Ethics & Plagiarism Update

The Ethics & Plagiarism (E&P) Commmittee of the ACM Publications Board is charged with investigating claims of ACM Publications Policy violations and collaborating with Publications Board leadership and Headquarters Staff to ensure that ACM’s policies and processes support the highest level of research integrity and publishing excellence.

Key recent policy updates on which the Committee advised include the ACM Policy on Authorship, the ACM Peer Review Policy, and, most recently, the revised ACM Inappropriate Content Policy (more on this elsewhere in this edition of the Blue Diamond). Each of these updated policies has its own new list of Frequently Asked Questions (Authorship Policy FAQ, Peer Review Policy FAQ , and Inappropriate Content Policy FAQ).

The Committee also provided key guidance on the development of ACM’s newPeer Reviewer Training and Certification program, including the Case Studies for Peer Reviewers, which address some of the tricker scenarios ACM reviewers encounter (more on this program in a dedicated section of this edition of the Blue Diamond).

In FY24 (July 2023-June 2024), the Committee received an all-time high of 63 new complaints (up from the previous record of 58 new complaints filed in FY22). Of those 63 complaints, 48 were for authorship violations including plagiarism; seven were for peer review violations; four for falsification of research and research midsconduct; three for conflicts of interest; and one for coercion, abuse, harrassment, and retaliation. As the number and complexity of cases increase, the Committee has been working to put new systems and procedures in place to support its cricial work safeguarding the integrity of ACM publications.