Search Results for: plagiarism

Here are the 10 — yes, 10 — reasons PLOS ONE retracted this paper

PLOS One is retracting a paper for overlapping with a Wikipedia page. And for containing material lifted from other sources. And for “language errors.” And for insufficient evidence that authors found the pathogens floating around in hospital air that they claimed to find. The instances of plagiarism are a “huge problem,” each “enough for retraction on … Continue reading Here are the 10 — yes, 10 — reasons PLOS ONE retracted this paper

Paper on pine tree genetics chopped for duplication

A paper on genetic variability in Austrian pine trees apparently didn’t vary enough from other work. The journal is now retracting the 2012 paper for having significant overlap with another paper published in 2008. Another researcher pointed out the duplication — which was unintentional, according to the note, the result of an apparent failure in communication between the … Continue reading Paper on pine tree genetics chopped for duplication

Anonymous complaint about Dutch economist is “unfounded”: Report

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU) has dismissed an anonymous accusation against economist Peter Nijkamp and two of his colleagues, including one of his graduate students, regarding issues related to “data acquisition and data processing.” The announcement, released last week, determined the latest complaint was “unfounded:”

Satellite paper grounded for plagiarizing — from the same journal

Plagiarism happens; we see it a lot. But some cases stand out from the crowd. For instance, we just came across an example where authors plagiarized from a paper in the same journal. Specifically, a 2015 paper on satellite orbits was found to have “extensive overlap” with another paper published in Acta Astronautica four years earlier. The last authors of … Continue reading Satellite paper grounded for plagiarizing — from the same journal

Communications researcher regrets “severe shortcomings” in three publications

A communications researcher in Switzerland has made a few errors in his efforts to communicate his research. Peter J. Schulz, who works at the University of Lugano, has lost a paper which did not “appropriately acknowledge” another paper as its primary source. He has also corrected a paper with “severe shortcomings in the references.” Both papers were published … Continue reading Communications researcher regrets “severe shortcomings” in three publications

Paper claiming GMO dangers retracted amid allegations of data manipulation

A nutrition journal is retracting a paper about potential dangers of eating food containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs) for duplicating a figure, as news stories from Italy are reporting accusations that the last author falsified some of his research. In the paper, Federico Infascelli, an animal nutrition researcher at the University of Naples, and his colleagues showed modified genes … Continue reading Paper claiming GMO dangers retracted amid allegations of data manipulation

Data dispute forces journal to pull paper about rare bird on valuable land

The authors of a paper about the density of an endangered bird on valuable Texas lands are disputing the journal’s decision to pull the paper after other scientists objected to some of its contents. The paper, published online in August by the Journal of Field Ornithology, compared different models for estimating the number of golden-cheeked warblers that nest … Continue reading Data dispute forces journal to pull paper about rare bird on valuable land

Romanian law shortens jail time for prisoners who write books. (They may ax it.)

Romanian officials are taking a stand against a long-standing oddity in the law that entitles prisoners to 30 days off their jail sentence for every piece of academic writing they author. The crackdown is occurring after a surge in jail literature in the last two years— approximately 200 inmates have authored around 400 scientific works … Continue reading Romanian law shortens jail time for prisoners who write books. (They may ax it.)

Renewable energy researcher recycled material, agrees to withdraw 10 papers

Investigations at two institutions at Taiwan determined in 2013 that a renewable energy researcher duplicated his own work; the researcher agreed to pull 10 papers. A total of six have been withdrawn or retracted, two in November, 2015. Shyi-Min Lu is the corresponding author on the two newly retracted papers, from Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. The retractions follow investigations at the … Continue reading Renewable energy researcher recycled material, agrees to withdraw 10 papers

Weekend reads: A celebrity surgeon’s double life; misconduct in sports medicine; researcher loses honor

This week at Retraction Watch featured a literally bullshit excuse for fake data, a new record for time from publication to retraction, and news of an upcoming retraction from Science. Here’s what was happening elsewhere: