Weekend reads, double edition: Scamming journals to publish gibberish; a whole issue with nothing but retractions; ‘the unbearable lightness of scientometric indices’

Welcome to another edition of Weekend Reads. Because our site was down for several days starting last Saturday morning, there was no Weekend Reads last week, and this is a double edition. Before we present this week’s Weekend Reads, a question: Do you enjoy our weekly roundup? If so, we could really use your help. … Continue reading Weekend reads, double edition: Scamming journals to publish gibberish; a whole issue with nothing but retractions; ‘the unbearable lightness of scientometric indices’

IEEE retracts plagiarized paper after Retraction Watch inquiries

The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers  (IEEE) has retracted a paper it published in 2006 that was identical to another paper it published that same year. We learned of the two identical papers — both titled “Delay-dependent robust stability of uncertain discrete singular time-delay systems,” one published in the Proceedings of the 2006 American … Continue reading IEEE retracts plagiarized paper after Retraction Watch inquiries

Weekend reads: Attacks on scientists; NAS ousts researcher; how much it costs to publish

Before we present this week’s Weekend Reads, a question: Do you enjoy our weekly roundup? If so, we could really use your help. Would you consider a tax-deductible donation to support Weekend Reads, and our daily work? Thanks in advance. The week at Retraction Watch featured: Journal distances itself from cash for citations scheme after Retraction … Continue reading Weekend reads: Attacks on scientists; NAS ousts researcher; how much it costs to publish

Retraction of review of broccoli’s health benefits is 22nd for deceased author, 5th for one of his postdocs

Broccoli almost certainly is good for you — but just how good might have taken a bit of a hit with the retraction of a 12-year-old review on the vegetable’s health benefits by a notorious fraudster.  By our count, the retraction, which appeared in July, marks the 22nd for Das, formerly of the University of … Continue reading Retraction of review of broccoli’s health benefits is 22nd for deceased author, 5th for one of his postdocs

Weekend reads: Vaccine-myocarditis preprint withdrawn; are citations worth $100,000 each?; the lesson of ivermectin

Before we present this week’s Weekend Reads, a question: Do you enjoy our weekly roundup? If so, we could really use your help. Would you consider a tax-deductible donation to support Weekend Reads, and our daily work? Thanks in advance. The week at Retraction Watch featured: Four papers by Athira CEO earn expressions of concern Alzheimer’s … Continue reading Weekend reads: Vaccine-myocarditis preprint withdrawn; are citations worth $100,000 each?; the lesson of ivermectin

Weekend reads: The ‘plagiarism hunter’; targeting academics over grant fraud; data manipulation at the World Bank

Before we present this week’s Weekend Reads, a question: Do you enjoy our weekly roundup? If so, we could really use your help. Would you consider a tax-deductible donation to support Weekend Reads, and our daily work? Thanks in advance. The week at Retraction Watch featured: Publisher investigating all of an author’s papers following reporting by … Continue reading Weekend reads: The ‘plagiarism hunter’; targeting academics over grant fraud; data manipulation at the World Bank

Weekend reads: A ‘hoax paper’ author resigns; Uyghur DNA papers retracted; a year without p values

Before we present this week’s Weekend Reads, a question: Do you enjoy our weekly roundup? If so, we could really use your help. Would you consider a tax-deductible donation to support Weekend Reads, and our daily work? Thanks in advance. The week at Retraction Watch featured: Introducing two sites that claim to sell authorships on scientific … Continue reading Weekend reads: A ‘hoax paper’ author resigns; Uyghur DNA papers retracted; a year without p values

University orders PhD supervisor to retract paper that plagiarized his student

A researcher at the University of Newcastle in Australia plagiarized a former student’s thesis, according to a summary of a university investigation obtained by Retraction Watch. Andy Eamens, who at least until recently was an agronomy researcher at Newcastle, published a paper in 2019 that included work by Kate Hutcheon, whose PhD work he supervised, … Continue reading University orders PhD supervisor to retract paper that plagiarized his student

Weekend reads: A deep dive into a problematic study of ivermectin; how journals respond to allegations; prison and now scrutiny

Before we present this week’s Weekend Reads, a question: Do you enjoy our weekly roundup? If so, we could really use your help. Would you consider a tax-deductible donation to support Weekend Reads, and our daily work? Thanks in advance. The week at Retraction Watch featured: Publisher retracting more than 30 articles from paper mills COVID-19 … Continue reading Weekend reads: A deep dive into a problematic study of ivermectin; how journals respond to allegations; prison and now scrutiny

Publisher offers cash for citations

Worried about scarce research funding? Does the prospect of paying rent on that meager post-doc salary keep you up at night? Fear no more!  Innoscience Research in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to the rescue. The company has launched an innovative (read: shady) scheme to pay researchers to cite studies from several journals it controls. How much … Continue reading Publisher offers cash for citations