Search Results for: compromised peer review

Sage slaps more than 100 papers from one journal with expressions of concern

The Sage journal American Surgeon has issued a mass expression of concern for 116 articles.  The expression of concern states the journal “was made aware” of “concerning author activity” on the articles. Sage is no stranger to mass editorial actions. In 2023, the publisher pulled large tranches of papers at least three times, and last … Continue reading Sage slaps more than 100 papers from one journal with expressions of concern

Journal that published viral study on black plastic removed from major index

Chemosphere, the Elsevier title which in September published an article on “unexpected exposure to toxic flame retardants in household items” such as black plastic cooking utensils, has been removed from Clarivate’s Web of Science index in its December update.  The article, “From e-waste to living space: Flame retardants contaminating household items add to concern about … Continue reading Journal that published viral study on black plastic removed from major index

19 months and counting: Former Hindawi journal still hasn’t marked paper

A journal formerly published by Hindawi has yet to publish any sort of notice on a paper sleuths reported for containing duplicated images 1.5 years ago.  According to Kevin Patrick, the sleuth who contacted the publisher in mid-2023, the episode “might be a useful case study” of the issues facing Wiley, which acquired Hindawi in … Continue reading 19 months and counting: Former Hindawi journal still hasn’t marked paper

eLife won’t get an impact factor, says Clarivate

Clarivate, the data company for scholarly publications, has decided to continue indexing some content from eLife in Web of Science, after reevaluating the open-access biology journal’s unusual practice of publishing articles without accepting or rejecting them. The journal will not receive an Impact Factor. Last month, Clarivate paused indexing new content from eLife, citing a … Continue reading eLife won’t get an impact factor, says Clarivate

Another Springer Nature journal has retracted over 300 papers since July

Soft Computing, a Springer Nature title, has retracted at least 335 papers this year, many from issues with guest editors.  The mass retractions began in July, with the latest appearing November 4.  The retraction notes contain identical language to notices in Environmental Science and Pollution Research and Optical and Quantum Electronics, which have also been … Continue reading Another Springer Nature journal has retracted over 300 papers since July

eLife latest in string of major journals put on hold from Web of Science

Citing eLife’s unusual practice of publishing articles without accepting or rejecting them, Clarivate says it is re-evaluating the inclusion of the open-access biology journal in Web of Science, its influential database of abstracts and citations.  In contrast to the other journals recently placed on hold from indexing, including Elsevier’s Science of the Total Environment, Clarivate … Continue reading eLife latest in string of major journals put on hold from Web of Science

Reflecting on research misconduct: What’s next for the watcher community?

“At a time when scientists and scientific research are already being criticised by persons who identify science with technology and who deplore some of the consequences of technology, dishonesty among scientists causes unease among scientists themselves and regretful or gleeful misgivings among publicists who are critical of science.“ Daryl Chubin wrote that in 1985 — … Continue reading Reflecting on research misconduct: What’s next for the watcher community?

Pakistan university’s pharmacy department chair notches two retractions

Kashif Barkat, who heads the Department of Pharmacy at the University of Lahore in Punjab, Pakistan, has had two of his studies retracted and two more corrected, all for issues related to images in the papers. Several more of his studies are flagged on PubPeer for similar reasons.  According to the retraction notice for one … Continue reading Pakistan university’s pharmacy department chair notches two retractions

Former Maryland dept. chair with $19 million in grants faked data in 13 papers, feds say

A former department chair engaged in research misconduct in work funded by 19 grants from the National Institutes of Health, according to the U.S. Office of Research Integrity.  Richard Eckert, formerly the chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, and deputy director of the university’s Marlene and … Continue reading Former Maryland dept. chair with $19 million in grants faked data in 13 papers, feds say

‘We authors paid a heavy price’: Journal retracts all 23 articles in special issue

A journal has retracted an entire special issue over concerns the guest-edited papers underwent a “compromised” peer review process.  In a supplement to Volume 337 Issue 1 of Annals of Operations Research, 23 papers were retracted with the same statement:  The Editor-in-Chief and the publisher have retracted this article. The article was submitted to be … Continue reading ‘We authors paid a heavy price’: Journal retracts all 23 articles in special issue