Another retraction for grad student who specializes in plagiarism and forging co-authors’ names

We have an update on the case of Moêz Smiri, a graduate student working in a Tunisian-French laboratory, whose bold method of bulking up his CV  proved a bit trop ambitieux.  As we reported back in August 2011, Smiri had plagiarized repeatedly from previously-published work, and forged the names of co-authors, in a 2010 article in … Continue reading Another retraction for grad student who specializes in plagiarism and forging co-authors’ names

Plagiarism leads to retraction of liver cancer paper

The journal Digestion has a retraction notice that’s, well, an amusing morsel. At issue was a 2011 paper on a biomarker for liver cancer by a group of Turkish authors who plagiarized from the work of others. Here’s the notice for the article, titled “Diagnostic and Prognostic Validity of Golgi Protein 73 in Hepatocellular Carcinoma“:

Second helpings: Immunology journal retracts paper for plagiarism, then U Bari investigation reveals fraud

The journal Immunopharmacology and Immunotoxicology has retracted a 2011 paper by an Italian nursing researcher who lifted text and data from a previously published work, and made up results to fill gaps, too. Here’s the notice:

Astrophysics retraction trail includes paper that plagiarized another already retracted for…plagiarism

Sometimes, the full story of scientific misdeeds isn’t clear until several retraction notices appear. Take the case of a group of Vietnamese astrophysicists led by Thong Duc Le. If you were to read a Physics Letters B retraction notice about one of the group’s papers, “Search for cosmological time variation of the fine-structure constant using … Continue reading Astrophysics retraction trail includes paper that plagiarized another already retracted for…plagiarism

Plagiarism leads to seven retractions (and counting) in the conservation literature

An ecology researcher in the Congo has found himself at the center of a plagiarism scandal that has felled seven of his papers. As Science reports today, Serge Valentin Pangou’s work began unraveling in August 2011 after Wageningen University ecologist Patrick Jansen thought a paper he’d been asked to review for the International Journal of Biodiversity and Conservation … Continue reading Plagiarism leads to seven retractions (and counting) in the conservation literature

How to avoid retractions for plagiarism: Advice from a radiology journal editor (and arXiv)

Earlier this month, we highlighted the concerns of the editors of the ACS Nano journal about self-plagiarism, otherwise known as duplication. The editor of the American Journal of Roentgenology (AJR) — that’s radiology, for the uninitiated — has similar concerns, but about plagiarism of others’ work. In an editorial published in the journal’s January issue, Thomas Berquist notes: Preliminary data including … Continue reading How to avoid retractions for plagiarism: Advice from a radiology journal editor (and arXiv)

Plagiarism burns authors of fire safety paper

Safety science might not be the most crowded field, nor its eponymous journal the title on every marquee, but here’s a general rule for would-be plagiarists even in relatively obscure publications: Avoid lifting text from government reports and other publicly available references. (Well, don’t plagiarize at all, but you know what we mean.) Consider: The … Continue reading Plagiarism burns authors of fire safety paper

Rabies paper retracted for plagiarism, and more from the Journal of Clinical Pathology

A cardinal (if oft-broken) rule of headline writing is to avoid the use of question marks. We think it’s particularly important to do so when the potential for ironic misadventure lurks. To wit: The Journal of Clinical Pathology (JCP) has withdrawn/retracted a 2008 paper by a group of Indian authors (from the National Institute of … Continue reading Rabies paper retracted for plagiarism, and more from the Journal of Clinical Pathology

No small matter: ACS Nano journal growing alarmed by self-plagiarism

Is self-plagiarism — perhaps best referred to as duplication of your own work — a big problem in nanotechnology research? The American Chemical Society (ACS) Nano journal retracted a study, “Retraction of Nanoembossing Induced Ferroelectric Lithography on PZT Films for Silver Particle Patterning,”  late last month because of such duplication: This article was withdrawn at the request of … Continue reading No small matter: ACS Nano journal growing alarmed by self-plagiarism

JCO retracts article from major French cancer group over apparent plagiarism

The Journal of Clinical Oncology (JCO) has retracted a November 2011 editorial by a group of French cancer researchers, including David Khayat, the former head of that country’s National Cancer Institute, over what appears to be fairly extensive plagiarism. Here’s the notice for the article, “Lymphocyte Infiltration in Breast Cancer: A Key Prognostic Factor That Should … Continue reading JCO retracts article from major French cancer group over apparent plagiarism