Publishing original content in its three journals has always been a priority for the American Society for Nutrition (ASN). Prior to ASN implementing plagiarism detection technology into their editorial process, ASN relied on authors’ honesty, and on reviewers and readers to flag problems. “Reuse of authors’ own material is the greatest area where we’ve caught overlap,” said Sarah McCormack, editorial manager at ASN. “iThenticate meets a need that has been important to us—but not available—for a long time.”
To meet important scientific and legal needs, ASN began checking for plagiarism in submitted writing. Checking for plagiarism before publication has helped ASN avoid time-consuming problems that could occur if authors were not aware that ASN performs a screening or if a problem surfaced after publication. “Checking in the beginning means that we don’t have to spend the time to address problems later,” said McCormack. ASN displays an iThenticate logo on their author submission pages as an additional layer of plagiarism prevention. “We felt it was important to state our plagiarism policy prior to submission because we don’t want it to come as a surprise to authors.” ASN sees placement of the iThenticate logo as a service to authors to let them know that they are using the tool—and to add a degree of credibility to their journal.
Since using iThenticate, ASN has found that the problems seem to come most with review-type papers, and as a result have been able to put more focus on those submissions. “We’ve found particular ways to manage our workflow so we can minimize the number of unnecessary screenings,” said McCormack. ASN now has the tools to be able to figure out the best way to check work and let authors know as early as possible without adding too much expense to their organization. “We are pleased that we have found a tool that meets our scientific and legal needs, as well as being a good fit with our editors. It is a simple process, and, of course, a much needed piece of our editorial process.”
Since 2011, ASN has participated in CrossCheck powered by iThenticate, a service offered by CrossRef® and powered by iThenticate software, that has more than 300 leading publisher participants that permit use of published works within the iThenticate database.
Also read: Ammons Scientific: Preventing unoriginal content before peer-review
Founded in 1928
ASN is a constituent society of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB)
Based in Bethesda, MD USA
We are pleased to have found a tool that meets our scientific and legal needs, as well as being a good fit with our editors.Sarah McCormack, Editorial Manager
