Conference session

In order to build greater public trust in research -- as a means of addressing the current scourge of misinformation -- the Public Knowledge Project has developed a Publication Facts Label (PFL) to appear on research articles, reflecting the article’s adherence to scholarly publishing standards (much as the trusted Nutrition Facts label appear on food products). The PFL addresses the need for greater research transparency at a time when the public is gaining much greater access to research, even as new questions are being raised about trust and integrity in research. The PFL's takes data directly and automatically from the journal's publishing platform on the article's number of reviewers, data availability, interest conflicts, and funding source, as well as the journal's rejection rate, days to publication, and indexing. The goals for the PFL include providing a basis of greater trust among every type of reader, while educating the public more broadly about research. The PFL is currently being introduced into journals utilizing Open Journal Systems, the world's most widely used journal platform, after four years of research and development. As well, discussions underway with publishers, societies, and platform developers for turning the PFL into an industry-wide standard. It is being used to develop high school information literacy curricula. The PFL offers an example of how those working in the social sciences and humanities might begin to consider new ways of extending engagement, knowledge and trust among a wider readership in this new age of increased open access to research and scholarship.