At a glance
Customer
Sage
Website
Use case
Research integrity checks
Product
Challenge
Why Sage needed faster author verification
As a leading academic publisher, Sage needed a more comprehensive and efficient way to verify authors at the point of submission.
Adya Misra, Associate Director of Research Integrity, leads the team that investigates potential ethical issues at Sage. Verifying authors at submission was becoming more complex and time-consuming. The team also needed to spot individuals who may be operating in networks and gain deeper insight into author groups.
At stake was Sage’s commitment to the highest standards of research integrity and to ethical publishing across the whole process. Meeting that commitment depended on verification that was accurate, efficient and comprehensive.
Author Check is an open tab in my browser. My team uses it multiple times a day. The insights are deep and immediate, which helps both in day-to-day tasks and larger audits.
Solution
How Sage rolled out Author Check from beta to daily use
In August 2024, Sage began testing Dimensions Author Check, first for author verification and soon for wider research integrity investigations.
Sage joined the beta program for Dimensions Author Check, a tool that helps verify authors and investigate potential ethical issues. As early testers, Adya Misra’s team gave regular feedback to the Digital Science product team, which helped shape the platform.
- Joined the beta program
Sage began participating in the Dimensions Author Check beta in August 2024 as one of the early testers. - Extended use beyond verification
The tool proved valuable for author verification and for supporting broader research integrity investigations. - Shaped the product with feedback
Adya’s team held regular exchanges with Digital Science about small improvements, helping shape the platform. - Made it a daily-use tool
After the beta, Sage officially adopted Author Check as a daily-use tool for its research integrity team.
Who was involved: Adya Misra’s research integrity team at Sage, working with the Digital Science product team.
Results
What Sage achieved with Author Check
Author Check is now an everyday tool for Sage’s integrity team, helping it uncover patterns that may point to manipulation or misconduct.
- Multiple times a day: how often Sage’s integrity team uses Author Check, for routine tasks and larger audits.
- One view instead of many: Author Check draws on different data sources, so the team consults fewer of them.
- 3 roles assessed: authors, editors and reviewers, following patterns of concern rather than job titles.
What it means: For Sage, Author Check has grown from a submission-stage verification tool into a trusted, day-to-day resource across its integrity workflow. It helps the team spot patterns of concern and carry out deeper investigations, supporting ethical, transparent publishing at every stage.
Reported by Adya Misra, Associate Director of Research Integrity at Sage.
FAQs
Beyond author checks: what Sage’s team does with Author Check
How does Author Check use Dimensions data?
Author Check links directly to Dimensions, so Sage’s team can quickly explore the publications and affiliations connected to the individuals it is investigating.
How does Sage treat authors who are hard to find in Author Check?
Sage sees an author’s absence from the system as an insight in itself, and is now exploring what it means for first-time or low-publication authors, especially from less visible institutions. The aim is to tell a data gap from a red flag.
Can Author Check also assess editors and reviewers?
Yes. Sage’s integrity team uses the Author Check dashboard to assess editors and reviewers as well as authors, following patterns of concern rather than roles. One tool can therefore support investigations across the whole publishing process.
How does Author Check help uncover misconduct patterns?
It helps surface patterns that may indicate manipulation or misconduct and that would be difficult or time-intensive to find manually. Sage’s goal was to identify individuals who may operate in networks and to gain deep insight into author groups.
Why does the link to Dimensions matter for investigations?
It lets the team start looking at the publications and affiliations linked to the individuals under investigation. Author Check also pulls from different data sources, which significantly reduces the need to consult multiple sources.
See what Dimensions Author Check can do for you
Request a demo or quote to see how Author Check can support research integrity in your team.
