This document summarizes Resis' process for ensuring data integrity in scientific documents. It involves downloading documents, extracting text, images and numbers, analyzing these elements separately using both automated and human analysis, and producing a final report on any issues found. It describes Resis' image scanning pipelines which check for duplicated or manipulated images within or across documents. It also discusses Resis' capabilities for checking text for plagiarism and numbers for compliance with Benford's Law to identify potential data issues or fraud.

1. Resis
Data Integrity
Solutions

2. Downloading
Documents are
automatically
downloaded from
their repository.
Data Extraction
Documents are
processed to extract
images and other
relevant data.
Automated Analysis
Different data types (text,
images, numbers) are
processed separately for
different purposes.
Final Report
For every confirmed positive
hit, there will be a report
containing relevant details
and suggested actions
Human Analysis
Documents flagged as
problematic in the previous
steps are revised by a
human expert.
Resis Integrity Checking Process
Scientific documents sometimes contain serious errors in data, analysis or text, either because
of honest mistakes or because of deliberate fraud. Combining informatics tools with the insight of
our experts, we uncover potential problems for scientific publishers and journals, academic
institutions, public bodies, industry and whoever needs to verify scientific data.
Forensic
certification
Suggested
actions
Findings
report

3. Image
checking
Resis

4. Resis Image Scanning Pipeline 1
Figure finding
Rectangular
portions
containing
images are
extracted from
the paper
Panel isolation
Every figure is
fragmented into
single panels
corresponding to
single experiments
Pdf to image
Every page of the
source paper is
converted into a
single, standardized
image
ROI selection
Interesting features
(regions of interest,
ROI) are isolated
from each panel
and compared
ROI flagging
If 2 ROIs are similar
beyond a
predefined
threshold, they are
flagged for analysis
Human evaluation
Using sophisticated image
analysis technique, an
expert validates the
findings
The aim of our first image checking pipeline is to assess whether images in a paper are
manipulated, i.e. whether they contain duplicated portions coming from elsewhere in a given
paper under scrutiny.

5. Resis Image Scanning Pipeline 2
Figure finding
Rectangular portions
containing images
are extracted from
the paper
Panel isolation
Every figure is
fragmented into
single panels
corresponding to
single experiments
Pdf to image
Every page of the
source paper is
converted into a
single, standardized
image
Panel comparison
Panels from the same
and from other papers
(if a DB is available) are
compared. Panels too
similar are flagged
Human evaluation
Using sophisticated image
analysis technique, an
expert validates the
findings
The aim of our second image checking pipeline is to assess whether images in a paper are entirely
duplicated (with slight modifications) starting from a source in the same or in different papers
(relying on a DB provided by the customer, e.g. the entire set of papers published by a journal).

6. Resis Image analysis
We are expert in image analysis. When needed, sophisticated algorithms might be developed and
used to uncover invisible image manipulations, so to leave no doubts in potential misconduct cases.
Original image Local variance map

7. Resis Independent expert opinion
Sometimes it might be extremely
difficult to assess whether an improper
image manipulation amounts to
honest error, sloppy science or serious
misconduct.
In these special occasions, we rely on
our worldwide scientific board for
supporting us with an independent
expert opinion to assess whether a
data integrity violation did occur.

8. Resis
Text
checking

9. Resis Text Checking Possibilities
Scanning over Internet Scanning side-by-side Multiple comparison
To uncover potential plagiarism cases, we use commercial standard tools. We can check for online
sources of a plagiarized document, we can compare side-by-side a couple of documents or we
can run multiple comparisons (one to many, many to many, everyone with everyone else)

10. 1. Scan
2. Certificate
Resis
As a matter of fact, there are lots of
excellent commercial solutions to
check for text plagiarism; we indeed
use one of them!
However, a software can only tell you
the degree of identity between the
target document and its potential
sources.
Is this a true plagiarism case or not?
Only a human can tell it.
We have documented experience in
settling legal dispute over potential
plagiarism cases.
Telling apart true plagiarism cases

11. Number
checking
Resis

12. Benford's law, also called the first-digit law, is a
phenomenological law about the frequency
distribution of leading digits in many real-life sets of
numerical data.
The law states that in many naturally occurring
collections of numbers, the leading significant digit is
likely to be small. For example, in sets which obey the
law, the number 1 appears as the most significant digit
about 30% of the time, while 9 appears as the most
significant digit less than 5% of the time. By contrast, if
the digits were distributed uniformly, they would each
occur about 11.1% of the time.
Benford's law also makes (different) predictions about
the distribution of second digits, third digits, digit
combinations, and so on.
Source: Wikipedia
The Benford’s law

13. Resis
Numbers in tables of scientific paper are often (but not always!) expected to obey the Benford’s law. We have developed
simple tools to check for large deviations from expected digit frequency distribution, similarly to what is done to identify
potential frauds in financial accounting.
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Frequency
First Digit
Benford's Test - First Digit
Frequency of First Digit Predicted By Benford
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Frequency
Second Digit
Benford's Test - Second Digit
Frequency of Second Digit Predicted By Benford
Benford’s test

14. Web: www.resis-srl.com
Mail to: info@resis-srl.com
Address: Via Ivrea, 8/1 – 10010 Samone (TO) - ITALY
Resis
Thank You!