Author Verification

ReviewerZero's Author Verification feature uses AI-powered analysis to verify the identity and credentials of academic authors. By cross-referencing real-time web search results, publication records, and institutional data, we help detect potential authorship integrity issues.

Why Author Verification?

Authorship integrity is increasingly challenged by:

• Ghost authorship - Undisclosed contributors who wrote significant portions
• Gift authorship - Names added without meaningful contribution
• Fabricated authors - Entirely fictional individuals listed as contributors
• Affiliation mismatches - Authors claiming affiliations they don't have
• Identity fraud - Authors misrepresenting their credentials

Our verification system helps identify these issues before they become problems.

Author Overview

Start with a clear overview of all authors in the manuscript. Our system presents author information in an easy-to-review format.

Author Verification List

What We Display

For each author, you'll see:

• Name as listed in the manuscript
• Claimed affiliations
• Verification status indicator
• Confidence score
• Quick action buttons

Verification Process

How We Verify Authors

Our AI analyzes multiple data sources to verify each author:

Verification Outcomes

Verified Authors

For legitimate authors, get detailed verification results and insights.

Verified Author Details

Verified authors show:

• Matching publication history
• Confirmed institutional affiliation
• Consistent research areas
• Linked ORCID or other identifiers

Flagged Authors

When authors cannot be verified, the system provides clear explanations.

Author Issue Detection

Potential issues that trigger flags:

• No matching records in academic databases
• Affiliation doesn't match any known institution
• Name variations that don't resolve to a real person
• Inconsistent publication history

Issue Details

Get clear explanations when authors cannot be verified. Understand exactly why an author entry has been flagged as suspicious.

Issue Explanation

Detailed Analysis

For each flagged author, we provide:

• Search Results Summary - What databases were checked and what was found
• Affiliation Analysis - Whether the claimed institution exists and employs the person
• Publication Check - Whether prior publications can be attributed to this author
• Confidence Assessment - How certain we are about the finding

Possible Explanations

Not all flags indicate misconduct. Common legitimate explanations include:

• Early-career researchers with limited publication history
• Authors from institutions with limited online presence
• Name changes (marriage, etc.)
• Common names requiring disambiguation

Supporting Evidence

Access supporting evidence and citations that help validate or question authorship claims.

Supporting Evidence

Evidence Types

Cross-Referencing

Our system automatically cross-references:

• Author names with multiple spelling variations
• Different transliterations of non-Latin names
• Maiden names and married names
• Institutional name changes over time

What We Detect

Ghost Authorship

Signs that someone who contributed significantly is not listed:

• Acknowledgments mentioning substantial help without authorship
• Writing style inconsistencies suggesting multiple authors
• Methods expertise not matching listed authors' backgrounds

Gift Authorship

Indicators that someone may be listed without meaningful contribution:

• Senior authors with no relevant expertise in the paper's topic
• Authors with no apparent connection to the research group
• Unusual patterns of authorship across multiple papers

Fabricated Authors

Red flags for entirely fictional contributors:

• No online presence whatsoever
• Affiliations that don't exist or don't match
• Names that appear only on suspicious publications
• Email domains that don't resolve

Affiliation Issues

Problems with claimed institutional affiliations:

• Institution doesn't exist
• Institution exists but has no record of the person
• Department or position doesn't match claims
• Time period inconsistencies

Confidence Scoring

Each verification includes a confidence score:

Best Practices

For Publishers

1. Run author verification on all submissions
2. Follow up on low-confidence scores before acceptance
3. Request ORCID identifiers from all authors
4. Verify corresponding author contact information
5. Document your verification process

For Institutions

1. Include author verification in integrity screening
2. Train staff on interpreting verification results
3. Develop policies for handling flagged authors
4. Maintain records of verification outcomes

For Authors

1. Ensure your ORCID profile is up to date
2. Use consistent name formats across publications
3. Keep institutional affiliations current
4. Link your publications in academic profiles

Integration with Editorial Workflow

Pre-Screening

Run author verification early in the submission process:

• Flag potential issues before peer review
• Request clarification from authors promptly
• Avoid wasting reviewer time on problematic submissions

Post-Acceptance Checks

Final verification before publication:

• Confirm all author information is accurate
• Verify any changes made during revision
• Ensure author statements are complete

Related Resources

• Citation Analysis - Verify references and detect manipulation
• AI Review - Comprehensive manuscript assessment
• Platform Features - Sharing and collaboration tools