Search Results for: sting

Now this is transparent: Retraction for plagiarism earns 4-page editor’s note

A journal has retracted a paper about 3D imaging after concluding the authors used equations from another researcher without attribution — and has conveniently included a detailed editorial explaining exactly what happened. It’s rare for us to see a journal be so transparent in explaining what went wrong with one of its papers, so we’re thanking … Continue reading Now this is transparent: Retraction for plagiarism earns 4-page editor’s note

Concerns attached to three more papers by retraction-laden management researcher

Fred Walumbwa, a management researcher with eight seven retractions, has received three expressions of concern from two journals after he failed to provide raw data following an investigation into potential errors. In the past, Walumbwa has said he only keeps data until his papers are published, but a lack of raw data has become a common theme in his notices, which … Continue reading Concerns attached to three more papers by retraction-laden management researcher

What if we tried to replicate papers before they’re published?

We all know replicability is a problem – consistently, many papers in various fields fail to replicate when put to the test. But instead of testing findings after they’ve gone through the rigorous and laborious process of publication, why not verify them beforehand, so that only replicable findings make their way into the literature? That … Continue reading What if we tried to replicate papers before they’re published?

How much do oil spills cost? Controversy over paper oozes into larger debate

A controversy surrounding a 2014 Journal of Environmental Management paper has tapped into a larger scientific and economic issue — how to tally up the damage after an oil spill. The original paper, called “A revealed preference approach to valuing non-market recreational fishing losses from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill,” estimates the 2010 explosion of … Continue reading How much do oil spills cost? Controversy over paper oozes into larger debate

Upon request, NEJM added note to help Texas distance itself from Planned Parenthood article

The New England Journal of Medicine added a disclaimer to a recent article about the effects of funding cuts to Planned Parenthood, after a request from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, saying it wanted to distance itself from the paper. Since the paper was published in February, one author has stepped down from his position at … Continue reading Upon request, NEJM added note to help Texas distance itself from Planned Parenthood article

Denmark court clears controversial psychologist of misconduct charges

A Danish court has determined that psychologist Helmuth Nyborg did not commit misconduct in a controversial 2011 paper which predicted an influx of immigrants into Denmark would lower the population’s average IQ by the latter part of this century. The ruling, reported by the Danish newspaper Politiken, overturns a previous finding of misconduct by the the Danish … Continue reading Denmark court clears controversial psychologist of misconduct charges

Concerns about image manipulation? Sorry, the data were lost in a flood

Lost your data? Blame nature. Microchimica Acta has retracted a paper about water-soluble quantum dots after the authors couldn’t provide back-up for a figure that contained signs of manipulation. The reason, the editor told us: The corresponding author said the raw data were lost in a flood in Sri Lanka. The journal asked the authors for … Continue reading Concerns about image manipulation? Sorry, the data were lost in a flood

Neuroscience journal retracts paper for lack of “scientific soundness”

An unusual article that considered the concept of change from a systems perspective — including change in medicine, economics, and decision-making, for instance — has, well, changed from “published” to “retracted.” After commenters on PubPeer called the 2014 paper “gibberish” and even suggested it might be computer-generated, Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience retracted it, noting it “does not meet the … Continue reading Neuroscience journal retracts paper for lack of “scientific soundness”

Weekend reads: Fraudster rises again as filmmaker; Elsevier, open access publisher?; unethical ethics research

The week at Retraction Watch featured the retraction of a paper on the potential dangers of Wi-Fi, and our 3,000th post. Also, have you taken our survey? Here’s what was happening elsewhere:

NFL and NYT collide: Did studies on concussion rates leave out necessary data?

The National Football League failed to include data from diagnosed concussions in peer-reviewed studies, making the sport look safer than it is, allege the results of an investigation published yesterday in the New York Times. Now, the paper and the NFL are arguing over whether the studies were supposed to include every instance of head injury. … Continue reading NFL and NYT collide: Did studies on concussion rates leave out necessary data?