Search Results for: nature

Psychological Science retracts a Sanna paper, citing lawyers, COPE…and Retraction Watch

In April 2011, we praised Psychological Science for its handling of a retraction. At the time, we went as far as to call the retraction notice a “model” of transparency for other journals to follow. Well, they evidently took that compliment seriously, according to a new retraction notice for a paper by Lawrence Sanna. Sanna … Continue reading Psychological Science retracts a Sanna paper, citing lawyers, COPE…and Retraction Watch

What happens when a correction is retracted?

Seyed Rasoul Mousavi, assistant professor in the department of electrical and computer engineering at the Isfahan University of Technology in Khomeynīshahr, Iran, has been working on a way to help biologists assemble genomes with as little information as possible. Last year, Mousavi submitted a manuscript to the Journal of Theoretical Biology, received acceptance after peer review, … Continue reading What happens when a correction is retracted?

How can institutions prevent scientific misconduct?

There has been plenty of interest in scientific fraud and misconduct lately — and not just on Retraction Watch — from major news outlets and government agencies, among other parties. The rate of retractions is increasing, and some fraudsters are even setting new records. That has focused attention on how institutions can prevent misconduct — … Continue reading How can institutions prevent scientific misconduct?

Noteworthy: Journal posts all the corrections it wanted in a climate change paper after authors refuse most

In a case of refreshing transparency, a journal has published a detailed list of corrections it requested from authors of a paper on the costs of climate change, even though the authors declined to make most of them. Earlier this year, the journal Ecological Economics published a paper that cast some doubt on the FUND … Continue reading Noteworthy: Journal posts all the corrections it wanted in a climate change paper after authors refuse most

A first? Papers retracted for citation manipulation

In what appears to be a first, two papers have been retracted for including citations designed to help another journal improve its impact factor rankings. The articles in The Scientific World Journal cited papers in Cell Transplantation, which in turn appears to have cited to a high degree other journals with shared board members. Here’s … Continue reading A first? Papers retracted for citation manipulation

Confusion as JNCI yanks press release on embargoed breast density-cancer study after authors see error

An unusual note went out to reporters on the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (JNCI) press list yesterday: Please disregard this MTM, which was sent out on Friday June 29, 2012.  The data in the study changed so we are no longer putting out a press release for the study. The original release was … Continue reading Confusion as JNCI yanks press release on embargoed breast density-cancer study after authors see error

Does anesthesiology have a problem? Final version of report suggests Fujii will take retraction record, with 172

Japanese investigators have concluded that Yoshitaka Fujii, an expert in postoperative nausea and vomiting whose findings drew scrutiny in 2000 but who continued to publish prolifically for a decade after, fabricated his results in at least 172 published studies. That number nearly doubles that of the current unofficial retraction record holder, Joachim Boldt. An inquiry … Continue reading Does anesthesiology have a problem? Final version of report suggests Fujii will take retraction record, with 172

Authors retract PLoS Medicine foreign health aid paper that had criticized earlier Lancet study

On May 8, PLoS Medicine published a paper by Rajaie Batniji and Eran Bendavid of Stanford University, about “whether development assistance for health provided to developing country governments increases health expenditures.” That paper caught the eye of the Center for Global Development’s David Roodman. He began a May 14 blog post about the study, “The … Continue reading Authors retract PLoS Medicine foreign health aid paper that had criticized earlier Lancet study

Should Linus Pauling’s erroneous 1953 model of DNA be retracted?

We love history at Retraction Watch, but with few exceptions, such as covering what seems to have been the first-ever English language retraction in 1756, the daily march of retractions doesn’t leave us much time to take steps back. So we’re very glad to be able to present a guest post by our friend Jeff … Continue reading Should Linus Pauling’s erroneous 1953 model of DNA be retracted?

Catching up: Charges against CFS-XMRV researcher Mikovits dropped, ‘gyres’ author Andrulis publishes another paper

A follow-up on two stories we’ve covered here at Retraction Watch: 1. Criminal charges against chronic fatigue syndrome researcher dropped The state of Nevada has dropped criminal charges against Judy Mikovits, the embattled chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) researcher whose paper linking the condition to a virus, XMRV, was retracted last year by Science. As we … Continue reading Catching up: Charges against CFS-XMRV researcher Mikovits dropped, ‘gyres’ author Andrulis publishes another paper