reeserichardson.bsky.social, for teaching me to spot Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy problems. @cosig.net guide: osf.io/2kdez/files/... 30+ papers from a group from Pakistan with wonky EDX plots. Read more: scienceintegritydigest.com/2026/02/09/u...
To make COSIG more discoverable for educators looking to develop course material on publication integrity and peer review, COSIG now has an entry in OER Commons! @oercommons.bsky.social #OER oercommons.org/courses/the-...
The Collection of Open Science Integrity Guides (COSIG)
COSIG is an openly licensed, continuously expanding repository of practical guides for performing post-publication peer review (PPPR). The resource is freely available at https://cosig.net. At the tim...
oercommons.org
Happy New Year from Sal Sleuthmander and the COSIG team! Here's to doing lots of post-publication peer review in 2026 🎆🥂🔎
Merry Christmas and happy holidays from COSIG's newly-named mascot, Sal Sleuthmander!
Last week, COSIG's team of maintainers finally got to meet up in person! @solalpirelli.bsky.social @reeserichardson.bsky.social
Achal Agrawal realised how ingrained research misconduct had become, and resolved to do something about the issue He is part of Nature’s 10, a list of people who shaped science in 2025 go.nature.com/3Yk3d0T
This science sleuth revealed a retraction crisis at Indian universities
Achal Agrawal is part of Nature’s 10, a list of people who shaped science in 2025.
go.nature.com
Are you keeping up with @abalkina.bsky.social's advent calendar? It is a great way to practice spotting publication integrity issues!
Anna Abalkina@abalkina.bsky.social · 8mo agoHappy Advent! !!!🎄✨ Day 7. Could you identify any issues in the demographic data? papermills.tilda.ws/advent2025
Congratulations to one of COSIG's first contributors, @elisabethbik.bsky.social !
Elisabeth Bik@elisabethbik.bsky.social · 8mo agoThis afternoon, I will give a public lecture about #ResearchIntegrity and #ImageForensics, at the University of Bern, CH, where I will receive an honorary doctorate from the Faculty of Science tomorrow. Thank you for your support ❤️
Happy Advent! !!!🎄✨ Welcome to a new edition of the Research Integrity Advent Calendar. Each day brings a small challenge: spot the problem, detect inconsistencies, and sharpen your skills. Enjoy the season and the daily puzzles! Day 1. papermills.tilda.ws/advent2025
This Thursday, COSIG maintainer @reeserichardson.bsky.social will be presenting on using COSIG to spot problematic papers! Registration details below.
Royal Society of Chemistry@rsc.org · 9mo agoDo you want to know how you can fight back against fraudulent research & paper mills? Join speakers Jack Wilkinson & Reese Richardson – experts who have made it their mission to empower the world to fight back against the fakery of paper mills: https://rsc.li/47ysXuD #ChemSky @chemistryworld.com
Scientific articles often report data in tables. COSIG's latest guide covers methods to export these tables into a spreadsheet editor like Microsoft Excel! COSIG (32 guides and growing!) is available at cosig.net.
