Authors of a 2016 cancer paper have retracted it after finding an error in one line of code in the program used to calculate some of the results. Sarah Darby, last author of the now-retracted paper from the University of Oxford, UK, told Retraction Watch that the mistake was made by a doctoral student. When … Continue reading Error in one line of code sinks cancer study
An electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) journal has retracted two 2016 papers after uncovering problems in the data analyses, which the author says were due to language barriers. Interestingly, two authors of the newly retracted papers — Yu-Tao Xiang from the University of Macau in China and Gabor Ungvari from the University of Western Australia — also … Continue reading Authors retract two papers on shock therapy, citing language barriers
John Ioannidis, a professor at Stanford University and one of the most highly cited researchers in the world, has come up with some startling figures about meta-analyses. His new paper, published today in Milbank Quarterly (accompanied by this commentary), suggests that the number of systematic reviews and meta-analyses in literature have each increased by more … Continue reading We have an epidemic of deeply flawed meta-analyses, says John Ioannidis
The Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC) has retracted a recently published paper that questioned the effectiveness of a treatment for irregular heartbeat, against the last author’s wishes. Andrea Natale, the study’s last and corresponding author and Executive Medical Director of Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia at Austin, took to social media today to express his frustration in the … Continue reading Author objects to retraction of heart study, implies industry played role
An anesthesia journal has retracted a paper after an author admitted that the study did not obtain appropriate consent from patients receiving a neuromuscular block in muscles on the face and hands. The first author, Yuhji Saitoh, has the same name as a co-author of Yoshitaka Fujii, the all-time record holder with 183 retractions listed on … Continue reading Anesthesia journal pulls study lacking patient consent
A journal has retracted the results of a clinical trial comparing strategies for bladder tumors after the authors mischaracterized the way patients were assigned to each procedure. In addition, the journal European Urology has pulled a string of correspondence between author Harry Herr at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and an outside expert, who had questioned … Continue reading Collateral damage: Paper — and editorial, and author’s response — retracted in one fell swoop
PLOS ONE has retracted three papers after the first author admitted to submitting the manuscripts without co-authors’ consent, and an investigation suggested that two out of the three papers had received faked reviews. Last August, the same author — Lishan Wang of the Shanghai Jiao Tong University — lost two more papers (one in Tumor Biology and … Continue reading Author loses five papers, most for “compromised” peer review
The week at Retraction Watch saw news of a settled lawsuit, and had us celebrating our sixth anniversary with the announcement of a new partnership. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:
As we’ve said before, with hundreds of retractions per year, there are simply too many for us to cover individually. So from time to time we’ll compile a list of retractions that appeared relatively straightforward, just for record-keeping purposes. Often, these seemingly straightforward retractions involve duplications, in which authors — accidentally or on purpose — … Continue reading You’ve been dupe’d: Nice data — let’s see them again
It’s rare for the U.S. government to revoke grants – but it happened recently, according to a report this week by the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting (KyCIR). As the report notes, in March the government revoked $914,000 in funding awarded to Susan Harkema at the University of Louisville in Kentucky, after discovering problems with a study … Continue reading Doctor who blew whistle on defunded study speaks