The week at Retraction Watch featured a PhD student expelled for submitting a paper without her co-authors’ permission, and a look at the six types of peer reviewers. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:
Ever read a review where the editor or reviewer seems to be specifically looking for reasons to reject a paper? Neil Herndon, the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Marketing Channels, from the South China University of Technology in Guangzhou, has. In a recent editorial, Herndon calls this type of review “gotcha” peer reviewing, and presents an alternative. … Continue reading Recognize “gotcha” peer reviews? This editor can
A paper that suggested that eating flaxseed could reduce inflammation in men at risk of heart disease has been retracted, after researchers pointed out the paper’s flaws. The retraction is part of a large initiative on the part of nutrition researcher David Allison and colleagues to clean up the literature, which we’ve previously covered. Regarding this paper, he told us: … Continue reading Nutrition study pulled after statistical flaws emerge
The week at Retraction Watch featured a first in transparency from Canada, and the second retraction for a fan of a conspiracy theory. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) has banned a bone researcher for life following a finding of misconduct. And in a first, the agency has named her, in their report out today. The case of Sophie Jamal may be familiar to Retraction Watch readers, as we covered it in October of last year following reporting … Continue reading Canada funding agency bans researcher for fraud, and in first, reveals her name
The week at Retraction Watch featured the loss of a Harvard researcher’s PhD for misconduct, and the harrowing tale of a whistleblower. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:
A journal has published an expression of concern (EOC) for a 2016 paper providing evidence for a long-standing conspiracy theory about the dangers of cloud trails from jet planes. A similar paper by the same author was retracted last year by another journal. Both papers focused on the “chemtrails” emitted from jet planes, which conspiracy theorists have long believed contain … Continue reading Controversial chemtrails paper flagged by journal
A cancer journal has retracted a paper co-authored by a researcher who falsified or fabricated data in 11 studies, according to an investigation by the Office of Research Integrity (ORI). In December 2015, an ORI probe into the work of Girija Dasmahapatra concluded that he had …duplicated, reused, and/or relabeled Western blot panels and mouse … Continue reading 1st retraction for cancer researcher who doctored data in 11 studies
A diabetes researcher who sued to stop a publisher from retracting his papers has just received his seventh retraction. The latest retraction for Mario Saad, who is based at the University of Campinas (Unicamp) in São Paulo, Brazil, is for a PLOS ONE paper (which was altered last year by a mega-correction). Although an institutional … Continue reading Researcher who sued to stop retractions earns his 7th
How can academic journals ensure the integrity of the data they publish? For one journal, the key is looking deeply at statistics, which revealed crucial problems in the research of recent high-profile fraudsters such as Anil Potti. Editor-in-chief of the Journal of Management, Patrick Wright from the University of South Carolina, recently authored an editorial about how he’s … Continue reading “We should err on the side of protecting people’s reputation:” Management journal changes policy to avoid fraud