How fake peer review happens: An impersonated reviewer speaks

Earlier this month, BioMed Central and Springer announced that they were retracting nearly 60 papers for a host of related issues, including manipulating the peer-review process. Recently, we were contacted by one of the reviewers who was impersonated by some of the authors of the retracted papers. The scientist wants to remain anonymous, but provided … Continue reading How fake peer review happens: An impersonated reviewer speaks

Medical journal retracts study over fake review, authorship concerns

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

Springer, BMC retracting nearly 60 papers for fake reviews and other issues

In a massive cleanup, Springer and BioMed Central announced today they are retracting 58 papers for several reasons, including manipulation of the peer-review process and inappropriately allocating authorship. The papers appeared in seven journals, and more are under investigation. In a release issued today, the publishers note:

What publishers and countries do most retractions for fake peer review come from?

A new analysis — which included scanning Retraction Watch posts — has identified some trends in papers pulled for fake peer review, a subject we’ve covered at length. For those who aren’t familiar, fake reviews arise when researchers associated with the paper in question (most often authors) create email addresses for reviewers, enabling them to … Continue reading What publishers and countries do most retractions for fake peer review come from?

Doctor who participated in fake chocolate study fined for violating code of conduct

A German district attorney has fined a doctor who participated in a bogus study showing chocolate helps weight loss, designed to illustrate how shady science can make the news, arguing it was unethical to ask people to participate unknowingly in such a scam. As soon as the study was published, critics raised questions over whether … Continue reading Doctor who participated in fake chocolate study fined for violating code of conduct

He’s back: Data faker Diederik Stapel will support research at vocational university

Diederik Stapel, the social psychology researcher who has had 58 papers retracted after admitting that he made up the data, has a new job: helping other researchers. Stapel, according to BN DeStem (via Google Translate),

We’ve seen computer-generated fake papers get published. Now we have computer-generated fake peer reviews.

Retraction Watch readers may recall that in 2014, publisher Springer and IEEE were forced to retract more than 120 conference proceedings because the papers were all fakes, written by the devilishly clever SCIgen program and somehow published after peer review. So perhaps it was inevitable that fake computer-generated peer reviews were next. In a chapter … Continue reading We’ve seen computer-generated fake papers get published. Now we have computer-generated fake peer reviews.

Second retraction for researcher who faked 70+ experiments

Two researchers found to have faked data by the U.S. Office of Research Integrity (ORI) have lost a paper that they co-authored. According to the ORI report issued on May 25, Ricky Malhotra, one of the researchers in question, admitted to fabricating 74 experiments, and falsifying well over 100 Western blots while at the Universities of Michigan (UM) … Continue reading Second retraction for researcher who faked 70+ experiments

Internet trolling paper published email without consent; retraction sparked lawsuit threat

When a paper was retracted earlier this year with an opaque notice, we set out to figure out why. We’re still not entirely clear of the reason, but we’ve uncovered one aspect of the paper that raised objections from another researcher: The paper, on internet trolling, included an email he sent without his permission. The retraction … Continue reading Internet trolling paper published email without consent; retraction sparked lawsuit threat

Columbia investigation reveals researcher faked data — and a degree

A researcher faked data and a masters degree, according to an investigation by Columbia University. He’s also earned his fourth retraction. The new notice, along with one we’ve uncovered from 2014, provide some information on the extent of the deception of Robert Frumento, who left Columbia a decade ago, around the time that the now-retracted papers were published. Here’s … Continue reading Columbia investigation reveals researcher faked data — and a degree