Focused on improving research quality and reproducibility while reducing author effort, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), publisher of the Science family of journals, and DataSeer have announced they are extending their ongoing partnership with a new pilot. The pilot will use DataSeer’s AI technology to fully automate the generation of MDAR (Materials, Design, Analysis, and Reporting) checklists for manuscripts submitted to Science.
The six-month collaboration will evaluate how artificial intelligence can support the creation of structured MDAR reports directly from submitted manuscripts, in a process that is entirely automated.
MDAR checklists play an important role in ensuring transparency and reproducibility in scientific publishing, but their preparation and assessment can be resource-intensive. This collaboration will explore how automation can reduce manual effort while maintaining alignment with Science’s editorial requirements.
“Ensuring clear and consistent reporting is central to the integrity of the scientific record,” said Valda Vinson, Executive Editor of the Science journals. “This pilot will help us understand how AI-driven tools can support our editors and authors in meeting these expectations more efficiently.”
As part of the pilot, DataSeer will deploy its SnapShot technology to generate pre-filled MDAR reports based on manuscript content. These reports will be reviewed by Science editorial staff to assess their accuracy, usefulness, and suitability for integration into existing workflows.
“AAAS has very much paved the way for advancing transparency and rigor in research reporting,” said Tim Vines, Founder and CEO of DataSeer. “We’re excited to work together to evaluate how automated MDAR generation can support editorial teams while preserving the high standards expected of Science.”
The pilot will also provide concrete feedback on how AI-supported workflows can contribute to broader efforts to strengthen research transparency, data sharing, and reproducibility across scientific publishing.
