Project Summary
This area of my research treats academic publishing not just as the way scientific findings get shared, but as an institution with its own structures of power and influence. I study who holds editorial roles and how those roles are used, how conflicts of interest arise in the review and acceptance of papers, and how the language and fairness of peer review vary across authors. I am also interested in what happens when the scientific record is corrected, and in how retractions affect the careers of the scientists involved. Across these questions, my aim is to understand how publishing shapes whose work gets seen and recognized, and whether the safeguards meant to keep the system fair actually do so.
Publications
- Fengyuan Liu, Bedoor AlShebli, Talal Rahwan. “Prevalence of Editorial Conflicts of Interest Across Six Publishing Bodies and the Impact of Related Governing Policies” (Nature Communications, provisionally accepted, 2026).
- Fengyuan Liu, Petter Holme, Matteo Chiesa, Bedoor AlShebli, Talal Rahwan. “Gender inequality and self-publication are common among academic editors” Nature Human Behavior (2023).
Media Coverage: Nature; Times Higher Education; Nature Middle East; Khaleej Times; Nature News & Views; EurekAlert; New Scientist.
- Shahan Ali Memon, Kinga Makovi, Bedoor AlShebli. “Characterizing the effect of retractions on careers of scientists”. Nature Human Behavior (2025).
(link for publication: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-025-02154-0)
Works in Progress
- Maria Sahakyan and Bedoor AlShebli. “Disparities in Peer Review Tone and the Role of Reviewer Anonymity”.
-
Shehryar Subhani and Bedoor AlShebli. “Attributing Credit in Science: Experimental Evidence on Self-Perception and Contribution Bias“.
-
Shehryar Subhani, Sheharyar Khan, and Bedoor AlShebli. “Public Scrutiny and Retractions in Science: Evidence from Social Media Data“.
Talks
In preparation