Recently, an ecology journal received a submission that made them pause. In order to conduct their research, the authors had to kill thousands of fish. The study had been approved by conservation authorities, but it still wasn’t sitting well with the journal. So it rejected the paper, on ethical grounds. Biological Conservation explained its decision in … Continue reading Should journals reject papers solely on ethical grounds?
Two sets of authors based largely at Harvard Medical School have each retracted a paper for duplication in the same journal. Both papers — which are more than a decade old — were pulled in The Journal of Clinical Investigation on November 1 by their respective corresponding authors. One paper’s last author told us it … Continue reading Two Harvard-led groups pull well-cited cancer papers for duplication
The week at Retraction Watch featured the retraction of a physics society’s press release quoting U.S. president-elect Donald Trump, and an apparent blow for clairvoyance research. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:
Journals have retracted five papers by a materials researcher based in Poland after concluding the peer-review process had been faked. According to the retraction notices — which all appear in Elsevier journals and contain the same text — the papers were accepted due to “positive advice of at least one faked reviewer report,” which were submitted … Continue reading Researcher denies faking reviews for 5 newly retracted papers
A new analysis of more than 30 clinical trials co-authored by a bone researcher based in Japan is casting doubt on the legitimacy of the findings. Yoshihiro Sato, based at Mitate Hospital, has already retracted 12 papers, for reasons ranging from data problems, to including co-authors without their consent, to self-plagiarism. Most of these retracted papers are … Continue reading Analysis casts doubt on bone researcher’s body of work
A genetics journal has issued an expression of concern (EOC) for a study after an investigation by its chief editors. According to the notice in Frontiers in Genetics, the authors of the paper — based at Hokkaido University in Sapporo, Japan — are conducting further experiments to resolve the issues raised by the journal’s investigation. … Continue reading Genetics study flagged for reliability issues by Frontiers journal
Some people can look at an old photograph of a person — say, of your grandmother in elementary school — and tell whether the person is today alive or dead, according to a paper published last spring. If that sounds too weird to be true…well, it might be. The journal editors have retracted the paper for not having enough evidence to back … Continue reading Journal pulls plug on paper that predicts person’s death, against authors’ objections
The week at Retraction Watch featured 58 retractions in one fell swoop, and a look at what you should do if you find out a paper you’ve cited has been retracted. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:
Two journals sharing the same title — allegedly due to an “academic divorce” between the founders — are giving two different accounts to why a paper may (or may not) have been retracted. Confused yet? We are. Here’s what we can piece together. The journal Amphibian and Reptile Conservation once had two editors, Craig Hassapakis and Robert Browne; … Continue reading Two journals, same name: Did one editor retract the other’s paper?
A journal has retracted a 2015 study about lung cancer after learning the peer-review process had been compromised. The paper was published in March, 2015 — the same month publisher BioMed Central (BMC) pulled 43 papers for fake reviews. According to the retraction notice in the European Journal of Medical Research, the authors’ institution in China … Continue reading Medical journal retracts study over fake review, authorship concerns