How often do economists commit misconduct?

We haven’t covered that many retractions in economics, and a 2012 paper found very few such retractions. Now, a new study based on a survey of economists tries to get a handle on how often economists commit scientific misconduct. Here’s the abstract of “Scientific misbehavior in economics,” which appeared in Research Policy:

Weekend reads: Scientific fraudster given royal honor; the Retraction Watch theme song!

Another busy week at Retraction Watch, with Ivan speaking in Vienna, at a PhD student retreat in nearby Zwettl, and in London. The retreat gave rise to “We Will Retract You,” which may just become the Retraction Watch theme song. Watch here. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:

Authors plagiarize CME cancer article, lose their review paper

Oncology Reviews has retracted a 2014 paper on breast cancer after learning that the authors lifted parts of it from a continuing medical education lesson on Medscape. The paper, “Challenges of combined everolimus/endocrine therapy in hormone receptor-positive metastatic breast cancer,” was written by Yousif Abubakr, of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, and Yasar Albushra, of … Continue reading Authors plagiarize CME cancer article, lose their review paper

Editor in chief steps down after being found plagiarizing in her own journal

Imagine you were a cop, sitting in your squad car at the side of the road with a radar gun, when you clock someone speeding. You turn on your lights, pull the speedster over to the side of the road, and walk to her driver’s side window. Just as you say “Driver’s license and registration, … Continue reading Editor in chief steps down after being found plagiarizing in her own journal

Miłość at first sight: A retraction notice worth emulating from Poland

If we had a Retraction Watch headquarters (other than the diner where we occasionally meet for breakfast), we would have had to have closed up early today, because we both swooned when we saw a retraction notice from the Journal of Polish CIMAC this morning. The notice, signed by the journal’s editor-in-chief Jerzy Girtler, of … Continue reading Miłość at first sight: A retraction notice worth emulating from Poland

Birds of a feather: Duplication grounds migration paper

A group of bird researchers in China has lost their article in Wetlands Ecology and Management on the migratory habits of shorebirds after the editors of the journal learned that they’d cobbled the paper together from their own previously published work. The article by Song et. al., “Ecological stability of the shorebird stopover site in … Continue reading Birds of a feather: Duplication grounds migration paper

Which countries have the most retractions, for which reasons?

One of the questions we often get — but are careful to answer with some version of “we don’t know because we don’t have a denominator” — is how retraction rates vary by scientific field and country. We’ve noticed that the reasons for retraction seem to vary among countries, but didn’t really have the data. … Continue reading Which countries have the most retractions, for which reasons?