Weekend reads: Widespread p-hacking; sexism in science (again); retraction totals
This week at Retraction Watch featured retractions by a high-profile cancer researcher, and a loss in court for PubPeer. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:
Search Results for: medical
So you want to be a whistleblower? A lawyer explains the process
We are pleased to present the first in a series of articles by John R. Thomas, Jr., a lawyer at Gentry Locke [Editor’s note, 3/26/19: He has since moved to Haley, Hafemann, Magee and Thomas] who represents whistleblowers in a variety of False Claims Act cases. He writes about how whistleblowers can do the right … Continue reading So you want to be a whistleblower? A lawyer explains the process
Weekend reads: Dissertations for sale, spurious impact factors, the roots of plagiarism
This week at Retraction Watch featured the retraction of yet another spoof article, and the temporary shutdown of a journal. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:
Yes, we are seeing more attacks on academic freedom: guest post by historian of science and medicine
We’re pleased to introduce readers to Alice Dreger, a historian of science and medicine at the Medical Humanities and Bioethics Program in Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. Her new book is “Galileo’s Middle Finger: Heretics, Activists, and the Search for Justice in Science,” out this week from Penguin Press. Read to the end for … Continue reading Yes, we are seeing more attacks on academic freedom: guest post by historian of science and medicine
Meet the Retraction Watch staff
Research director Alison Abritis earned her Ph.D. in Public Health, with a concentration in toxicology and risk assessment. Her dissertation focused on retractions and corrections, or the lack thereof, arising from misconduct findings by the Office of Research Integrity (ORI). She found that less than half of the findings resulted in a published retraction or correction, and even … Continue reading Meet the Retraction Watch staff
Misconduct dissolves paper on possible clot-busters
Drug researchers in India have lost their 2013 paper in ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters because the first author fabricated findings. The article, by a group from the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara, in Gujarat, was attempting to synthesize and screen novel clot-busting drugs; one compound exhibited the same activity as aspirin or warfarin, but … Continue reading Misconduct dissolves paper on possible clot-busters
Heart journal issues expression of concern after fraud report
The American Heart Association’s journal Circulation has issued an expression of concern for a paper about the molecular underpinnings of arrhythmias that was co-authored by a biomedical engineer who committed fraud on a massive scale. According to an investigation by the Office of Research Integrity (ORI), former Vanderbilt engineer Igor Dzhura faked nearly 70 images and drastically over-estimated … Continue reading Heart journal issues expression of concern after fraud report
Weekend reads: P values banned, climate skeptic fails to disclose corporate funding, editors behaving badly
This week at Retraction Watch featured a change of heart by a journal, and a look at Nature’s addition of double-blind peer review. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:
Are retractions more frequent in stem cell research?
There are a number of fields that seem to punch above their weight on Retraction Watch: Anesthesiology, home to the world record holder (and runner-up), and psychology, home to Diederik Stapel and others. But the red-hot field of stem cell research is another that makes frequent appearances, last year’s STAP controversy being particularly prominent. There’s … Continue reading Are retractions more frequent in stem cell research?
David Vaux: Nature’s decision to add double-blind peer review is good, but could be better
David Vaux, a cell biologist at the Walter + Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne, explains how Nature could do more to remove bias from the peer review process. He previously wrote about his decision to retract a paper. Last week, Nature announced that they are to offer authors of papers submitted to … Continue reading David Vaux: Nature’s decision to add double-blind peer review is good, but could be better