Authors questioning papers at nearly two dozen journals in wake of spider paper retraction

Talk about a tangled web. The retraction earlier this month of a 2016 paper in the American Naturalist by Kate Laskowski and Jonathan Pruitt turns out to be the tip of what is potentially a very large iceberg.  This week, the researchers have retracted a second paper, this one in the Proceedings of the Royal … Continue reading Authors questioning papers at nearly two dozen journals in wake of spider paper retraction

Duplicated study of apologizers leads to a retraction — and an apology

The Journal of Consumer Research has retracted a 2019 paper because it overlapped significantly with a study previously published in Chinese by the same authors. But whether both authors agreed to the previous submission is a subject of some confusion on the part of one of them. The journal, published by Oxford Academic, added “RETRACTED” … Continue reading Duplicated study of apologizers leads to a retraction — and an apology

Weekend reads: An ugly fight in nutrition research; embezzling scientists; eyebrow-raising papers in China

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 new member of the 100-retraction club; A reviewer caught … Continue reading Weekend reads: An ugly fight in nutrition research; embezzling scientists; eyebrow-raising papers in China

Tired of waiting for a university, a publisher commissions its own investigation — and retracts two papers

The journal Diabetes has retracted two 2006 papers by a group of researchers in Germany whose work has long been the subject of concerns about image duplication and manipulation.  The first author of the articles is Kathrin Maedler, a prominent diabetes specialist at the University of Bremen, where she’d been a named professor but lost … Continue reading Tired of waiting for a university, a publisher commissions its own investigation — and retracts two papers

Georgia State researcher up to nine retractions disagrees with the journal

A prominent researcher at Georgia State University who had two papers retracted and eight subjected to expressions of concern for problematic images last year is now up to nine retractions. Ming-Hui Zou is the common author on all nine retracted papers, which were published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry from 2003 and 2010. Of … Continue reading Georgia State researcher up to nine retractions disagrees with the journal

Weekend reads: 800 retractions from Russia; paying to publish in Vietnam; a retraction involving Facebook, political misinformation, and Teen Vogue

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: Crossfit being awarded $4 million in sanctions in a case … Continue reading Weekend reads: 800 retractions from Russia; paying to publish in Vietnam; a retraction involving Facebook, political misinformation, and Teen Vogue

‘A satisfactory explanation was not provided’: Physicists in India lose third paper

A team of physicists in India has notched their third retraction for problematic images and other issues that also have prompted at least four corrections of their work.  The authors, Sk. Shahenoor Basha, of the Solid State Ionics Laboratory at KL University in Guntur, and M.C. Rao, of Andhra Loyola College in Vijayawada, have lost … Continue reading ‘A satisfactory explanation was not provided’: Physicists in India lose third paper

A ‘stress test’ for journals: What happened when authors tried to republish a Nature paper more than 600 times?

Journal stings come in various shapes and sizes. There are the hilarious ones in which authors manage to get papers based on Seinfeld or Star Wars published. There are those that play a role in the culture wars. And then there are some on a massive scale, with statistical analyses. That’s how we’d describe the … Continue reading A ‘stress test’ for journals: What happened when authors tried to republish a Nature paper more than 600 times?

Endocrinology researcher in South Korea scores four retractions in a year

Hueng-Sik Choi, a researcher at Chonnam National University in Gwangju in South Korea, is up to four retractions for image manipulation. The latest retraction for Choi, for a 2006 paper titled “Orphan nuclear receptor Nur77 induces zinc finger protein GIOT-1 gene expression, and GIOT-1 acts as a novel corepressor of orphan nuclear receptor SF-1 via … Continue reading Endocrinology researcher in South Korea scores four retractions in a year

Weekend reads: 100 fake professors; study on police killings retracted; false data won’t scuttle company buyout

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 top retractions of 2019; Two retractions and three corrections … Continue reading Weekend reads: 100 fake professors; study on police killings retracted; false data won’t scuttle company buyout