Search Results for: doing the right thing

An Elsevier book plagiarizes an abstract published by…Elsevier

Elsevier plans to remove the introduction from a book on mineralogy after investigating allegations of plagiarism, including from another Elsevier publication, according to emails obtained by Retraction Watch.  Photo Atlas of Mineral Pseudomorphism by J. Theo Kloprogge and Robert Lavinsky, was published in 2017 and still appears to be for sale for $100 for a … Continue reading An Elsevier book plagiarizes an abstract published by…Elsevier

After we tried to correct claims about ‘deadly’ water filters in Flint, we were accused of scientific misconduct—and that was just the beginning

The Sept. 10, 2019 PBS article accompanying the FRONTLINE documentary “Deadly Water” was topped by a provocative headline: “The EPA Says Flint’s Water is Safe — Scientists Aren’t So Sure.” The PBS story relied on a study of adverse health outcomes for people given point-of-use (POU) water filters during the Flint Federal Emergency. We were … Continue reading After we tried to correct claims about ‘deadly’ water filters in Flint, we were accused of scientific misconduct—and that was just the beginning

What we’ve learned from public records requests. Please help us file more.

Dear Retraction Watch reader: You may have noticed an increasing number of posts over the past few years that contain the phrase “obtained through a public records request.” Some examples: It’s how we learned that a pharmacology researcher was demoted after a misconduct investigation – and then became chair at another school. That story led … Continue reading What we’ve learned from public records requests. Please help us file more.

Engineers’ research starts to look shaky as retractions mount

A group of structural engineering researchers based in Iran has lost at least five papers for problems with the data – and a data sleuth says more look shaky, too.  Four of the articles appeared in Construction and Building Materials between 2018 and 2020 and were written by a changing cast of characters with two … Continue reading Engineers’ research starts to look shaky as retractions mount

Journal editor explains ban on manuscripts from Russian institutions

Earlier this week, a scientist in Russia posted, on Facebook, part of a letter rejecting a manuscript explaining that “the editors of the Journal of Molecular Structure made a decision to ban the manuscripts submitted from Russian institutions.” That move was confirmed by Richard van Noorden of Nature. Here, in an email he sent to … Continue reading Journal editor explains ban on manuscripts from Russian institutions

Courage and correction: how editors handle – and mishandle – errors in their journals

Last year, our group noticed an improper analysis of a purported cluster randomized trial (cRCT) in eClinicalMedicine, a Lancet journal, and requested deidentified raw data from the authors to conduct a proper analysis for the study design.  Things were off to a good start. The authors shared their data immediately – which is commendable and, … Continue reading Courage and correction: how editors handle – and mishandle – errors in their journals

‘This is really ridiculous’: An author admitted plagiarism. His supervisor asked for a retraction. The publisher said, “nah.”

Behrouz Pourghebleh is perplexed. And also exasperated. Pourghebleh, of the Young Researchers and Elite Club at the Urmia branch of Islamic Azad University in Iran, noticed a paper published on December 15, 2020 in an IEEE journal that overlapped 80 percent with an article he’d co-authored the year before. Pourghebleh wrote to Zakirul Alam Bhuiyan, … Continue reading ‘This is really ridiculous’: An author admitted plagiarism. His supervisor asked for a retraction. The publisher said, “nah.”

Co-author of paper claiming COVID-19 vaccines linked to miscarriage says he’s retracting it

A pair of researchers in New Zealand have asked for the retraction of a controversial article on the risk of miscarriage in pregnant women who receive a vaccination against Covid-19, according to one of the co-authors. Simon Thornley, of the University of Auckland — and an outspoken critic of New Zealand’s efforts to contain the … Continue reading Co-author of paper claiming COVID-19 vaccines linked to miscarriage says he’s retracting it

Anatomy journal retracts 13 papers

The Anatomical Record is correcting itself in a big way, pulling 13 articles, including several linked to paper mills.  The papers, all by authors in China, were published between 2019 and 2021.  Some were flagged in a September 2021 report on research misconduct by the Chinese government. They join a slew of articles The Anatomical … Continue reading Anatomy journal retracts 13 papers

Exclusive: Urology researcher demoted after misconduct investigation — then becomes chair at another school

A urology researcher at Louisiana State University lost his post as department chair after a misconduct investigation, Retraction Watch has learned. But he eventually moved on to be department chair at a different LSU campus — where he remains today. In June, we reported that the work of urology researcher Hari Koul had been investigated … Continue reading Exclusive: Urology researcher demoted after misconduct investigation — then becomes chair at another school