A journal is implementing tighter controls for guest editors and peer reviewers after an investigation led to the retraction of more than 160 articles.
As we reported last month, the American Society For Testing And Materials (ASTM) International started an investigation into its Journal of Testing and Evaluation after an ASTM vendor noticed some “irregular patterns in the peer review” of a special issue. The investigation revealed the peer review process in four special sections or issues had been compromised, resulting in the retraction of 147 articles.
The journal has since pulled 19 more papers, this time from a special section on human-centered artificial intelligence published in 2021.
In response to the findings, ASTM has implemented a series of safeguards, including enhanced vetting and oversight of guest editors, tighter controls for peer reviewers, expanded use of technology-assisted screening tools to detect irregular review patterns and ongoing monitoring of editorial workflows, according to a Jan. 30 statement from the publisher.
“ASTM recognizes that the integrity of peer review is essential to scholarly communication,” the statement reads. “Retractions are never taken lightly, but they are necessary to maintain a reliable scientific record. ASTM remains committed to prevention, accountability, and continued transparency.”
Spokesperson Gavin O’Reilly confirmed the group of 19 retractions is the last batch associated with the investigation.
The journal joins 60 others with at least 165 retractions, according to our count.
The mass retraction includes 48 papers in its “Special Issue on Testing and Evaluation of Internet of Things for Smart City” and another 43 articles in the “Special Issue on Advanced Internet of Things for Smart City (Part 2).” The publisher retracted two more batches from a special issue on the future of cognitive computing in healthcare, and a special section on advanced intelligence in information science and communication systems. Guest editors oversaw all of the issues and sections facing retractions.
The journal typically publishes 200 to 300 articles per year, by our count. The retracted papers represented 6 to 25 percent of the articles published in a given year.
| Year | Total articles published | Number recently retracted | % of total |
| 2019 | 279 | 25 | 9% |
| 2021 | 289 | 19 | 6.5% |
| 2023 | 304 | 79 | 25% |
| 2024 | 192 | 43 | 22% |
Ranganathan Mohanasundaram of Vellore Institute of Technology University in India was the guest editor of the newly retracted special section on human-centered artificial intelligence. Mohanasundaram did not return a message seeking comment. An “R. Mohanasundaram” with the same affiliation had two 2019 papers retracted as part of a mass retraction of more than 300 papers by the International Journal of Electrical Engineering & Education because of submission and/or peer review manipulation.
Vellore Institute of Technology University is a frequently listed affiliation among the retracted batches, showing up at least 24 times.
Among the latest batch of retractions, at least three authors had more than one paper retracted. C. Subramani of SRM Institute of Science and Technology in India was an author on two of the papers. Subramani was part of the mass retraction by the International Journal of Electrical Engineering & Education with three papers retracted. Subramani did not return a message seeking comment.
V.G. Pratheep of Kongu Engineering College in India is an author on two papers. Pratheep had a 2022 paper in Advances in Materials Science and Engineering retracted as part of the mass retraction of nearly 12,000 articles by Hindawi to address an infiltration by paper mills of its special issues. Pratheep did not return a message seeking comment.
E.B. Priyanka with Kongu Engineering College in India is also an author on two of the papers. Priyanka told us she does not agree with the retractions. The papers were processed in an “ethical way” and peer review was proper and appropriately conducted, she told us by email.
The mass retractions are among a growing pattern of peer review abuse within special sections.
In 2024, a Springer Nature journal retracted 34 papers from special issues for “compromised editorial handling and peer review process.” Later that year, Annals of Operations Research retracted an entire special issue over concerns about compromised peer review. In 2023, Hindawi temporarily suspended publishing special issues because of “compromised articles.”
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