2025 New Challenges to Research Integrity - what you should know

8 October 2025, 12:30 - 14:00

This webinar will cover clinical trials, and other types of studies relevant to medicine. It will cover hot topics and new issues such as the use of generative AI in research and the proliferation of 'paper mills', predatory journals and companies offering 'authorship for sale'. During the 90 minutes it will give examples of how to spot issues with research integrity in published papers and what Age & Ageing Journal does to try to ensure we only publish research that is genuine and valid.    

Why attend?

Around 2% of researchers admit to having previously falsified or fabricated data, though this is widely believed to be an underestimate. Some estimate as much as a third of the published literature may be tainted by questionable research practices. This represents an existential threat to evidence-based medicine, with the potential to cause real harm to patients. It is important clinicians and researchers are aware of new and old threats to research integrity so we can make better informed decisions on the evidence base for our everyday practice.  

Who should join:

• All professionals providing healthcare to older people and all medical researchers conducting and publishing of research of clinical trials

Aims:

• Improve attendees' knowledge  of the current research landscape and challenges 
• Develop skills to identify research of concern
• Share focused best practice and the latest in research integrity

How can we try to spot fraudulent research publications? A demonstration of the REAPPRAISED research integrity checklist.

Prof Alison Avenell is an Honorary Consultant in Clinical Biochemistry, NHS Grampian. Her research at the University of Aberdeen involves undertaking large randomised controlled trials and systematic reviews relevant to clinical care. Alison has helped develop statistical methods and a checklist to assess publication research integrity, because fraudulent trials are rapidly increasing:

Check for publication integrity before misconduct

Medicine is plagued by untrustworthy clinical trials. How many studies are faked or flawed?

In this session Alison will demonstrate the use of the checklist to assess publication integrity and discuss simple strategies for avoiding the inadvertent use of fraudulent research.