A graduate student at McGill University is raising concerns that a popular F1000Research paper may have plagiarized his 2014 blog postĀ that — ironically — proposed a method to prevent scientificĀ misconduct. The studentĀ callsĀ the paper āa mirror imageā of his work.
The February 2016 F1000ResearchĀ paper, āHow blockchain-timestamped protocols could improve the trustworthiness of medical science,ā was highlighted by us earlier this year, as well as byĀ The Economist and FierceBiotech. In the paper, physician Greg Irving of the University of Cambridge and John Holden of Garswood Surgery in the UK describe a proof-of-concept of how to use a blockchaināa technology best-known for powering the digital currency bitcoināto audit scientific studies and prevent misconduct in clinical trials.
After the student brought his concerns toĀ theĀ journal, Irving and HoldenĀ published a second version of their paper online, this time prolifically citing the blog entry and altering language that had been identical between the two pieces. F1000Research says āthe scientific content is still validā and has no plans to retract the article. Two public peer reviewers of the work also stand by its validity. Continue reading Plagiarism concerns raised over popular blockchain paper on catching misconduct
The authors of a popular — and heavily debated — F1000ResearchĀ paper proposing aĀ method to prevent scientificĀ misconduct have decided to retract it.