With retraction notices continuing to pour in, we like to occasionally take the opportunity to cover several at a time to keep up.
We’ve compiled a handful of retractions that were all issued to papers that were published twice by at least one of the same authors — known as duplication. (Sometimes, this can be the publisher’s fault, although that doesn’t appear to be the case in any of the following examples.)
So here are five recently retracted papers that were pulled because of duplication:
1. Use of Barbed Sutures in Bariatric Surgery: Review of the Literature. Obesity Surgery. 2016. 26(8): 1964-1969. Manuel Ferrer-Márquez, Ricardo Belda-Lozano, Alberto Soriano-Maldonado. Paper not indexed by Thomson Reuters Web of Science. Retracted August 2016:
This article has been retracted as a result of double publication. A similarly worded paper was previously published by Dr. Marquez in February 2016 in the journal Cirugía Española. The Publisher and Editor-in-Chief have reviewed both papers and have determined that the degree of overlap is extensive.
When we emailed the journal for more information, they replied:
The publisher has no further comments to add with regard to this matter.
2. Photocatalytic CO2 transformation into fuel: A review on advances in photocatalyst and photoreactor. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. 2014. 39: 765-805. Sreejon Das, Wan Mohd Ashri Wan Daud. Cited 24 times. Retracted 2016:
It has come to the journal’s attention that the paper bears substantial similarity with an earlier published article by the same authors: “A review on advances in photocatalysts towards CO2 conversion”, RSC Advances, 2014, 4, 20856–20893, DOI: 10.1039/C4RA01769B.
One of the conditions of submission of a paper for publication is that authors declare explicitly that the paper is their own work and not published, or under consideration for publication, elsewhere. Re-use of any data should be appropriately quoted and cited. The scientific community takes a very strong view on this matter and apologies are offered to readers of the journal that this was not detected during the submission process.
3. Profile of Clients Tested HIV Positive in a Voluntary Counseling and Testing Center of a District Hospital, Udupi. Indian Journal of Community Medicine. 2009. 34(3): 223-226. Megha Gupta. Not indexed by Web of Science. Retracted August 2016:
The article titled, “Profile of Clients Tested HIV Positive in a Voluntary Counseling and Testing Center of a District Hospital, Udupi”, published in pages 223-226, issue 3, vol. 34 of Indian Journal of Community Medicine[1] is being retracted. It has been observed that the articles contains several overlapping text sections from a previous published article titled, “Profile of Clients Tested HIV Positive in a Voluntary Counseling and Testing Center of a District Hospital, Udupi, South Kannada” published in pages 156-159, issue 3, vol. 33 in the same journal.[2]
Thus on the grounds of duplicity of publication, the concerned article is being retracted.
4. Perspectives for the long-term penetration of new renewables in complex energy systems: the Italian scenario. Environment, Development and Sustainability. 2011. 13(2): 309-330. Alessandro Franco, Pasquale Salza. The article appears to be no longer indexed by Thomson Reuters Web of Science. Retracted January 2016:
This article has been retracted by the Editor-in-Chief due to severe and unexplained overlap in text and figures with “Strategies for optimal penetration of intermittent renewables in complex energy systems based on techno-operational objectives,” (Received 29 April 2010, Accepted 28 July 2010, Available online 21 August 2010), an article authored by Franco and Salza in Elsevier’s journal Renewable Energy. The articles were submitted to and under review by both Environment, Development, and Sustainability and Renewable Energy during overlapping periods, which violates the ethics policies of both journals. The article in Renewable Energy will remain in publication as the version of record.
5. Immunopathology and Immunogenetics of Allergic Bronchopulmonary Aspergillosis. Journal of Allergy. 2011. Alan P. Knutsen. The article appears to be no longer indexed by Thomson Reuters Web of Science. Retracted August 2015:
The paper titled “Immunopathology and Immunogenetics of Allergic Bronchopulmonary Aspergillosis” [1], published in Journal of Allergy, has been retracted as it was found to contain a substantial amount of material from the following published article: “Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis in asthma and cystic fibrosis” published in Clinical and Developmental Immunology, vol. 2011, Article ID 843763, 13 pages, 2011, DOI: 10.1155/2011/843763.
Hat tip: Rolf Degen
Like Retraction Watch? Consider making a tax-deductible contribution to support our growth. You can also follow us on Twitter, like us on Facebook, add us to your RSS reader, sign up on our homepage for an email every time there’s a new post, or subscribe to our new daily digest. Click here to review our Comments Policy. For a sneak peek at what we’re working on, click here.