Talk about artificial intelligence. Fifteen studies published in various journals name a mysterious computer scientist as an author.
The problem? He doesn’t seem to exist.
Dragan Rodriguez is listed as being affiliated with Case Western Reserve University, but an official at the Cleveland institution told a sleuth no one of that name has been associated with the university.
The studies on which Rodriguez’s name appears range in topic from cancer detection to “renewable energy systems optimization.” The papers were published since 2018 in 10 journals from four major scientific publishers since 2018, including the International Journal of Hydrogen Energy and the Journal of Building Engineering, which have both historically had impact factors above 7, and Applied Energy, whose impact factor has been above 11. They have been cited a total of 232 times.
Alexander Magazinov, a researcher and scientific sleuth, told Retraction Watch he noticed Rodriguez’s name while searching for papers that over-cited beneficiaries of a potential citation ring that cost two journals their impact factors earlier this year. The papers are associated with an operation Elizabeth Bik has dubbed the “Iranian plant paper mill,” and the authors include Majid Khayatnezhad, a researcher at Islamic Azad University in Iran. Khayatnezhad has denied benefiting from a citation ring.
Magazinov said he was looking at papers that gave an unusual amount of citations to Noradin Ghadimi, a researcher at Ankara Yildirim Beyazit University in Turkey. Ghadimi, who did not respond to an email from Retraction Watch, is a frequent co-author with Khayatnezhad and another potential citation ring beneficiary, said Magazinov. He told us:
With that in mind, I tried to locate other papers that over-cite Ghadimi, and thus found “Rodriguez”. This combination of a South Slavic given name and a Spanish surname is weird; also weird is the total absence of domestic collaboration of this allegedly US-based “researcher”.
The practice of listing gift, guest, or honorary authors, who usually have made minimal or no contribution to the paper, is common in academic publishing, although it generally is considered unethical or at least questionable. The custom does not typically extend to fabricating a researcher’s entire identity.
Rodriguez is not listed as a corresponding author on any of the 15 studies that bear his name and has no profile or listing of any kind on Case Western’s website. Although he is listed on some studies as being affiliated with the university’s “Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science,” the corresponding department at the school is the Department of Electrical, Computer, and Systems Engineering.
Magazinov emailed Case Western asking if anyone with this name had ever worked at the university, and, if so, for the institution to investigate his work. In an email seen by Retraction Watch, Tracy J. Wilson-Holden, assistant vice president of research integrity, told him:
Upon a thorough review of Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) records, it was determined that Dragan Rodriguez is not, and never has been, a member of the CWRU community as faculty, staff, postdoctoral scholar, student or volunteer.
Magazinov forwarded the email to the journals that had published papers on which Rodriguez is listed as an author, writing that Wilson-Holden’s statement meant that “it is beyond reasonable doubt that [Rodriguez’s] affiliation is falsified, and it is quite likely that the identity is also fictional.”
The studies that Rodriguez is listed as an author on are:
- “Modified Locust Swarm optimizer for oral cancer diagnosis” (published in Biomedical Signal Processing and Control in February 2023)
- “Optimized lung cancer detection by amended whale optimizer and rough set theory” (International Journal of Imaging Systems and Technology, April 2023)
- “Optimization of FRP jacket by fractional‑order pathfinder algorithm to improve the reinforced concrete frames’ seismic response” (Evolving Systems, January 2022)
- “Optimization of zero-energy building by multi-criteria optimization method: A case study” (Journal of Building Engineering, July 2021)
- “Life cycle cost and life cycle energy in zero-energy building by multi-objective optimization” (Energy Reports, September 2021)
- “Prediction of small-scale piles by considering lateral deflection based on Elman Neural Network — Improved Arithmetic Optimizer algorithm” (ISA Transactions, September 2021)
- “Application of multi-objective optimization model to assess the energy efficiency measures for the cases of Spain” (Journal of Building Engineering, January 2021)
- “Renewable energy systems optimization by a new multi-objective optimization technique: A residential building” (Journal of Building Engineering, December 2020)
- “Evaluation of a multi-objective model in energy generation under the influence of different hydrological conditions based on Moth Search Algorithm” (International Journal of Ambient Energy, December 2020)
- “Power generation cost minimization of the grid-connected hybrid renewable energy system through optimal sizing using the modified seagull optimization technique” (Energy Reports, December 2020)
- “Energy saving actions toward NZEBs with multiple-criteria optimization in current residential buildings” (Energy Reports, November 2020)
- “Optimization of a building energy performance by a multi-objective optimization, using sustainable energy combinations” (Evolving Systems, July 2020)
- “Predicting of Runoff Using an Optimized SWAT-ANN: A Case Study” (Journal of Hydrology Regional Studies, April 2020)
- “Hybrid forecasting model based on long short term memory network and deep learning neural network for wind signal” (Applied Energy, December 2018)
- “Increasing of fuel cell economic benefits by optimal participation strategy with energy storages and other distributed resources and considering uncertainties and various markets” International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, December 2018)
Retraction Watch could not contact Rodriguez due to his email address not being listed on any study, university or researcher profile, or website. Magazinov told us he also has been unable to find a valid email address for Rodriguez or any other way to contact him directly. Several of Rodriguez’ co-authors failed to respond to requests from Retraction Watch for comment about how he ended up on the papers in question.
Magazinov said that the editors and publishers of the journals he contacted have told him they are investigating the matter, but have not responded otherwise. None of the articles has been retracted.
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RE: Spanish surname, Slavic given name
I knew a woman whose name was something like Natasha Caballero. I remarked on her peculiar mix of Slavic and Spanish names. She told me she is of Cuban heritage, and, due to the strong Russian/Soviet influence in Cuba, this kind of name pattern is not unusual there.
You do have a point there, and i’d also add that it’s specifically a Croato-Serbian name, so we wouldn’t see that in spheres of Soviet influence. Croatia and Serbia were parts of Yugoslavia, who really avoided the whole eastern block kerfufle
Excellent finding!
Take a look at the affiliations of his co-authors. Out of 41, 37 were from China. And one of the institutions is not even an institution (Ltd., Beijing, China).
It looks like instead of using a paper-mill they are using an author-mill.
—————————————————————————————————–
China: 37
Liu, Bo. Wuchang University of Technology, Wuhan, China
Chang, Zuzheng. Weifang Engineering Vocational College, Qingzhou, China
Chen, Jie. Wuhan Lingyun Building Decoration Engineering Co., Ltd, Wuhan, China
Ding, Huan. Nanyang Institute of Technology, Nanyang, China
Dong, Qi. The National Police University for Criminal Justice, Baoding, China
Du, Qian. Shenzhen Bureau of Geology, Guangdong, China
Gu, Yongcheng. Dongguan University of Technology, Dongguan, China
He, Baina. Shandong University of Technology, Zibo, China
Huang, Guichun. Shandong University of Technology, Zibo, China
Huang, Qirui. Nanyang Institute of Technology, Nanyang, China
Jia, Rui. Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing, China
Lei, Gang. Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
Li, Jing. Wuchang University of Technology, Wuhan, China
Li, Kun. Hebei University of Technology, Tianjin, China
Li, Wenrui. Ltd., Beijing, China (!!!)
Li, Xiaoyan. Yulin University, Yulin, China
Liang, Zhanhao. Dongguan University of Technology, Dongguan, China
Liu, Xiangzhe. Tianjin University, Tianjin, China
Lv, Zhihua. Shanghai Landscape Architecture Design and Research Institute Co., Ltd, Shanghai, China
Ma, Rongfu. Shenzhen Bureau of Geology, Guangdong, China
Meng, Fanyu . Shandong University of Technology, Zibo, China
Qin, Yong. Dongguan University of Technology, Dongguan, China
Rao, Yongsheng. Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, China
Shao, Zehui. Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, China
Song, Heqing. Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou, China
Tang, Fei. Wuchang University of Technology, Wuhan, China
Wang, Chengliang. Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing, China
Xu, Yipeng. Tiangong University, Tianjin, China
Yang, Jianxun. Shenzhen Geology Bureau, Shenzhen, China
Zhang, Fuyong. Dongguan University of Technology, Dongguan, China
Zhang, Lei. Control Engineering Technology Research Center of Hebei Province, Tianjin, China
Zhang, Ming. Shenzhen Bureau of Geology, Guangdong, China
Zheng, Zekun. Zhejiang, Hangzhou, China
Zhu, Neng. Tianjin University, Tianjin, China
Zuo, Junjie. Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang, China
Other countries: 4
Lee, Brendan. University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia
Monazzah, Ali. Islamic Azad University, Estahban Branch, Estahban, Iran
Wu, Fengzhi. Ashikaga University, Ashikaga, Japan
She, Chen. The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, Hong Kong
We used to put in the acknowledgements “We thank TDC for the fruitful discussion” as a prank. TDC is an acronym for an Italian vernacular expression meaning more or less d*ckhead or ass*ole in English. Maybe these guys put their joke too far…
I wouldn’t want to have been the reviewer of this fine sounding paper-
“Optimization of a building energy performance by a multi-objective optimization, using sustainable energy combinations”
as one of the individuals who cited the work might sue the journal for false claims- specifically that the work was reviewed by experts.
TY for this. As a scientist (physicist) I’m very concerned about the integrity of my profession.
Has anyone questions the corresponding authors of any of these papers about this individual? Here is one .
This did not sho up in my original comment: “[email protected]”
The name is eye-catching. On the other hand, the name “Alberto Fujimori” came to mind.
Great content. Thank you. There is this rather false belief among the papermills, or as the article coins the authormills, that if they include a western affiliation and/or western names, whether fake or legit they might get better acceptance. As an editorial unfortunately I observed the success of the strategy when comparing the reviewers comments. Thus, adding the USA affiliation contributed in the increasing rate of the acceptance and the success of the above mentioned fake name. Pubpeer is full of such cases where often Chinese-based authors made partnership with the senior western professors to publish their fake articles with no contribution needed from the western professors. Sadly, they often damage the reputation of the professors. The solution would be moving towards Double-Blind Peer Review.
Well, that’s one solution. Lately some high-end journals insist on contacting *all* authors and stop the process if they can’t. I think that would be a better solution. It would cut out a lot of “I didn’t realize I was on this paper!” and would also interfere with people trying to defend from charges of guest authorship by falsely claiming they didn’t realize.
Dragan Rodriguez citations (via Dimensions; url shortened via Yandex Clicker):
https://clck.ru/35MhwE
The name of MM Selim clearly stands out, which is a clear indication about the cluster of scam we are talking about.
mmmm, I cannot get the point. Kindly explain please. Are these citations given to these people or they are the coauthors? I see a list of authors. How can we say its scam? MM Selim received minimum citations, how can he stand out. I am confused.
“Dragan Rodriguez citations” means those who cited Dragan Rodriguez. I believe by the list you wish to communicate the people Dragan Rodriguez cited the most. In this case MM Selim is among the least cited individual as many Chinese authors received even 5 times more.
In the Dimensions’ link, Noradin Ghadimi is not a beneficiary of the citations of Dragan Rodriguez. Am I missing something? is the link correct?
To remove any confusion: this link shows the papers that cite any of the 15 Rodriguez papers. In other words, the **incoming** citations.
Take, for example, “Short-term wind power forecasting based on SSA-VMD-LSTM” (Gao et al., Energy Reports, 9, 335-344 – October 2023), which is listed under my link. It cites “Hybrid forecasting model based on long short term memory network and deep learning neural network for wind signal” (Qin et al., Applied Energy, 236, 262-272 – February 2019). The last author of Qin et al. is Rodriguez.
Now, MM Selim happened to cite various works of Rodriguez in 6 of his papers, while no other researcher happened to do the same more than 3 times.
So, knowing a bit about Selim’s backround, I am willing to make an educated guess that Selim’s output (including quite a batch of retractions: https://app.dimensions.ai/discover/publication?and_facet_researcher=ur.012762555737.04&search_mode=content&and_facet_source_title=jour.1033811&viz-st:aggr=mean) and the identity of Rodriguez may originate from the same source.
The message featuring Noradin Ghadimi was about **outgoing** citations. I’ll get back with the numbers in a moment.
Now regarding **outgoing** citations from Rodriguez papers. Below are the individuals who got more than 15 citations **from** Rodriguez, i.e., were cited more than once per Rodriguez paper on average.
227 Ghadimi, Noradin
63 Razmjooy, Navid
23 Jermsittiparsert, Kittisak
21 Darvishan, Ayda
19 Abedinia, Oveis
19 Ghiasi, Mohammad
18 Mohammadi, Mohsen
16 Yu, Dongmin
Thank you for the great information and statistics. Great insight. I checked my scientific output, also as a test, your scientific output, checking our **outgoing** performance. I observed that both of us cite a few individuals more than others. What is the standard practice? what is the correct **outgoing** pattern. I observed that I cited my former supervisor and two known scientists (also highly-cited) more than any other researchers. Am I also to be blamed for irregular citations? As the Ghadimi Noradin research and the Rodriguez are relevant what is the issue with relevant citations? Also I observed that Ghadimi Noradin long before Rodriguez’s publications, was introduced as a highly-cited researcher by WOS, and threfore he did not need any more citations boost. Is there any indications that we editors know about to better observe the citation clubs?
The context matters. Should Ghadimi be credited for the discovery of the below? (I am not making things up, this is from a real article, easily confirmable by Google Scholar or whatever.)
> The wind turbine generates variable and uncontrollable energy because its output depends on the wind speed [43].
[43] Jiang Wei, et al. Optimal economic scheduling of microgrids considering renewable energy sources based on energy hub model using demand response and improved water wave optimization algorithm. J Energy Storage 2022;55:105311.
[Wei Jiang a, Xiaohua Wang b, Haiyan Huang a, Danli Zhang a, Noradin Ghadimi c]
Are all the references irrelevant and out of context? or just this one? Can we make a judgement based on one citation? The other issue I observed, is that these articles are in the field of energy, not the AI. None of the authors named here are AI scientists but rather energy. Is there any particular reason this report started by the phrase: “Talk about artificial intelligence.”? The simple optimization methods are not considered AI.
> Are all the references irrelevant and out of context? or just this one?
Most if not all, as far as I can tell. I picked this one pretty much at random, from the nearest accessible pdf.
> Is there any particular reason this report started by the phrase: “Talk about artificial intelligence.”?
The latest publications by Rodriguez are about “oral cancer detection” or whatever, not quite about energy. Of course, all that is largely nominal; there are reasons to believe that no meaningful content is present in these pieces.
Sophisticated scientometrics analysis leading to Dragan Rodriguez. Thank you. Considering your expertise in tortured phrases, wasn’t it easier to just follow this simple clue made by your colleagues around 4 months ago:
https://pubpeer.com/publications/038C4EE0ACD08533C722EBA1C108EE
That was a good one, thanks for pointing out!
It’s easier, however, to catch scammers on repeated offences. One “tortured” paper is bad enough, but consistently over-citing Ghadimi is worse and therefore more visible.
Great job in tracking the gift citations.
I am surprised that Majid Khayatnezhad has a large number of collaborators.
“Rhipidura albiventris says:
August 18, 2023 at 7:41 am”
I suspect that this is not the Rhipidura albiventris who contribute to PubPeer.
I am deeply impressed by this work, and at the same time, I also feel very sad.
“Hoya camphorifolia says:
August 18, 2023 at 10:13 am”
Probably not the Hoya camphorifolia who contributes to PubPeer.
Clearly.
Hoya is rarely sad.
By the way, since this is **Retraction** Watch. A retracted piece by Ghadimi, cited 139 times (Scopus), 143 times (Dimensions). The retraction might be recent, as many citations are from 2023.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.est.2019.101054
RETRACTED: Energy management of wind-PV-storage-grid based large electricity consumer using robust optimization technique
Dongmin Yu a b, Tao Zhang a b, Guixiong He b, Sayyad Nojavan c, Kittisak Jermsittiparsert d, Noradin Ghadimi e
Journal of Energy Storage, Volume 27, February 2020, 101054
This article has been retracted at the request of the Editor-in-Chief.
Post publication, the editors discovered suspicious changes in authorship between the original submission and the revised version of this paper. The extreme authorship changes did not correspond with the changes between the original and the revised versions.
In addition, the changes were made without explanation and without the exceptional approval by the handling Editor, which is contrary to the journal policy on changes to authorship. The editor investigated further, and the explanation provided by the corresponding author was deemed unsatisfactory.
The journals and scientists involved are not AI.
No connection to AI and computer science.
I checked the Dragan Rodriguez’s output and contribution and target journals. He is not artificial intelligence expert nor computer scientist. Real or not, he must be instead presented as an energy expert. Many corporate publications have such contributors.
Someone disguised as Rodriguez might have acted as a reviewer for this journal in 2018:
https://qims.amegroups.org/post/view/the-reviewers-of-qims-2018
They might still have the contact details of that person.
One more reason proving he is real.
You have to wonder about someone acting as a reviewer in 2018 but with only publications from 2019 and later.
Is there any protocol for that? any regulation? and have you heard anything about common names? there are over 130 people with this name. and Spanish names have many variations.
Has there been any progress from the publisher or the editorial yet. It is very interesting that such allegations are not taken seriously. It is just sad.
There is a belief that the efforts to retract Noradin Ghadimi or his associates will go somewhere. But in fact such retractions make him more resilient and eventually more successful.