Category: by paywall status

Remedial math lesson: When does one reference equal an entire paper?

ImageA higher-ed journal has retracted a recent paper by a New Jersey scholar who failed to adequately cite one of her sources.

Trouble is, the researcher did reference the article more than once — raising the question of whether a retraction, rather than a correction, was the right move.

The paper was written by Lynne Kowski, a professor of mathematics at Raritan Valley Community College in New Jersey,  and it appeared online in November 2013 in the Community College Journal of Research and Practice.

Here’s the abstract of the article, “Mathematics Remediation’s Connection to Community College Success:” Continue reading Remedial math lesson: When does one reference equal an entire paper?

Spreadsheet error forces loss of Appetite paper on obesity and parenting styles

appetiteThe journal Appetite has retracted a recent paper that purported to show that children whose parents kept a tight fist on the grub were less likely to become obese than those whose parents were more laissez-faire with the feed bag.

The article, “Relation of parenting styles, feeding styles and feeding practices to child overweight and obesity. Direct and moderated effects,” appeared last year. The senior author was Laura Hubbs-Tait, of Oklahoma State University.  Continue reading Spreadsheet error forces loss of Appetite paper on obesity and parenting styles

Shigeaki Kato notches retractions 16 and 17, in PNAS

katoShigeaki Kato has two more retractions, both in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Here’s one of the notices: Continue reading Shigeaki Kato notches retractions 16 and 17, in PNAS

Data manipulation knocks bird virus paper off perch

journalvirolThe Journal of Virology has retracted a 2010 article on avian viruses marred by signs of bogus data.

The paper, “Avian Reovirus Nonstructural Protein p17-Induced G2/M Cell Cycle Arrest and Host Cellular Protein Translation Shutoff Involve Activation of p53-Dependent Pathways,” came from a group at National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, in Pingtung, China. It purported to find that: Continue reading Data manipulation knocks bird virus paper off perch

Jeffrey Beall scores a retraction

jaimJeffrey Beall, a scholarly librarian perhaps known best for his list of possible predatory journals, has convinced one of those journals to retract a paper for plagiarism.

Here’s the notice: from the Journal of Advances in Internal Medicine, the official journal of the Society of Internal Medicine of Nepal. Continue reading Jeffrey Beall scores a retraction

Nature apologizes for publishing letter dismissing need for gender balance

courtesy Nature Publishing Group
courtesy Nature Publishing Group

In yesterday’s Weekend Reads, we highlighted a piece by Hope Jahren explaining why she wouldn’t agree to a Q&A with Nature. We found out after Weekend Reads had posted that the story had moved on, so here’s an update.

Jahren was objecting — as did a number of people — to a letter published in Nature earlier in the week by Lukas Koube of Sherman, Texas, which began: Continue reading Nature apologizes for publishing letter dismissing need for gender balance

We did what? Authors retract paper after forgetting they’d published the same study elsewhere

j antimicrob chemoScientists: Have you ever found it difficult to keep track of all those papers you publish? Who can blame you? So many journals, so much pressure to publish or perish.

That must have been what happened to a quintet of authors from Shanghai who’ve just had to retract an article from the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. Here’s the notice (sadly, behind a paywall) [see note at end of post] for “Role of clofazimine in the treatment of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis: a retrospective observational cohort assessment:” Continue reading We did what? Authors retract paper after forgetting they’d published the same study elsewhere

Another retraction for former record holder Joachim Boldt

bjaWith all the fuss about Yoshitaka Fujii, the current record holder for most retractions, you can be forgiven for forgetting that Joachim Boldt once owned that title, at least for about a year.

Well, Boldt has another retraction, although he’d need to double his tally (which is in the range of 90) to match Fujii’s “impressive” haul.

The new paper is, well, old, having been published in 1996, some 14 years before Boldt’s tribulations began. The article was titled “Influence of different volume therapy regimens on regulators of the circulation in the critically ill.” It appeared in the British Journal of Anaesthesia, and has been cited 45 times, according to Thomson Scientific’s Web of Knowledge.

According to the notice: Continue reading Another retraction for former record holder Joachim Boldt

Journal editor defends retraction of GMO-rats study while authors reveal some of paper’s history

food and chemical toxicologyThe debate over the retraction of a highly controversial paper on the effects of GMOs on rats continues unabated. This week, Adriane Fugh-Berman and Thomas Sherman wrote on the Hastings Center website that Continue reading Journal editor defends retraction of GMO-rats study while authors reveal some of paper’s history

Surgery journal adds detail to retraction notice following Retraction Watch coverage

j surg oncLast month, we wrote about the retraction of a study in the Journal of Surgical Oncology (JSO) for duplication. But we were a bit frustrated by the lack of information in the notice. As we wrote at the time:

It would be nice to know a couple of things here. For example, when and where was the duplicated paper published? And who were the authors?

Well, we’ve heard from the journal, and have some updates. Brittany White, managing editor of the JSO, tells us, on behalf of editor-in-chief Stephen F. Sener, that: Continue reading Surgery journal adds detail to retraction notice following Retraction Watch coverage