Search Results for: sting

Dutch university ordered to pay economist after she was accused of plagiarism

A court in the Netherlands has fined Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU) 7,500 euros to compensate for “immaterial damage” to an economist accused of plagiarism. Karima Kourtit, a researcher at VU, has been at the receiving end of anonymous complaints to her institution accusing her of plagiarism and her professor, high-profile economist Peter Nijkamp, of duplication (i.e. self-plagiarism). … Continue reading Dutch university ordered to pay economist after she was accused of plagiarism

Retractions aren’t enough: Why science has bigger problems

Scientific fraud isn’t what keeps Andrew Gelman, a professor of statistics at Columbia University in New York, up at night. Rather, it’s the sheer number of unreliable studies — uncorrected, unretracted — that have littered the literature. He tells us more, below. Whatever the vast majority of retractions are, they’re a tiny fraction of the number … Continue reading Retractions aren’t enough: Why science has bigger problems

Journal pulls parasite paper over potential for patient harm

A journal has retracted a paper about a molecular diagnosis for leishmaniasis out of concern it could lead to incorrect clinical diagnoses.  According to Parasitology Research, all data behind the figures in the main manuscript and supporting information are correct, but the authors’ misinterpretation of the data could lead doctors to diagnose patients incorrectly.  Let’s take a … Continue reading Journal pulls parasite paper over potential for patient harm

In precedent break, BMJ explains why it rejected controversial “weekend effect” paper

After the reviewer of a rejected paper was publicly outed, the BMJ has taken the unusual step of explaining why it chose not to publish the paper. The paper — eventually published in another journal — raised hackles for suggesting that there is no “weekend effect,” or a higher mortality rate in hospitals on Saturday … Continue reading In precedent break, BMJ explains why it rejected controversial “weekend effect” paper

Publicly available data on thousands of OKCupid users pulled over copyright claim

The Open Science Framework (OSF) has pulled a dataset from 70,000 users of the online dating site OkCupid over copyright concerns, according to the study author. The release of the dataset generated concerns, by making personal information — including personality traits — publicly available. Emil Kirkegaard, a master’s student at Aarhus University in Denmark, told us that … Continue reading Publicly available data on thousands of OKCupid users pulled over copyright claim

In major shift, medical journal to publish protocols along with clinical trials

A major medical journal has updated its instructions to authors, now requiring that they publish protocols of clinical trials, along with any changes made along the way. We learned of this change via the COMPare project, which has been tracking trial protocol changes in major medical journals — and been critical of the Annals of Internal Medicine‘s … Continue reading In major shift, medical journal to publish protocols along with clinical trials

After painful retraction, authors republish replicated findings five years later

It was one of the most difficult posts we’ve ever written: A researcher’s eagerness to publish a paper before asking all co-authors for their permission forced him to retract the article, wasting a postdoc’s time and destroying a professional relationship in the process. This 2011 post wasn’t difficult to write because the facts were complex; … Continue reading After painful retraction, authors republish replicated findings five years later

Ever been asked to review your own paper? This economist was

“Eerily familiar”: That’s how Serdar Sayan of TOBB University of Economics and Technology in Turkey says it felt to read a submission to the Scandinavian Journal of Economics, after the journal asked him to review the manuscript. It turns out, it was Sayan’s paper, word for word, equation for equation, down to the last punctuation … Continue reading Ever been asked to review your own paper? This economist was

Cancer paper that doctored image from Science story earns retraction

Here’s a joke for all you middle-schoolers out there. How are doctored images like bad pennies? They keep cropping up! Here’s the latest one we’ve picked up: Lung Cancer has retracted a 2014 paper on the genetics of tumors after concluding the authors cribbed a figure that had appeared in a 2005 feature story in … Continue reading Cancer paper that doctored image from Science story earns retraction

Book publisher: Authors plagiarized “in good faith” because they cited previous work

A publisher has retracted a chapter from a book on flow cytometry after determining the authors plagiarized some material — but noted that because the authors cited the article they lifted from, they likely acted “in good faith.” We were tipped off to this retraction from the authors of the review article the chapter plagiarized from, who … Continue reading Book publisher: Authors plagiarized “in good faith” because they cited previous work