Signals Announces Innovative Research Integrity Badge and Key Partnerships to Empower Researchers

In a recent ORCID Research Integrity poll, 67% of researchers admitted to skipping an article due to trust concerns. This is why we are thrilled to announce the launch of the Signals Badge.

Researchers can now prioritize high-quality literature to use in their own work and avoid problematic articles with research integrity issues through this useful tool. The Badge is designed to bring transparency to the evaluation of research integrity in scholarly publishing and serves as a clear visual indicator of Signals’ comprehensive assessment of a publication.

Seamless Integration for Better Research

The Signals Badge integrates easily into tools and workflows used by researchers to discover literature, offering an immediate way to see the Signals evaluation of  publications they come across. At a time when researchers increasingly struggle to keep up with the ever-growing literature, this tool efficiently pinpoints reliable sources that researchers can trust. The Badge empowers researchers to avoid problematic publications with potential research integrity issues, saving them precious time and ensuring focus on the highest quality research.

A New Reference for Navigating Scientific Literature

The Signals Badge represents a significant step forward in our mission to help researchers navigate the rapid growth of scientific literature. Every researcher faces the challenge of deciding which papers truly deserve their attention and trust. Our Badge provides clear guidance on publication credibility, helping researchers invest their valuable time in the most impactful content. While our current focus is on research integrity assessment, we envision expanding this tool in the future to encompass multiple dimensions of research quality.

Expanding Our Reach: Key Partnerships Announced

Alongside the launch of the Badge, we are proud to announce three key partnerships with researcher-focused platforms: NanCI, Cassyni, and Litmaps. These collaborations are set to transform how researchers discover, prioritise, and utilise literature.

NanCI

Signals is partnering with NanCI, a mobile and web application launched by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). NanCI is a powerful tool for researchers, leveraging AI to help them stay up-to-date on scientific literature and connect with peers. With the new integration, NanCI users will be able to see the Signals evaluations of publications directly within the app, allowing them to instantly assess the research integrity of those publications.

”We are incredibly excited about our partnership with Signals,” says Oliver Bogler, CEO of the Night Science Institute and former Director of the Center for Cancer Training at NCI. ”By integrating the Signals Badge, we are providing our users with a trusted, at-a-glance indicator of research integrity, helping them save time and build their work on the most reliable foundation possible.”

Cassyni

Signals is excited to partner with Cassyni, the leading platform for organising, running, and publishing scholarly seminars, fostering greater accessibility and discoverability of research seminars worldwide.

As a first step in this partnership, Cassyni will leverage the Signals Badge integration to provide verifiable insights into the credibility of works referenced in seminars, helping audiences evaluate the research being discussed and exposing potential integrity issues in foundational work.

Ben Kaube, co-founder of Cassyni, said “The integrity of the research discussed in a seminar is paramount, and the Signals Badge offers a powerful, instant validation for our users. This partnership with Signals empowers researchers to engage with confidence, knowing the foundational work has been assessed. It also helps seminar organisers and speakers demonstrate their commitment to research quality by transparently showing the integrity assessments of their cited work.”

Litmaps

Signals is dedicated to forming strategic partnerships that empower researchers. Our collaboration with Litmaps, a pioneering literature discovery and visualization platform, will allow researchers to explore the scholarly literature using interactive citation networks while simultaneously having a clear view of Signals evaluations within those networks. This enables them to make well-informed decisions regarding which publications they should read and build upon.

“Integrating the Signals Badge into Litmaps represents a natural evolution in how we help researchers navigate scientific literature,” says Axton Pitt, Co-founder and CEO at Litmaps. “Our users can now not only see how papers are connected but also quickly evaluate which connections lead to the most trustworthy research. This partnership ensures our users can build their work on the most reliable sources available.”

Why the Signals Badge Matters

The Signals Badge bring key benefits to every researcher:

• Quickly identify trustworthy publications: The Badge helps you rapidly discern articles meeting high standards of research integrity.
  
• Save time: Prioritize trustworthy literature and avoid spending time on unreliable sources.
  
• Build on reliable foundations: Ensure your research is built upon credible and rigorously assessed information.
  
• Make informed citation decisions: Cite articles with confidence, knowing their integrity has been evaluated.

In today’s research landscape, the challenge isn’t finding information—it’s finding the right information that can be trusted and built upon. The Signals Badge is a step toward creating a comprehensive evaluation system that helps researchers focus on what truly matters: advancing knowledge through high-quality science.