COSIG: Collection of Open Science Integrity Guides#
COSIG is a collection of expert-authored guides that aim to democratize post-publication peer review and forensic meta-science. The guides are written by domain experts and cover a wide range of topics, from image forensics and data extraction to statistical methods and plagiarism detection.
COSIG is built on four principles:
- Anyone can do post-publication peer review.
- Anyone can be a steward of the scientific literature.
- Anyone can do forensic meta-science.
- Anyone can sleuth.
Citation#
COSIG contributors. Collection of Open Science Integrity Guides. doi: 10.17605/OSF.IO/2KDEZ
Guide domains#
COSIG currently contains 34 guides organized across five domains:
| Domain | Examples |
|---|---|
| Basics | Post-publication peer review fundamentals, PubPeer, reporting to publishers |
| General | Image forensics, data extraction, citation verification, plagiarism detection, ethical approval, stealth corrections |
| Biology & Medicine | Antibody validation, cell line verification, nucleotide sequences, tumor measurement |
| Materials Sciences & Engineering | X-ray diffraction, spectroscopy, elemental composition, Tauc plots |
| Mathematics, Statistics & Computer Science | Binary/multiclass classifier evaluation, GRIM testing, data leakage, pseudoreplication |
Combined document#
A combined PDF of all COSIG guides is available on OSF:
Individual guides are also available in the COSIG GitHub repository and the OSF project.
Resources#
- COSIG GitHub repository – source repository with all guides
- COSIG OSF project – archived versions and combined document
- Richardson (2025) – commentary on expanding participation in post-publication peer review
