Author appeals retraction for plagiarism in clinical research paper

The first author of a paper that discussed sample sizes in clinical research is appealing the journal’s decision to retract it for plagiarism, arguing the article is “entirely different.” The  Journal of Human Reproductive Sciences‘s editor-in-chief told us that they first contacted the author about the allegations more than two years ago, and finally issued the notice in September, saying the … Continue reading Author appeals retraction for plagiarism in clinical research paper

Is less publishing linked to more plagiarism?

Countries that publish less science appear to “borrow” more language from others than other, more scientifically prolific countries, according to a new small study. Using a novel approach of comparing a country’s total citations against its total published papers (CPP), the authors categorized 80 retractions from journals in general and internal medicine. This is a … Continue reading Is less publishing linked to more plagiarism?

Publisher bans authors for apparent plagiarism

Three authors have been banned from journals published by IGM Publication, including the Journal of Medical Science and Clinical Research. The ban — a relatively infrequent occurrence in publishing — comes after the publisher removed a 2014 article that seems to have merely changed the title and authors of a 2013 article  from another journal. When … Continue reading Publisher bans authors for apparent plagiarism

ASU prof placed on administrative leave following plagiarism charges

A faculty member at Arizona State University has been placed on leave while the university investigates charges against him. According to a spokesperson for ASU, Matthew Whitaker has been placed on administrative leave and relieved of all duties. The University will follow Arizona Board of Regents policy as it reviews allegations that his conduct has fallen short of … Continue reading ASU prof placed on administrative leave following plagiarism charges

Plagiarism count for mathematician updated to four papers

After we reported on a retraction for a 13-year old paper by Mohammed Aassila, a reader alerted us to two retractions and an editorial notice for the mathematician. Each of the notes is several years old. That makes a total of four problematic papers for Aassila. Each is plagued by the same thing: plagiarism. Here is … Continue reading Plagiarism count for mathematician updated to four papers

Lesson learned: “What makes a journal great?” essay pulled for plagiarism

In 2011, a Nigerian journal published an essay entitled “What Makes a Journal Great” by its newly appointed editor, outlining his editorial philosophy — a philosophy that apparently includes lifting text from another source. That’s right — the Nigerian Medical Journal is now retracting the essay by Francis A. Uba, a surgeon who currently is provost of the … Continue reading Lesson learned: “What makes a journal great?” essay pulled for plagiarism

Weekend reads: Backstabbing; plagiarism irony; preprints to the rescue

The week at Retraction Watch featured a call for the retraction of a paper in NEJM, and a withdrawal of a paper because authors couldn’t pay the page charges. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:

Thirteen-year-old mathematics paper retracted for plagiarism

A 2002 paper that investigates a kind of equation used to describe physical systems has been “has been detected to be a case of plagiarism.” Here’s the abstract of the Journal of Applied Mathematics and Physics (Zeitschrift für angewandte Mathematik und Physik) article, “Some blow-up results for a generalized Ginzburg-Landau equation,” We investigate the blow-up of the solution to … Continue reading Thirteen-year-old mathematics paper retracted for plagiarism

Paper on natural ways to fight cancer stem cells nixed for plagiarism

Expert Opinion on Therapeutic Patents has retracted a 2015 review article about natural fighters of cancer stem cells for reproducing “content to a high degree of similarity without appropriate attribution or acknowledgement” from a handful of papers. Although the editor and publisher pulled the paper, they did so with the cooperation of the authors, according to … Continue reading Paper on natural ways to fight cancer stem cells nixed for plagiarism

“Part of a paper that had already appeared”: Materials paper pulled for plagiarism

Microporous and Mesoporous Materials has retracted a 2015 paper after it was discovered the authors “have plagiarized part of a paper that had already appeared.” The paper, “Ionic liquid assisted synthesis of flexible and super-hydrophobic porous gels,” described the synthesis of a form of flexible aerogels “through a facile one-pot preparation,” according to the abstract. According … Continue reading “Part of a paper that had already appeared”: Materials paper pulled for plagiarism