Author: Alison McCook

University makes six-figure lawsuit settlement with creationist

csunCalifornia State University, Northridge has settled a lawsuit with a former employee, who sued the university after claiming it fired him over his creationist beliefs.

In 2013, Mark Armitage was fired from his position as manager of the biology department’s electron and confocal microscopy suite at California State University Northridge (CSUN), after publishing a paper in in Acta Histochemica that he believed showed the horns dated to the time of a biblical flood. The following year, Armitage sued CSUN, arguing he was fired because he is a creationist.

A spokesperson for California State University Northridge (CSUN) told us Armitage was terminated for other reasons, and the university chose to settle to avoid a lengthy legal battle: Continue reading University makes six-figure lawsuit settlement with creationist

Sarkar vs. John Doe: What happened at this week’s hearing involving PubPeer

Fazlul Sarkar
Fazlul Sarkar

On Tuesday, lawyers representing both sides of the ongoing suit filed by a scientist against PubPeer commenters appeared in court, alleging their criticisms of his work cost him a new job at the University of Mississippi.

In the case described as “FAZLUL SARKAR V JOHN DOE,” lawyers representing PubPeer, Sarkar, and the anonymous commenter at the heart of the case spoke before two judges (one was absent). As the case now stands, a judge has ruled that all but one of the commenters can remain anonymous, and PubPeer has filed an appeal, earning the support of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), as well as Google and Twitter.

According to one of the attorneys representing PubPeer, Alex Abdo at the ACLU, things proceeded as expected. Their main argument, he said, was: Continue reading Sarkar vs. John Doe: What happened at this week’s hearing involving PubPeer

Post you may have missed: E-cigarette debate triggers questions over review process

toxicology-reportsOur email alert acted up again this morning, so some readers may have missed the first post of the day, about a controversial topic: e-cigarettes.

Click here to read “A paper on chemical safety was accepted one day after submission. Was it peer reviewed?”

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You cited which paper?? Reference errors are more common than many realize

Marilyn Oermann
Marilyn Oermann

We all make mistakes – but when it comes to the scientific literature, too many authors are making critical mistakes in their list of references, making it difficult for readers to retrieve a cited paper. We spoke with Marilyn Oermann, the Thelma M. Ingles Professor of Nursing at the Duke University School of Nursing, who has studied this problem extensively in the nursing literature.

Retraction Watch: You’ve published multiple papers looking at reference problems in nursing research. What are the main types of “reference problems” that usually occur? Continue reading You cited which paper?? Reference errors are more common than many realize

Posts you may have missed: Congress investigating lab, meet Hindawi’s head of research integrity

The email alerts for two of today’s posts didn’t didn’t go out, due to a programming glitch. So in case you missed them, here they are:

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 daily digest. Click here to review our Comments Policy. For a sneak peek at what we’re working on, click here.

German university recommends that six papers be retracted following probe

200px-siegel_uni-koeln_grau-svgThe University of Cologne has conducted an investigation into the research of Tina Wenz, and determined that six papers should be pulled due to scientific misconduct.

In a release issued last week (as first reported by Leonid Schneider), the university lists six papers that “present scientific misconduct,” according to our Google Translate.

One of the six papers was already retracted last year by Cell Metabolism, which cited reused northern and western blot band images in two figures.

The other six papers are: Continue reading German university recommends that six papers be retracted following probe

U.S. Congress investigating misconduct at Colorado geochem lab

usgs-1A U.S. Congressional subcommittee is investigating two cases of fraud affecting one Colorado lab run by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

The misconduct occurred in two separate cases, taking place between 1998 and 2014. We covered the most recent incident, in which a chemist doctored data in up to 24 projects supported by more than $100 million in federal funding.

A letter from the Committee on Natural Resources’ Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations to USGS director Suzette Kimball details another incident that took place in the Energy Resources Program (ERP) Geochemistry Laboratory in Lakewood, Colorado, in which another worker manipulated data for more than a decade.

The letter notes that, although the incidents were reviewed by the Department of the Interior (DOI) Scientific Integrity Review Panel and its Office of Inspector General (OIG): Continue reading U.S. Congress investigating misconduct at Colorado geochem lab

“We don’t want to be caught napping:” Meet Hindawi’s new head of research integrity

Matt Hodgkinson
Matt Hodgkinson

We spoke with Matt Hodgkinson about how he turned his “spidey sense” for what’s wrong with papers into a new position at Hindawi, one of the largest publishers of open-access journals.

 Retraction Watch: As the new Head of Research Integrity at Hindawi, what does your position entail? What does your typical day look like? Continue reading “We don’t want to be caught napping:” Meet Hindawi’s new head of research integrity

Scientist faces off with PubPeer commenters in new hearing next week

Fazlul Sarkar
Fazlul Sarkar

On Tuesday, a Detroit courtroom will hear arguments in a case against PubPeer commenters, in which a scientist alleges their criticisms of his work cost him a new job at the University of Mississippi.

This isn’t the first time both sides have met in court: Fazlul Sarkar first gained attention in 2014 when he sued anonymous commenters of PubPeer for defamation; in 2015, a judge ruled that all but one of the commenters should be allowed to remain anonymous. PubPeer has filed an appeal, earning the support of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), as well as Google and Twitter.

Meanwhile, Sarkar has earned 18 retractions, many citing an institutional investigation at Wayne State University.

We spoke with attorney Alex Abdo at the ACLU, who is representing the PubPeer commenters in this case, about what to expect at next week’s hearing.

Retraction Watch: What will happen at this hearing? Continue reading Scientist faces off with PubPeer commenters in new hearing next week

Say what? Journal charges fee to lodge allegations against papers

erintHere’s something we haven’t seen before: A journal is asking tipsters to pay a fee to investigate a paper.

After receiving a tip of our own about this new requirement, we reached out to Educational Research International, and received this response: Continue reading Say what? Journal charges fee to lodge allegations against papers