Elsevier investigating papers after IEEE finds ‘self-plagiarism’

Following a complaint from a reader, editors at the U.S.-based publisher Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) determined the researchers behind two decade-old papers had committed “self-plagiarism,” charges the authors deny, Retraction Watch has learned. However, IEEE passed the buck on to Elsevier, which published one of the articles a month after IEEE had … Continue reading Elsevier investigating papers after IEEE finds ‘self-plagiarism’

Weekend reads: More allegations at Harvard; plagiarism euphemisms; citation cartels in math

Would you consider a donation to support Weekend Reads, and our daily work? The week at Retraction Watch featured: Our list of retracted or withdrawn COVID-19 papers is up to nearly 400. There are more than 46,000 retractions in The Retraction Watch Database — which is now part of Crossref. The Retraction Watch Hijacked Journal Checker now contains well over 200 titles. And … Continue reading Weekend reads: More allegations at Harvard; plagiarism euphemisms; citation cartels in math

Wiley reopens plagiarism case about dead researcher’s work

Zulfiqar Habib, dean of computer science at COMSATS University Islamabad, in Pakistan, was appalled when he discovered part of a former PhD student’s dissertation had been published in a scientific journal. After all, the former student, Kurshid Asghar, had been dead for more than a year by the time the manuscript was submitted to Security … Continue reading Wiley reopens plagiarism case about dead researcher’s work

Weekend reads: The future of a federal US watchdog; a publisher plans massive layoffs; the plagiarism arms race

Would you consider a donation to support Weekend Reads, and our daily work? The week at Retraction Watch featured: Our list of retracted or withdrawn COVID-19 papers is up to over 375. There are more than 46,000 retractions in The Retraction Watch Database — which is now part of Crossref. The Retraction Watch Hijacked Journal Checker now contains well over 200 titles. And … Continue reading Weekend reads: The future of a federal US watchdog; a publisher plans massive layoffs; the plagiarism arms race

Neri Oxman accused of lifting from article whose plagiarism led to downfall of concussion expert

Neri Oxman’s problems may be getting worse. The researcher, who has become embroiled in plagiarism accusations following her billionaire husband’s push to depose the president of Harvard for plagiarizing in her thesis, appears to have lifted about 100 words in her thesis from an article that has been plagiarized before. Last week, Business Insider reported … Continue reading Neri Oxman accused of lifting from article whose plagiarism led to downfall of concussion expert

Copy and euphemize: When ‘an honor mistake’ means plagiarism

Readers who have been with us for the long haul may remember we used to collect a catalog of our favorite euphemisms for plagiarism. That list died with the demise of Lab Times, for which we used to write a regular column (although we did write this piece a bit later) – but the magazine’s … Continue reading Copy and euphemize: When ‘an honor mistake’ means plagiarism

Author of ‘gibberish’ paper admits to extensive plagiarism

A paper that claimed to have developed a new method to predict acid drainage from mines was not so novel after all, according to one of its authors. In a series of emails to Retraction Watch, Dulian Zeqiraj of the Polytechnic University of Tirana, Albania, admitted to lifting figures and tables from other articles and … Continue reading Author of ‘gibberish’ paper admits to extensive plagiarism

Weekend reads: UK shadow chancellor accused of plagiarism; eLife editor fired; Elsevier editor resigns because publisher ignored likely paper mill activity

Would you consider a donation to support Weekend Reads, and our daily work? The week at Retraction Watch featured: Our list of retracted or withdrawn COVID-19 papers is up to well over 350. There are more than 43,000 retractions in The Retraction Watch Database — which is now part of Crossref. The Retraction Watch Hijacked Journal Checker now contains well over 200 … Continue reading Weekend reads: UK shadow chancellor accused of plagiarism; eLife editor fired; Elsevier editor resigns because publisher ignored likely paper mill activity

Professor who blamed plagiarism on ghostwriter to earn first retraction

A professor in France who plagiarized extensively in a review article and then blamed the offense on an undisclosed medical writer will lose the publication, Retraction Watch has learned. “We have decided to retract this paper,” Yi-Xiang Wang, editor-in-chief of Quantitative Imaging in Medicine and Surgery, told us by email. The move comes one day … Continue reading Professor who blamed plagiarism on ghostwriter to earn first retraction

Exclusive: Professor in France blames alleged ghostwriter for plagiarism

A professor of interventional radiology in France pointed the finger at an alleged ghostwriter after he was caught plagiarizing large portions of text in a review article, Retraction Watch has learned. “After careful checking, I noticed that I am not the author of this paper despite my first authorship since it has been written by … Continue reading Exclusive: Professor in France blames alleged ghostwriter for plagiarism