Want to help us report? Here’s a sneak peek at what we’re working on

RWThere are hundreds of retractions per year, and a constant stream of new developments in publishing and fraud — all of which keeps our small staff very busy.

As a result, we can’t immediately post on every new retraction that we or our readers discover. So we’ve created a new page to show you some of what’s on our current to-do list, to give you a “sneak peek” at what’s to come. If you have any tips for us about a retraction, expression of concern, or correction you see on our “help us” page — or know of any other retractions by the same authors — please let us know in a comment.

For example, here are some of the retractions on that page now: Continue reading Want to help us report? Here’s a sneak peek at what we’re working on

Want to keep up with Retraction Watch but get fewer emails? Try our new daily newsletter

RW logoWe’ve heard from a number of readers that our current volume of posts — three per day most weekdays, and sometimes four — makes an email per post a lot to wade through. We listened, and now you have another option.

For readers who like their retraction news in a digestible form, starting tomorrow morning, we will begin offering the option of a daily newsletter. Here’s a sample. Click here to subscribe.

Every morning, you’ll get links to everything we’ve covered in the last 24 hours, along with a few stories from around the web, much as you might find in Weekend Reads. Continue reading Want to keep up with Retraction Watch but get fewer emails? Try our new daily newsletter

Here are the top 10 most highly cited retracted papers, ranked

RWEver wondered which retracted papers had the biggest impact on their fields?

We’ve compiled a list of the 10 most highly cited retracted papers. Note that many papers — including the #1 most cited paper — received more citations after they were retracted, which research has shown is an ongoing problem.

Readers will see some familiar entries, such as Continue reading Here are the top 10 most highly cited retracted papers, ranked

Helmsley Trust helps Retraction Watch chart its future with new $130,000 grant

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We’re very pleased to announce a new grant for $130,000 from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust to The Center For Scientific Integrity, our parent non-profit organization.

The generous funding from the Trust’s Biomedical Research Infrastructure Program will allow us to work with a consultant to develop operational and sustainability plans for the Center. Over the coming months, we will assess the current unmet needs within the realm of scientific integrity, develop a strategic business plan that targets those unmet needs, and explore opportunities for growth. While grants will remain a critical part of our budget, we hope to  Continue reading Helmsley Trust helps Retraction Watch chart its future with new $130,000 grant

This Giving Tuesday, consider supporting Retraction Watch

logoBenevolent readers: As we’ve noted many times, since August of 2010 when we launched Retraction Watch, you’ve showed us plenty of love, for which we are ever grateful. Your encouragement, story tips, and critiques are what make the site what it is. It’s great to know that we are providing you with a valuable source of information that has helped focus public attention on scientific misconduct and the process of self-correction.

Now, on this Giving Tuesday, we’re hoping some of you will consider making tax-deductible charitable contributions to The Center For Scientific Integrity, the 501(c)3 parent organization of Retraction Watch. Please consider supporting our blog financially by becoming a paying subscriber at a modest level (or, if the spirit moves you, at an immodest level — we’ll take that, too!). Continue reading This Giving Tuesday, consider supporting Retraction Watch

A Retraction Watch retraction: Our 2013 advice on reporting misconduct turns out to have been wrong

2015_06_miniNearly three years ago, our co-founders Ivan Oransky and Adam Marcus penned a column in Lab Times suggesting ways for readers to report alleged scientific misconduct. They are now retracting that advice.

In the retracted column, they suggested initially contacting the editor of the journal that published the potentially problematic work, and if the editor suggests it, contact the authors of that work. In their latest column for Lab Times, Oransky and Marcus say: Forget that advice.  Continue reading A Retraction Watch retraction: Our 2013 advice on reporting misconduct turns out to have been wrong

New Retraction Watch partnership will create retraction database

cos_logoAs our readers know, one of the goals of our work at Retraction Watch is to create a free, comprehensive database of retractions. That effort is generously funded by The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and The Laura and John Arnold Foundation.

Today, we’re excited to announce that our parent organization, The Center For Scientific Integrity (CSI), has partnered with The Center For Open Science (COS) to create that database on the Open Science Framework (OSF).

It’s a natural collaboration, says Retraction Watch co-founder and CSI executive director Ivan Oransky:

Continue reading New Retraction Watch partnership will create retraction database

Join our team: Retraction Watch is hiring a second staff writer

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Retraction Watch co-founders Adam Marcus (left) and Ivan Oransky (right)

Thanks to a generous grant, we’re in the enviable position of being able to add a second staff writer. Which means we’re looking for applicants.

The job is not for the faint of heart. It’s definitely fast-paced; our staff writer will be expected to write an average of two posts per day, and feel comfortable dropping the day’s plan to jump on a breaking story. Our writers also contribute to bigger projects such as the feature we wrote for Nature on fake peer reviews.

We’re looking for Continue reading Join our team: Retraction Watch is hiring a second staff writer