Search Results for: authorship

Spider researcher uses legal threats, public records requests to prevent retractions

The case of Jonathan Pruitt, a spider researcher suspected of fabricating data in potentially dozens of studies, keeps getting weirder.  Pruitt, according to our count, now has six retractions. Currently associate professor and Canada 150 Research Chair at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, he made a name for himself by providing other scientists with field … Continue reading Spider researcher uses legal threats, public records requests to prevent retractions

Weekend reads: Unprofessional behavior in peer reviews; what to do when you’re wrong; an update on the ‘Space Dentist’

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. We turned 10 years old on Monday. Here’s a brief history, and 10 takeaways from 10 … Continue reading Weekend reads: Unprofessional behavior in peer reviews; what to do when you’re wrong; an update on the ‘Space Dentist’

Ten takeaways from ten years at Retraction Watch

As we celebrate our tenth birthday and look forward to our second decade, we thought it would be a good time to take stock and reflect on some lessons we — and others — have learned. Retractions are more common than we — or anyone else — thought they were. Two decades ago, journals were … Continue reading Ten takeaways from ten years at Retraction Watch

Weekend reads: Why science needs red teams; when clinical trial participants lie; kids cheating in science fairs?

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: A paper on vaccines in Nigeria retracted because its author … Continue reading Weekend reads: Why science needs red teams; when clinical trial participants lie; kids cheating in science fairs?

Fowl play? Poultry researcher has two more papers retracted for “grave mistakes”

The journal Poultry Science has retracted two papers for authorship issues.  The first author on both articles was Sajid Umar, of the Arid Agriculture University, in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, who now has lost at least four papers for similar reasons.  One article, from 2016, was titled “Synergistic effects of thymoquinone and curcumin on immune response and … Continue reading Fowl play? Poultry researcher has two more papers retracted for “grave mistakes”

“I am the first one to regret not being more careful in the first place”: Paper on rat semen retracted

A journal has retracted a paper on the semen of diabetic rats after learning about problems with authorship, and possibly more.  Physiology International, which also is called Acta Physiologica Hungarica, published the article, “The effects of sericin in recovering spermatogenesis and sexual hormone levels in diabetic rats,” in 2019. The first author was Ali Olfati, … Continue reading “I am the first one to regret not being more careful in the first place”: Paper on rat semen retracted

The case of the stolen journal

When you think of valuable items to steal, you might imagine cash, cars, or jewelry. But what about journals? That’s what my colleagues and I from Disseropedia, the journals project of Dissernet, which was created to fight plagiarism in Russia, recently found. The story begins when my Dissernet colleague Andrei Rostovtsev discovered several cases of … Continue reading The case of the stolen journal

Weekend reads: Sexism in a medical textbook; proof Reviewer 2 is a jerk; COVID-19 and research misconduct

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: the retraction of a paper that editors called “deeply offensive … Continue reading Weekend reads: Sexism in a medical textbook; proof Reviewer 2 is a jerk; COVID-19 and research misconduct

An influential osteoporosis study is “likely fraudulent” — but not retracted

Alison Avenell first came across The Yamaguchi Osteoporosis Study (YOPS) when she was working on a 2014 Cochrane Review on bone fractures. She cited the study but felt something was off about it. “I suppose, together with my collaborators over the years, we developed sort of antennae for rather suspicious looking studies,” Avenell, of the … Continue reading An influential osteoporosis study is “likely fraudulent” — but not retracted

Tortuous and torturous: Why publishing a critical letter to the editor is so difficult

Often, when confronted with allegations of errors in papers they have published, journal editors encourage researchers to submit letters to the editor. Based on what we hear from such letter writers, however, the journals don’t make publication an easy process. Here’s one such story from a group at Indiana University: Luis M. Mestre, Stephanie L. … Continue reading Tortuous and torturous: Why publishing a critical letter to the editor is so difficult