Scientific publishing appears to be at a crossroads.

According to an analysis in Science, around 1.92 million papers were indexed by the Scopus and Web of Science publication databases in 2016. In 2022, that number rose to 2.82 million. The authors of that analysis asked themselves whether this is eroding trust in science; can all this research be genuine and trustworthy?

At the 12th Heidelberg Laureate Forum, a panel of mathematicians, publishers, and research integrity experts tried to address this thorny situation. Their discussion revealed a complex ecosystem for academics caught between the need for openness and the pressure to perform in the publishing arena.

For an analysis on the panel discussion by Andrei Mihai, head over to the HLFF Blog 

Image caption: Yukari Ito (Professor, Nagoya University) speaking on the panel on science integrity. ©: HLFF / Flemming