Research integrity
Research integrity at SHODHX
SHODHX helps researchers show that their work can be trusted, and helps catch honest mistakes before they become problems. Our checks produce prompts for people to look at, never verdicts. When something does look wrong, we handle it fairly, confidentially and on the evidence.
What SHODHX checks
A record that cannot be rewritten
Important actions on research records, manuscripts, reviews and reports are kept in a chained audit trail. Every day its latest hash is timestamped by an independent authority, so not even SHODHX can change history unnoticed.
Manuscript pre-check
Before submitting, authors can privately check their manuscript. The check recomputes reported p-values, tests means and standard deviations (GRIM, GRIMMER), flags paraphrased "tortured phrases", checks reference DOIs and retractions, and looks for overlapping text and reused figures. Organisers see the same screening after submission.
Fair peer review
When an organiser invites a reviewer, SHODHX checks for a shared institution or email domain and for papers written together in the last five years. Possible conflicts are shown before the invitation goes out.
Research records
Observations are dated and never edited, results are verified by a supervisor, and the record shows how promptly entries were made.
SeqVerify for sequencing data
Coded samples, SHODHX spike-in tubes, direct upload by verified sequencing companies, and separate findings on integrity, custody, reuse, identity and provenance, reviewed by an expert before a signed report is issued. Open SeqVerify.
Random audits
Each year about 4% of certified records are picked at random for a check of the raw data behind them. The pick is made from a published seed, so anyone can confirm it was fair. Being picked is not suspicion.
Our principles
- A flag is not a finding. Automated checks point a person to something worth a look. Typing errors, one-tailed tests and unusual wording all have innocent explanations.
- Fairness. Nobody is judged without seeing what is asked and having the chance to respond.
- Confidentiality. Concerns, case files and the identity of people who raise them are kept confidential.
- Proportion. Honest error is corrected, not punished. Misconduct (fabrication, falsification and plagiarism) is treated seriously.
- Independence. Nobody handles a case they raised, a case about themselves, or one where they have a conflict of interest.
- Privacy. Checks run on SHODHX's own servers. Manuscripts and reviews are never sent to an AI service. See the Privacy Policy.
How we handle a concern
This policy follows the guidance of COPE, the Committee on Publication Ethics. It covers concerns about anything on SHODHX: manuscripts and conference submissions, research records, SeqVerify reports, peer review and conferences.
1. Raising a concern
Anyone with a SHODHX account can raise a concern through the concerns form, with any supporting file. Your identity is kept confidential unless you agree otherwise. Concerns raised in good faith are never held against the person who raises them, even if nothing is found.
2. Acknowledgement: within 3 working days
You receive a reference number at once, and a SHODHX integrity officer confirms that the concern is being looked at.
3. First assessment: within 15 days
The officer decides whether there is something to look into. If not, the concern is closed with the reasons given to the person who raised it.
4. Response: 21 days
The person whose work is queried receives a neutral summary written by the officer, never the reporter's identity or words, and is invited to explain and share records such as raw data or lab notebooks. One extension can be given on request.
5. Decision: within 60 days of receipt where possible
The officer weighs the evidence and the response and records an outcome: no case to answer, honest error (corrected), or a substantiated concern. Both sides are told the outcome. Complex cases may take longer; both sides are kept informed.
6. Appeal: within 14 days
Either side may appeal through the Contact page, giving reasons. The appeal is heard by a different officer or a small panel who did not handle the case.
7. Informing others
SHODHX informs the person's institution, a conference's organisers, a journal or a funder only when a concern is substantiated after the person has had the chance to respond, or straight away if there is a risk to safety or to the public. SHODHX may correct, mark or withdraw its own records, such as a report or a conference publication, and says why.
8. Records
Case files are kept confidential for 7 years after a case closes. Every step is recorded in the audit trail. Outcomes are not published unless a record SHODHX holds has to be corrected or withdrawn.
Concerns that appear to be made in bad faith, for example to harass a competitor, are handled separately. Questions about this policy: Contact. Policy dated 7 November 2026.