In an analysis carried out jointly by the Publications Ethics Committee and the International Association of Scientific, Technical and Medical Publishers, over half of the 3,440 articles submitted over a two-year period were found to be fake. Open science practices, such as pre-registration of study plans and registered reports could promote transparency and accountability. Recognizing the importance of peer review and rewarding reviewers can also strengthen academic integrity and reduce the proliferation of suspect articles.

A new study highlights the necessity of training Research Ethics Committees (RECs) in Sub-Saharan Africa to manage the ethical and legal complexities inherent in data-intense research, particularly concerning data protection and sharing. Findings reveal a lack of awareness among REC members regarding existing laws at the national level, possibly resulting in research data crossing borders without appropriate agreements or permits. Establishing transparent and standardized data governance could foster shared ethical values and ensure responsible big data research practices across the subcontinent.

Bias in research and its benefits, power imbalances and other inequities has long plagued scientific collaboration. “Unfairness, inequity and a lack of diversity must no longer prevent the global research enterprise from maximizing scientific integrity and realizing the ultimate societal value and benefits of research”, write ethics experts in the Cape Town Statement on Fostering Research Integrity through Fairness and Equity. The statement includes 20 recommendations to guide all stakeholders in achieving more just research practice.

Ethical bodies in Sub-Saharan Africa face challenges in their capacity to perform their work due to a lack of ICT resources and academic training in ethics and regulatory affairs. €1.5 million (about US$1.62 million) has been granted to Benin, the Gambia, and Ivory Coast to install the Research for Health and Innovation Organiser software, a cloud-based platform that could make the work of such bodies more efficient while enabling them to improve ethical conduct and research integrity, review processes, build capacities in oversight and monitoring.

The Centre for Research on Evaluation, Science, and Technology (CREST) at Stellenbosch University conducted a study on the quality of South Africa’s research publications, which includes predatory publishing. 4,246 South African papers published in 48 journals were found to be predatory. Several studies suggest that some academics are falling into predatory publication traps due to the pressure to publish, get more grants and boost their academic reputation.

The Department of Higher Education and Training will probe claims about predatory publishing, and could withdraw subsidies paid out for the academic articles in question. An analysis by Stellenbosch University researchers found that from 2005 to 2014, South African academics published more than 4,200 papers in 47 journals that were either "probably or possibly predatory". Predatory publishing involves unscrupulous open access publishers who publish articles with little or no real peer review. The government pays a university about R100,000 for an academic article, which has to be published in a journal accredited by the Department of Higher Education and Training.

A summer school entitled "From Principles to Practice: Higher education policy and research project management" was organized in Cape Town for masters and PhD students in the field of higher education studies. Practical examples and tips were given on how to navigate the field of competitive funding applications, the so-called "dirty" world of research.

In their race to lure more postgraduate students, some universities are stopping just short of offering students a free semester to Jamaica where they can sip cocktails and finish up their research thesis. Postgraduate students are cash cows because they bring with them high government subsidies, more than for undergraduates.