Search Results for: idea retraction notice

Author of retracted math paper defends against plagiarism charge, threatens to sue journal

A researcher in Egypt is threatening to sue a mathematics journal if it doesn’t un-retract one of his papers. The American Journal of Computational Mathematics in May retracted Mostafa M. A. Khater‘s 2015 paper, “The Modified Simple Equation Method and Its Applications in Mathematical Physics and Biology.” The retraction notice is sparse on the details, indicating … Continue reading Author of retracted math paper defends against plagiarism charge, threatens to sue journal

You’ve been dupe’d: Results so nice, journals published them twice

With so many retraction notices pouring in, from time to time we compile a handful of straight-forward retractions. Once again, this list focuses on duplications — but unlike other duplications, these authors were not at fault. Rather, these retractions occurred because the publishers mistakenly published the same paper twice — the result of a transfer … Continue reading You’ve been dupe’d: Results so nice, journals published them twice

Authors retract study that found pollution near fracking sites

The authors of two environmental papers, including one about the effects of fracking on human health, have retracted them after discovering crucial mistakes. One of the studies reported an increased level of air pollution near gas extraction sites, and the other suggested that 2010’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico contributed to air contamination. … Continue reading Authors retract study that found pollution near fracking sites

Authors retract PNAS paper suggesting silk stabilizes vaccines

A PNAS paper that caught the media’s attention for suggesting that adding silk could stabilize vaccines and antibiotics has been pulled after the authors realized there were significant errors in the data analysis.  According to the notice, the authors agreed to retract the 2012 paper; however, the corresponding author told us the authors did not think a … Continue reading Authors retract PNAS paper suggesting silk stabilizes vaccines

Biologist critiques own paper, journal retracts it — against her wishes

The journal Evolution has retracted a 2007 paper about the roles of the different sexes in searching for mates, after the same author critiqued the work in a later paper.  The case raises important questions about when retractions are appropriate, and whether they can have a chilling effect on scientific discourse. Although Hanna Kokko of the University … Continue reading Biologist critiques own paper, journal retracts it — against her wishes

Communications researcher loses two book chapters, investigated for plagiarism

A researcher who studies how others communicate is struggling with his own communications: Peter J. Schulz has lost two book chapters for misappropriating the work of others, and is under investigation by his university. Although the publisher believes the errors were unintentional, the retractions have prompted it to stop selling the books altogether. Schulz now has a total of … Continue reading Communications researcher loses two book chapters, investigated for plagiarism

Neuroscience journal retracts paper for lack of “scientific soundness”

An unusual article that considered the concept of change from a systems perspective — including change in medicine, economics, and decision-making, for instance — has, well, changed from “published” to “retracted.” After commenters on PubPeer called the 2014 paper “gibberish” and even suggested it might be computer-generated, Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience retracted it, noting it “does not meet the … Continue reading Neuroscience journal retracts paper for lack of “scientific soundness”

“A big mistake:” Paper about the dangers of Wi-Fi pulled for plagiarism

A report that presents guidelines for treating people allegedly harmed by signals from Wi-Fi and mobile phones was pulled two weeks after publication for plagiarism. However, the retraction note, published in the March issue of Reviews on Environmental Health, doesn’t use the word “plagiarism,” and instead blames the move on lost citations and errors. The editor of the journal, David Carpenter, told us … Continue reading “A big mistake:” Paper about the dangers of Wi-Fi pulled for plagiarism

Duplicate publication uprooted from plant journal

The American Journal of Plant Sciences has retracted a duplicate publication — and is considerately describing what happened in a checklist that accompanies the retraction note. The checklist is similar to one that friend of Retraction Watch Hervé Maisonneuve has proposed to the Committee on Publication Ethics. The retracted paper shares one author with the paper that it duplicated … Continue reading Duplicate publication uprooted from plant journal

“That was a really bad Friday for us:” WIRED warns four stories were plagiarized

Last Friday, WIRED editor Adam Rogers got a direct message on Twitter that no journalist wants to see. Christina Larson, a freelance writer in China, told him she had seen overlap with her own work in a few WIRED stories, and included links to the relevant pieces. “She was gracious, just asking for a link … Continue reading “That was a really bad Friday for us:” WIRED warns four stories were plagiarized