New findings from a survey of psychology researchers show nearly half of the respondents have encountered unethical authorship practices in studies they have been involved in. Researchers in Belgium surveyed more than 800 people involved in psychological research about their experiences with gift and ghost authorship, as well as the use of explicit authorship guidelines … Continue reading Gift authorship common in psychology, survey suggests
Before we present this week’s Weekend Reads, a question: Do you enjoy our weekly roundup? If so, we could really use your help. Would you consider a tax-deductible donation to support Weekend Reads, and our daily work? Thanks in advance. The week at Retraction Watch featured: “I don’t think I slept for a day and a … Continue reading Weekend reads: Women’s authorships bounce back?; scientists go to court; demoted for plagiarism
A surgeon in Turkey has won a court case in which he argued that he deserved to be named in a list of authors from his institution who’d published a paper. But even that doesn’t appear to have satisfied the aggrieved medic, as you’ll see. The article, “Late onset traumatic diaphragmatic herniation leading to intestinal … Continue reading No delight for Turkish surgeon in authorship dispute over case study
A journal has issued an expression of concern (EOC) for a nanofilm paper after a researcher protested being left off the author list. According to the notice in Carbohydrate Polymers, the University of Calcutta in West Bengal, India, where the research was carried out, has “failed to provide evidence of a thorough, fair, and proper … Continue reading Journal flags paper at center of authorship dispute
When Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews accepted a paper last year arguing that nuclear power is Iran’s “assured right,” the editor, Lawrence Kazmirski, thought the article would be at least somewhat controversial. He was right — but for the wrong reason. Shortly after publication, Kazmirski, director of the National Center for Photovoltaics at the National Renewable … Continue reading Should Iran have nuclear power? Paper addressing question retracted for authorship issues
Karen Rech, a hematopathologist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., was reading a case report about a rare disease when she recognized the patient. Although the authors of the paper were affiliated with the University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Fargo, the patient in the report had gone to Mayo … Continue reading After saying it would retract an article, Cureus changed its mind
Would you consider a donation to support Weekend Reads, and our daily work? The week at Retraction Watch featured: Our list of retracted or withdrawn COVID-19 papers is up to more than 300. There are nearly 39,000 retractions in our database — which powers retraction alerts in EndNote, LibKey, Papers, and Zotero. And have you seen our leaderboard of authors with the most retractions lately — … Continue reading Weekend reads: A whistleblower speaks; an ecologist’s suspension is questioned; ‘massive plagiarism’ allegations
A Springer Nature journal has decided not to retract a paper it had been investigating for plagiarism since receiving allegations in January 2021. The decision came 1.5 years since the editor-in-chief apparently agreed the paper should be retracted, and just a few days after we reported on the case. Systems engineer Paola Di Maio notified … Continue reading On second thought: journal reverses course on paper it agreed to retract last year
An Elsevier journal has issued a rather remarkable expression of concern for a 2021 paper on rabbit husbandry after learning that the lead author misrepresented the authorship of the article – and possibly more. The paper, “Supplementing rabbit diets with butylated hydroxyanisole affects oxidative stress, growth performance, and meat quality,” appeared in animal and ostensibly … Continue reading A hare-raising expression of concern after an author hires a third party to get a paper published
Before we present this week’s Weekend Reads, a question: Do you enjoy our weekly roundup? If so, we could really use your help. Would you consider a tax-deductible donation to support Weekend Reads, and our daily work? Thanks in advance. The week at Retraction Watch featured: Publisher retracting more than 30 articles from paper mills COVID-19 … Continue reading Weekend reads: A deep dive into a problematic study of ivermectin; how journals respond to allegations; prison and now scrutiny