Search Results for: plagiarism

Diabetes researcher sues journal to prevent retractions of papers cited more than 600 times

Mario A. Saad, who last year retracted a paper for plagiarism, is now suing the American Diabetes Association over four expressions of concern in its flagship journal, Diabetes. As reported in the Boston Business Journal, Saad’s lawsuit claims that his institution, the State University of Campinas, investigated two articles at the journal’s behest. The American Diabetes … Continue reading Diabetes researcher sues journal to prevent retractions of papers cited more than 600 times

Heart study bleeds into three papers, one retracted and one withdrawn

With the increasingly hectic pace of modern life, everybody is always on the look out for time-saving tricks and tips. Scientists at the National University of Singapore and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University certainly found one, but we really can’t recommend it: doing one randomized controlled trial (RCT) with several outcomes, and publishing them as three separate … Continue reading Heart study bleeds into three papers, one retracted and one withdrawn

“Unacceptable level of text parallels” loses neuroscientist a paper, but not her PhD

We should probably launch a new blog just on the euphemisms used for plagiarism. A case of “inadequate procedural or methodological practices of citation or quotation” causing an “unacceptable level of text parallels” has sunk a review paper, but not a thesis, for a PhD who studied memory consolidation at Maynooth University in Ireland. According … Continue reading “Unacceptable level of text parallels” loses neuroscientist a paper, but not her PhD

Weekend reads: Savage peer reviews, cosmology claim bites dust, $50 million diet pill hoax

This week at Retraction Watch featured polar opposites: Two new entries in our “doing the right thing” category, and one in our plagiarism euphemism parade. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:

Serial plagiarist loses 13 papers

Accusations of plagiarism spanning at least 14 years have finally caught up with Richard Lawrence Etienne Barnett, who has had 13 papers retracted from a journal he had guest edited. The dean of the for-profit University of Atlanta has been accused of copying his own and others’ work a number of times, as we wrote in November. Here’s … Continue reading Serial plagiarist loses 13 papers

Authors get away with throwing quotation marks around plagiarized passages. Again.

Back in November 2013, we wrote about a correction in PNAS about a May 2012 paper by a group from Toronto and Mount Sinai in New York who, as we said at the time had been rather too liberal in their use of text from a previously published paper by another researcher — what we … Continue reading Authors get away with throwing quotation marks around plagiarized passages. Again.

What if universities had to agree to refund grants whenever there was a retraction?

We’re pleased to share this guest post from Leonid Schneider, a cell biologist, science journalist and a prolific cartoonist whose work graces our Twitter profile and Facebook page. In it, Schneider argues for a new way to ensure accountability for publicly funded research. It has become clear that scientific dishonesty is rarely sanctioned.  In the worst case scenario, manipulated or … Continue reading What if universities had to agree to refund grants whenever there was a retraction?

Franken-paper from U.S. federal contractor heads to the grave

Hindawi journal PPAR Research has pulled a cancer immunology paper after discovering it contained almost no new information. Instead, it was a Frankenstein-style stitch job, containing sentences ripped from 33 different papers. 18 of those ended up in the citations; for 15 more, the authors didn’t even do them that courtesy. You can see a meticulously color-coded call … Continue reading Franken-paper from U.S. federal contractor heads to the grave