Search Results for: elsevier

Journal retracts paper listed on authorship for sale site following Retraction Watch report

An Elsevier journal has retracted a paper that was listed by a firm claiming to sell authorships months after we reported on the site. On Sept. 7, 2021, we published a story about the company, Teziran. On Sept. 14, pseudonymous sleuth Artemisia Stricta wrote to Ioannis Ieropoulos, the editor of Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments, … Continue reading Journal retracts paper listed on authorship for sale site following Retraction Watch report

A college that doesn’t exist. An email address that goes dark. Who wrote this paper?

Alexander Templeton works at the math library of Glen Liberty Community College in Scottsbluff, Nebraska. At least that’s what a paper, “A bibliometric analysis of Atangana-Baleanu operators in fractional calculus,” Templeton appears to have published in the Alexandria Engineering Journal claims. But no Glen Liberty Community College appears to exist in Scottsbluff – or anywhere … Continue reading A college that doesn’t exist. An email address that goes dark. Who wrote this paper?

Another ivermectin-COVID-19 paper is retracted

A paper on the potential use of ivermectin to treat Covid-19 has been retracted for a litany of flaws, joining at least 10 other articles on the therapy some liked to promote without evidence to fall.  The article was part of a special issue of Toxicology Reports on Covid-19 that has received an expression of … Continue reading Another ivermectin-COVID-19 paper is retracted

Weekend reads: ‘The science crisis’; Peru president plagiarism probe; does a Nature cover help or hurt citations?

Would you consider a donation to support Weekend Reads, and our daily work? Thanks in advance. The week at Retraction Watch featured: Elsevier retracts papers when it realizes one of the authors hid fact he was guest editor of issue UPenn prof retracts three papers for ‘substantive questions’ Our list of retracted or withdrawn COVID-19 papers … Continue reading Weekend reads: ‘The science crisis’; Peru president plagiarism probe; does a Nature cover help or hurt citations?

Study on reducing parents’ anxiety about children’s circumcision retracted

A pair of researchers in Turkey have lost a 2021 paper on a randomized controlled trial in pediatric surgery after a reader raised concerns about the methodology reported in the article. However, the retraction notice – detailed though it might be – reveals that the problems could, and likely should, have been caught during peer … Continue reading Study on reducing parents’ anxiety about children’s circumcision retracted

Journals acknowledge that a critical “reader” has a name: Elisabeth Bik

Followers of this blog know that “a reader” seems to be the force behind a huge number of retractions – and that, despite the apparent unwillingness of journals to name them, they are real people. One of the more prolific “readers” is Elisabeth Bik, the data sleuth whose efforts to identify problematic images has led … Continue reading Journals acknowledge that a critical “reader” has a name: Elisabeth Bik

Engineers’ research starts to look shaky as retractions mount

A group of structural engineering researchers based in Iran has lost at least five papers for problems with the data – and a data sleuth says more look shaky, too.  Four of the articles appeared in Construction and Building Materials between 2018 and 2020 and were written by a changing cast of characters with two … Continue reading Engineers’ research starts to look shaky as retractions mount

Journal editor explains ban on manuscripts from Russian institutions

Earlier this week, a scientist in Russia posted, on Facebook, part of a letter rejecting a manuscript explaining that “the editors of the Journal of Molecular Structure made a decision to ban the manuscripts submitted from Russian institutions.” That move was confirmed by Richard van Noorden of Nature. Here, in an email he sent to … Continue reading Journal editor explains ban on manuscripts from Russian institutions

Weekend reads: ‘Published crap;’ randomized grant awards; ‘Problems in Science Publishing’

Would you consider a donation to support Weekend Reads, and our daily work? Thanks in advance. The week at Retraction Watch featured: How to find evidence of paper mills using peer review comments Journal retracts a paper it published with a missing table after author fails to provide it Which takes longer to produce: An infant … Continue reading Weekend reads: ‘Published crap;’ randomized grant awards; ‘Problems in Science Publishing’

Which takes longer to produce: An infant who can sit on his own, or a retraction?

Joe Hilgard’s son wasn’t even a twinkle in his father’s sharp eye for bad data when an Elsevier journal notified the social psychologist that it intended to retract a 2015 article he’d flagged on the link between exposure to violent media and aggression in adolescents.  Well, the journal has finally retracted the paper – but … Continue reading Which takes longer to produce: An infant who can sit on his own, or a retraction?