Research Integrity Risk Index

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Research Integrity Risk Index (RI²) is a bibliometric-based risk indicator developed by Lokman Meho, , bibliometrician, research evaluation expert and the University Librarian at the American University of Beirut, to assess research integrity vulnerabilities in global academic institutions.[1] RI² evaluates universities based on the rate of retracted articles and the proportion of publications in delisted journals, offering an alternative to conventional research rankings.[2][3]

Background

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Traditional global university rankings have transformed the definition of academic success, prioritizing metrics like publication counts and citation rates over scholarly integrity.[4][5][6] The Research Integrity Risk Index (RI²) index offers a complementary lens focused on research reliability and ethical publishing practices. It was created to highlight patterns of publication misconduct or structural weaknesses in institutional oversight.[2][7]

How does RI² work?

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The Research Integrity Risk Index (RI²) assesses academic institutions using two independent and verifiable metrics:[8][2] (1) the R Rate, which represents the number of retracted articles per 1,000 publications; and (2) the D Rate, which measures the proportion of an institution’s publications that appear in journals recently delisted from Scopus or Web of Science. These indicators, reflecting research quality and integrity, are combined into a 0–1 score that places institutions into five risk tiers, from Red Flag to Low Risk, based on the top 1,000 publishing universities.

Describing his RI², Dr. Lokman Meho stated that “RI² helps shift the focus from sheer volume and visibility to structural signals of ethical risk, offering universities a path towards more sustainable and transparent academic performance,” adding: “Its reliance on existing public data ensures it can be adopted globally without costly infrastructure changes.”[3]

Methodology

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The RI² score is computed using two indicators:[9]

  • Retraction Risk measures the number of retracted articles per 1,000 publications over a two-year period, focusing on retractions due to misconduct such as data fabrication, plagiarism, and peer review manipulation. The data is drawn from Retraction Watch, Medline, and Web of Science, filtered to include only retractions attributed to author-related causes. Articles are matched to institutions via SciVal to calculate retraction rates normalized by publication volume.[10][11][12][13]
  • Delisted Journal Risk tracks the proportion of an institution’s output published in journals removed from Scopus or Web of Science for breaching editorial and ethical standards. These journals are identified through each database’s re-evaluation and delisting processes, which flag concerns like paper mills, citation cartels, and peer-review manipulation. Only content from journals actively indexed in the relevant period is included.[14]

The data from both components act as indicators of wider research integrity issues, including paper mills (entities that sell authorship), citation cartels (mutual citation schemes to boost impact), citation farms (networks that produce or trade citations), unethical authorship practices, and other tactics used to manipulate academic metrics. Both components reflect verifiable outcomes rather than inferred behaviors, providing strong and reliable indicators of institutional-level risk.[15][12][13][11][16][17][18]

RI² applies a fixed reference group: the 1,000 most publishing universities worldwide, ensuring consistency and comparability across regions and disciplines, and stable thresholds.

Normalization and Composite Scoring

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Each indicator is scaled to a 0–1 range using Min-Max normalization relative to the global reference group. The composite RI² score is the simple average of the two:

RI² = (Normalized Retraction Rate + Normalized Delisted Rate) / 2

RI² is updated semiannually. The next update of the database and rankings will be released in December 2025.[8]

Tier Classification

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Institutions are assigned to tiers based on their RI² percentiles:[9]

Tier Percentile Range Interpretation Score Range (June 2025 edition)
Red Flag ≥ 95th Extreme anomalies; systemic integrity risk RI2 ≥ 0.251
High Risk ≥ 90th and < 95th Significant deviation from global norms 0.176 ≤ RI2 < 0.251
Watch List ≥ 75th and < 90th Moderately elevated risk; emerging concerns 0.099 ≤ RI2 < 0.176
Normal Variation ≥ 50th and < 75th Within expected global variance 0.049 ≤ RI2 < 0.099
Low Risk < 50th Strong adherence to publishing integrity norms RI2 < 0.049

Full rankings and methodology are available online on the official RI² website.

Key Features of the RI² Methodology

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  • Global Benchmarking: Ensures representative and statistically reliable classification.
  • Fixed Thresholds for Consistency: Applicable across large or small datasets, preserving interpretability.
  • Transparency and Resistance to Gaming: Built on normalized, verifiable metrics rather than subjective assessments.

Red-flagged universities by Research Integrity Risk Index (RI²)

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This table lists the universities flagged as highest-risk (Red Tier) in the Research Integrity Risk Index (RI²).[8][19][20]

RI2 Rank Institution Name (per SciVal/Scopus) Country Articles 23-24 D 23-24 % D 23-24 R 22-23 R rate 22-23 Norm D Rank Norm R Rank RI2 Score
1 Graphic Era University India 2525 171 6.77 59 37.29 55 1 0.916
2 Vel Tech University India 1927 226 11.73 38 26.08 7 3 0.868
3 Koneru Lakshmaiah Education Foundation India 3827 575 15.02 50 18.50 3 9 0.834
4 Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad India 8071 959 11.88 159 23.05 6 5 0.817
5 Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Anantapur India 1905 219 11.50 37 22.32 9 6 0.791
6 Saveetha Institute of Medical And Technical Sciences India 10429 872 8.36 170 26.82 34 2 0.772
7 Anna University India 16871 1712 10.15 374 23.54 21 4 0.770
8 Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technical University India 2736 303 11.07 46 18.88 13 8 0.713
9 University of Pune India 4411 677 15.35 36 9.64 2 61 0.680
10 Daffodil International University Bangladesh 1652 151 9.14 26 17.82 30 13 0.630
11 Bina Nusantara University Indonesia 1721 309 17.95 2 1.28 1 512 0.609
12 Al-Mustaqbal University Iraq 2430 158 6.50 49 20.28 61 7 0.590
13 Visvesvaraya Technological University India 6637 746 11.24 71 11.73 11 37 0.585
14 Taif University Saudi Arabia 5179 385 7.43 126 18.04 45 11 0.578
15 SRM Institute of Science and Technology India 8292 697 8.41 102 15.35 32 19 0.560
16 Middle East University Jordan 1796 259 14.42 4 4.77 4 177 0.559
17 Majmaah University Saudi Arabia 1844 158 8.57 28 14.55 31 24 0.550
18 Northern Borders University Saudi Arabia 2001 210 10.49 12 10.88 16 45 0.545
19 Chitkara University India 2882 184 6.38 29 17.14 62 16 0.528
20 Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University Saudi Arabia 8556 683 7.98 123 14.30 39 25 0.527
21 Zhongnan University of Economics and Law China 1722 104 6.04 28 16.59 76 17 0.506
22 Annamalai University India 2013 226 11.23 13 6.82 12 117 0.493
23 Riphah International University Pakistan 2081 90 4.32 39 18.29 141 10 0.482
24 University of Education Pakistan 1853 89 4.80 31 17.33 124 14 0.480
25 Gandhi Institute of Technology and Management India 2666 286 10.73 15 6.95 15 106 0.479
26 GLA University India 3074 179 5.82 35 15.10 84 20 0.471
27 Al-Balqa Applied University Jordan 2195 227 10.34 14 7.19 18 98 0.471
28 University of Management and Technology Pakistan 1819 99 5.44 30 14.97 97 22 0.456
29 The University of Lahore Pakistan 2905 156 5.37 41 14.95 103 23 0.454
30 Al Jouf University Saudi Arabia 3406 272 7.99 40 10.20 38 55 0.450
31 University of Jeddah Saudi Arabia 2800 220 7.86 26 10.26 41 53 0.447
32 Symbiosis International University India 2904 295 10.16 12 5.96 20 140 0.442
33 Hainan Medical University China 2740 91 3.32 42 17.84 194 12 0.441
34 Applied Science Private University Jordan 2382 249 10.45 8 5.36 17 155 0.441
35 Uttaranchal University India 1709 99 5.79 14 13.50 85 28 0.440
36 University of Kufa Iraq 1739 197 11.33 5 3.13 10 280 0.427
37 University of Petroleum and Energy Studies India 2641 130 4.92 39 13.81 120 26 0.418
38 Government College University Faisalabad Pakistan 2909 158 5.43 39 12.90 98 34 0.417
39 Ajman University United Arab Emirates 2226 150 6.74 20 10.53 56 50 0.416
40 Universitas Airlangga Indonesia 5994 694 11.58 11 1.99 8 406 0.414
41 Chandigarh University India 4490 295 6.57 36 10.49 58 52 0.410
42 Shanghai University of Finance and Economics China 1624 65 4.00 24 14.97 155 21 0.410
43 Hubei University of Medicine China 1599 52 3.25 23 16.23 200 18 0.409
44 L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University Kazakhstan 1643 162 9.86 6 4.63 24 185 0.408
45 University of Agriculture Faisalabad Pakistan 3288 192 5.84 41 11.64 82 40 0.407
46 Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology India 2336 230 9.85 10 4.62 25 187 0.407
47 University of Tabuk Saudi Arabia 3353 196 5.85 30 11.49 81 42 0.405
48 Osmania University India 2034 143 7.03 17 9.39 50 66 0.404
49 Universitas Sumatera Utara Indonesia 1898 226 11.91 1 0.67 5 684 0.400
50 Bahauddin Zakariya University Pakistan 2382 104 4.37 33 13.33 139 32 0.391
51 King Khalid University Saudi Arabia 11122 658 5.92 106 10.58 78 49 0.390
52 King Faisal University Saudi Arabia 4875 396 8.12 28 6.72 36 122 0.390
53 Sichuan Normal University China 2122 44 2.07 32 17.25 401 15 0.389
54 Vellore Institute of Technology India 10388 529 5.09 99 11.88 110 36 0.387
55 Princess Nourah Bint Abdul Rahman University Saudi Arabia 8730 531 6.08 78 9.76 74 58 0.380
56 Jazan University Saudi Arabia 4147 288 6.94 29 7.78 53 89 0.371
57 Government College University Lahore Pakistan 1835 107 5.83 16 9.58 83 64 0.369
58 University of Babylon Iraq 2440 248 10.16 4 1.96 19 412 0.368
59 Umm Al-Qura University Saudi Arabia 5718 363 6.35 51 8.60 65 74 0.367
60 University of the Punjab Pakistan 4275 297 6.95 32 7.47 52 94 0.366
61 Hebei University of Engineering China 1903 65 3.42 23 13.36 188 30 0.360
62 INTI International University Malaysia 1627 179 11.00 0 0.00 14 1343 0.358
63 Qassim University Saudi Arabia 5278 375 7.10 34 6.81 48 119 0.358
64 University of Hail Saudi Arabia 3125 172 5.50 27 9.60 94 63 0.358
65 Prince Sultan University Saudi Arabia 2474 172 6.95 16 6.94 51 109 0.356
66 Lovely Professional University India 5169 280 5.42 34 9.47 99 65 0.353
67 Shaqra University Saudi Arabia 1588 112 7.05 9 6.51 49 128 0.351
68 Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia Malaysia 2005 168 8.38 8 4.15 33 209 0.350
69 Universitas Hasanuddin Indonesia 2799 284 10.15 2 1.00 22 588 0.349
70 Duy Tan University Viet Nam 1814 105 5.79 14 8.55 86 76 0.348
71 Universiti Teknologi MARA Malaysia 6734 653 9.70 9 1.44 26 488 0.343
72 Al-Ahliyya Amman University Jordan 1693 168 9.92 1 0.82 23 632 0.339
73 University of Basrah Iraq 2053 188 9.16 4 2.13 29 391 0.338
74 Ningxia Medical University China 2444 64 2.62 28 13.50 266 29 0.337
75 Islamia University Pakistan 3102 131 4.22 30 10.60 146 48 0.335
76 Najran University Saudi Arabia 2455 151 6.15 16 7.11 72 101 0.333
77 Menoufia University Egypt 3389 203 5.99 24 7.18 77 99 0.329
78 Al-Farabi Kazakh National University Kazakhstan 2267 122 5.38 17 8.19 102 83 0.328
79 Shaoxing University China 2166 73 3.37 22 11.62 191 41 0.326
80 Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan Pakistan 2029 95 4.68 19 9.33 129 67 0.326
81 University of Baghdad Iraq 6518 612 9.39 6 1.06 28 567 0.326
82 Jinzhou Medical University China 1594 32 2.01 18 13.75 421 27 0.322
83 University of Mosul Iraq 2423 174 7.18 10 4.63 46 184 0.320
84 Christ University India 2181 129 5.91 12 6.74 79 121 0.318
85 Huizhou University China 2010 43 2.14 25 13.33 379 31 0.318
86 Universitas Sebelas Maret Indonesia 2621 248 9.46 1 0.47 27 817 0.317
87 Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology India 2056 127 6.18 13 6.16 70 134 0.316
88 King Saud University Saudi Arabia 27268 988 3.62 215 10.51 172 51 0.314
89 Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Malaysia 5797 437 7.54 22 3.66 44 239 0.314
90 Wannan Medical College China 1698 39 2.30 18 12.81 326 35 0.314
91 COMSATS University Islamabad Pakistan 5494 295 5.37 47 7.33 104 95 0.312
92 University of Mumbai India 2163 179 8.28 4 2.15 35 387 0.310
93 University of Madras India 2210 92 4.16 20 9.28 148 68 0.309
94 Southwestern University of Finance and Economics China 2349 65 2.77 26 11.67 240 38 0.308
95 National Institute of Technology Patna India 1660 134 8.07 3 2.11 37 394 0.302
96 Linyi University China 1597 27 1.69 20 13.17 545 33 0.301
97 Bharathiar University India 2645 173 6.54 12 4.63 59 186 0.299
98 Hebei Medical University China 5435 192 3.53 51 9.83 181 57 0.298
99 Taibah University Saudi Arabia 3274 217 6.63 13 4.40 57 197 0.298
100 Al-Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University Saudi Arabia 3451 182 5.27 17 6.70 105 123 0.297
101 Al-Mustansiriya University Iraq 2465 195 7.91 4 1.76 40 439 0.290
102 Xi'an Polytechnic University China 1724 48 2.78 17 10.63 237 47 0.289
103 Future University in Egypt Egypt 1953 78 3.99 20 8.48 157 79 0.288
104 Jimma University Ethiopia 1821 39 2.14 21 11.65 377 39 0.287
105 King Abdulaziz University Saudi Arabia 11458 552 4.82 94 6.98 123 104 0.287
106 Xuzhou Medical University China 4565 104 2.28 44 11.27 331 43 0.284
107 University of Sargodha Pakistan 1826 74 4.05 14 7.82 151 87 0.278
108 Lebanese American University Lebanon 5811 359 6.18 13 4.05 69 217 0.277
109 Near East University Turkey 2206 134 6.07 9 4.20 75 207 0.276
110 Firat University Turkey 2345 181 7.72 3 1.26 42 519 0.275
111 Bharathidasan University India 2340 122 5.21 12 5.58 107 149 0.274
112 Anhui Jianzhu University China 1739 53 3.05 13 9.14 214 69 0.270
113 Shijiazhuang Tiedao University China 1870 44 2.35 17 10.25 316 54 0.268
114 Pondicherry University India 1801 97 5.39 8 4.76 100 179 0.264
115 Universidade Federal de Uberlândia Brazil 2412 46 1.91 27 10.81 451 46 0.264
116 Xinjiang Medical College China 2015 36 1.79 20 10.93 512 44 0.262
117 Amity University, Noida India 4364 239 5.48 19 4.48 96 192 0.262
118 Ibn Tofail University Morocco 2154 165 7.66 1 0.57 43 739 0.260
119 Universiti Putra Malaysia Malaysia 7344 420 5.72 28 3.84 89 229 0.258
120 Asia University Taiwan 2234 88 3.94 19 6.90 159 113 0.257
121 Beni-Suef University Egypt 2833 135 4.77 15 5.40 127 153 0.256
122 Yarmouk University Jordan 1835 131 7.14 2 1.19 47 542 0.255
123 Quaid-i-Azam University Pakistan 2975 139 4.67 18 5.37 130 154 0.252
124 Universiti Malaysia Sabah Malaysia 2036 117 5.75 8 3.48 88 255 0.252

Interactive Map

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Users can explore the interactive RI² world map, which displays average RI² scores by country to visualize geographic trends in research integrity risk.

Key findings

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RI² emphasize the pressing need for integrity-focused reforms in the way rankings, funding bodies, and institutions assess scholarly performance.[2] The index is designed as a risk monitor, not a ranking of prestige. According to its creator, over-reliance on flawed bibliometrics incentives may allow paper mills, unethical collaborations, or manipulation of editorial and peer-review processes to go undetected in standard rankings.[19]

External reception

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The methodology and findings have drawn international attention.[21] A 2025 article in Nature spotlighted universities with unusually high numbers of retractions, citing RI² data in its analysis.[19][1]

An article in Science Chronicle (India) highlighted the 32 Indian universities that were red flagged according to the RI² index.[22] The Indian Society of Artificial Intelligence and Law (ISAIL) proposed a transformative approach to evaluating institutional excellence. They claimed that the RI² index resonates with its mission to champion ethical standards in technology and research.[23]

Commenting on the RI² index, an article in al-Ghad newspaper (Jordan) highlights its value as a critical alternative to traditional rankings, exposing ethical risks in academia. Citing Jordan as an example, the author notes that eight universities were listed—five red-flagged, two high risk, and one on the watch list.[24]

In an interview with University World News, Lokman Meho described his RI² tool as an “empirically grounded, conservative tool that flags institutions exhibiting structural integrity risks based on retraction rates and reliance on delisted journals”, he said, rather than a punitive tool, the index offers institutions a chance to detect integrity risks before they become reputational liabilities.[3]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Naddaf, Miryam (2025-06-06). "'Integrity index' flags universities with high retraction rates". Nature. doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01727-3. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 40481200.
  2. ^ a b c d Meho, Lokman I. (2025-06-19), Gaming the Metrics? Bibliometric Anomalies and the Integrity Crisis in Global University Rankings, arXiv, doi:10.48550/arXiv.2505.06448, arXiv:2505.06448, retrieved 2025-07-02
  3. ^ a b c Sawahel, Wagdy (June 30, 2025). "New tool aims to deter gaming in global university rankings". University World News. Retrieved July 2, 2025.
  4. ^ Jones, Nicola (2025-06-04). "Science-integrity project will root out bad medical papers 'and tell everyone'". Nature. doi:10.1038/d41586-025-01739-z. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 40468547.
  5. ^ "The scientific world does not need more bad quality papers". University World News. Retrieved 2025-06-09.
  6. ^ Chawla, Dalmeet Singh. "Fourteen universities may have manipulated institutional rankings, analysis finds". Chemistry World. Retrieved 2025-06-09.
  7. ^ "Research integrity is much more than misconduct". Nature. 570 (7759): 5. 2019-06-03. Bibcode:2019Natur.570R...5.. doi:10.1038/d41586-019-01727-0. PMID 31160744.
  8. ^ a b c Meho, Lokman I. (June 2025). "RI2 - Research Integrity Risk Index". Retrieved 2025-06-23.
  9. ^ a b Meho, Lokman I. (2025). "The Research Integrity Risk Index (RI2): A Composite Metric for Detecting Risk Profiles". Research Integrity Risk Index. Retrieved 2025-06-25.
  10. ^ Fang, Ferric C.; Steen, R. Grant; Casadevall, Arturo (2012-10-16). "Misconduct accounts for the majority of retracted scientific publications". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 109 (42): 17028–17033. Bibcode:2012PNAS..10917028F. doi:10.1073/pnas.1212247109. PMC 3479492. PMID 23027971.
  11. ^ a b Ioannidis, John P. A.; Pezzullo, Angelo Maria; Cristiano, Antonio; Boccia, Stefania; Baas, Jeroen (2025-01-30). "Linking citation and retraction data reveals the demographics of scientific retractions among highly cited authors". PLOS Biology. 23 (1): e3002999. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.3002999. ISSN 1545-7885. PMC 11781634. PMID 39883670.
  12. ^ a b Candal-Pedreira, Cristina; Guerra-Tort, Carla; Ruano-Ravina, Alberto; Freijedo-Farinas, Fabián; Rey-Brandariz, Julia; Ross, Joseph S.; Pérez-Ríos, Mónica (2024-08-01). "Retracted papers originating from paper mills: a cross-sectional analysis of references and citations". Journal of Clinical Epidemiology. 172. doi:10.1016/j.jclinepi.2024.111397. hdl:10347/34889. ISSN 0895-4356. PMID 38815634.
  13. ^ a b Feng, Sida; Feng, Lingzi; Han, Fang; Zhang, Ye; Ren, Yanqing; Wang, Lixue; Yuan, Junpeng (2024-08-01). "Citation network analysis of retractions in molecular biology field". Scientometrics. 129 (8): 4795–4817. doi:10.1007/s11192-024-05101-4. ISSN 1588-2861.
  14. ^ Cortegiani, Andrea; Ippolito, Mariachiara; Ingoglia, Giulia; Manca, Andrea; Cugusi, Lucia; Severin, Anna; Strinzel, Michaela; Panzarella, Vera; Campisi, Giuseppina (2020-08-26), "Citations and metrics of journals discontinued from Scopus for publication concerns: the GhoS(t)copus Project", F1000Research, 9: 415, doi:10.12688/f1000research.23847.2, PMC 7512033, PMID 33024548, 9:415
  15. ^ Abalkina, Anna (2023). "Publication and collaboration anomalies in academic papers originating from a paper mill: Evidence from a Russia-based paper mill". Learned Publishing. 36 (4): 689–702. doi:10.1002/leap.1574. ISSN 1741-4857.
  16. ^ Lancho Barrantes, Barbara S.; Dalton, Sally; Andre, Deirdre (2023-07-01). "Bibliometrics Methods in Detecting Citations to Questionable Journals". The Journal of Academic Librarianship. 49 (4): 102749. doi:10.1016/j.acalib.2023.102749. ISSN 0099-1333.
  17. ^ Smagulov, Kadyrzhan; Teixeira da Silva, Jaime A. (2025-04-01). "Scientific Productivity and Retracted Literature of Authors with Kazakhstani Affiliations During 2013–2023". Journal of Academic Ethics. doi:10.1007/s10805-025-09624-0. ISSN 1572-8544.
  18. ^ Teixeira da Silva, Jaime A.; Nazarovets, Serhii (2023-06-07). "Assessment of retracted papers, and their retraction notices, from a cancer journal associated with "paper mills"". Journal of Data and Information Science. 8 (2): 118–125. doi:10.2478/jdis-2023-0009.
  19. ^ a b c Van Noorden, Richard (2025). "Exclusive: These universities have the most retracted scientific articles". Nature. 638 (8051): 596–599. Bibcode:2025Natur.638..596V. doi:10.1038/d41586-025-00455-y. PMID 39972233.
  20. ^ Meho, Lokman I.; Akl, Elie A. (2025-02-19). "Using bibliometrics to detect questionable authorship and affiliation practices and their impact on global research metrics: A case study of 14 universities". Quantitative Science Studies. 6: 63–98. doi:10.1162/qss_a_00339. ISSN 2641-3337.
  21. ^ ""研究诚信风险指数"提示高撤稿率大学—新闻—科学网". news.sciencenet.cn. Retrieved 2025-06-09.
  22. ^ Ravindranath, Prasad (June 12, 2025). "A research integrity index shining a light on how Indian universities have gamed the publishing metrics". Science Chronicle. Retrieved 2025-06-30.
  23. ^ Rohra, Sanjay (June 10, 2025). "Integrating Research Integrity into Academic Rankings – A Step Forward". Indian Society of Artificial Intelligence and Law. Retrieved 2025-06-30.
  24. ^ Al-Zoubi, Abdallah S. (June 21, 2025). "أزمة النزاهة الأكاديمية في الجامعات.. معركة القيم بين التشريع والتطبيق". Al-Ghad (Jordan). Retrieved 2025-06-30.
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