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When a paper was retracted earlier this year with an opaque notice, we set out to figure out why.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

Three more papers felled by suspected fake reviews

So far, we’ve counted more than 300 papers that have been retracted after editors suspected the peer-review process had been compromised — and we’re adding three more to the list. Editors of the Journal of Food Processing and Preservation became suspicious of the three papers after discovering similarities in reports from supposedly different reviewers. When they were unable … Continue reading Three more papers felled by suspected fake reviews

Fraudster’s colleague faked data, too

A week after announcing that a researcher formerly at the University of Chicago had faked the results of more than 70 experiments, the U.S. Office of Research Integrity announced yesterday that one of his colleagues also falsified data. According to the ORI, Karen D’Souza 

Heart researcher faked 70+ experiments, 100+ images

A former researcher at the University of Michigan and the University of Chicago faked dozens of experiments and images over the course of six years, according to a new finding from the Office of Research Integrity (ORI). Ricky Malhotra, who studied heart cells, admitted to committing misconduct at both institutions, the ORI said in its … Continue reading Heart researcher faked 70+ experiments, 100+ images

Editors say they missed “fairly obvious clues” of third party tampering, publish fake peer reviews

The editors of a journal that recently retracted a paper after the peer-review process was “compromised” have published the fake reviews, along with additional details about the case. In the editorial titled “Organised crime against the academic peer review system,” Adam Cohen and other editors at the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology say they missed “several fairly obvious … Continue reading Editors say they missed “fairly obvious clues” of third party tampering, publish fake peer reviews