Search Results for: elsevier

Weekend reads: Questions about Russian COVID-19 vaccine data; a p-value pledge; why one author removed her name from a paper

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: An Elsevier book chapter that claims COVID-19 came from space; … Continue reading Weekend reads: Questions about Russian COVID-19 vaccine data; a p-value pledge; why one author removed her name from a paper

Let me get this straight: You added a bunch of co-authors without their consent, and you couldn’t be bothered to include me?

This retraction reminds us of an old joke about food in the Borscht Belt resorts: It’s terrible, and such small portions! A group of researchers in Japan and Singapore objected to being included on a 2019 paper without their consent — and someone’s feelings appear to have been hurt for having been left off the … Continue reading Let me get this straight: You added a bunch of co-authors without their consent, and you couldn’t be bothered to include me?

Going cold turkey: Infectious disease-poultry researcher up to 14 retractions

Nine strikes in a row in bowling is called a “golden turkey.” So what do you call 10 papers on poultry pulled at once for plagiarism?  We first wrote about Sajid Umar in July 2018, when he’d lost a 2016 article in Scientifica for plagiarism and other sins, and then again earlier this summer when … Continue reading Going cold turkey: Infectious disease-poultry researcher up to 14 retractions

How did content from a hijacked journal end up in one of the world’s most-used databases?

Scopus is the world’s largest database of abstracts and citations, and calls itself “comprehensive,” “curated,” and “enriched.” But my recent experience with it suggests its curation could use some work. In October 2019, I discovered that the Scopus profile of the journal Transylvanian Review contained numerous faked articles. How did I know? A few years … Continue reading How did content from a hijacked journal end up in one of the world’s most-used databases?

Did a journal retract your paper on homeopathy? Meet the journal that will publish your complaint

A homeopathy journal that Elsevier dropped in the wake of concerns about excessive self-citation appears to have carved out a new niche for itself: self-pity.  In 2016, Homeopathy lost its slot on Thomson Reuters’s (now Clarivate’s)  influential journal rankings list after an analysis found that more than 70% of citations in the papers it published … Continue reading Did a journal retract your paper on homeopathy? Meet the journal that will publish your complaint

The ‘Iran Connection’: A ring of four research groups has published hundreds of dodgy papers, says whistleblower

A scheme of far-reaching research misconduct among several groups of Iranian researchers may have created hundreds of low-quality and fraudulent publications, according to a new detailed report by an anonymous whistleblower who has already forced the retraction of dozens of papers by one author in the ring. The whistleblower, who goes by the pseudonym Artemisia … Continue reading The ‘Iran Connection’: A ring of four research groups has published hundreds of dodgy papers, says whistleblower

Study rating attractiveness of women with endometriosis is not yet retracted

Despite media reports announcing the retraction of a much-criticized study of whether women with endometriosis were more attractive than other women, the study has yet to be retracted by the journal. Last week, several news outlets, picking up on a story in The Guardian, said the study, first published in 2012 in Fertility and Sterility, … Continue reading Study rating attractiveness of women with endometriosis is not yet retracted

A retraction and a retraction request as Twitter users call out sexism, fat-shaming, and racism

Overweight people are more dishonest, women with endometriosis are more attractive, and affirmative action needs to stop: Papers with these three conclusions have come under intense scrutiny on social media in recent days, with at least one retracted.  First up, a study — widely criticized for being sexist — which claimed to find that Women … Continue reading A retraction and a retraction request as Twitter users call out sexism, fat-shaming, and racism

Journal editor breaks protocol to thank an anonymous whistleblower

As Retraction Watch readers may recall, we’ve been highlighting — and championing — the work of anonymous whistleblowers throughout the 10-year history of the blog. Our support for such anonymity, however, is not universally shared.  In 2011, for example, in our column at Lab Times (unfortunately no longer online), we wrote:

A bitter aftertaste: Legal threats, alleged poisoning muddy the waters for a trial of a tea to treat malaria

Xavier Argemi first heard the claim that tea made from artemisia herbs could be useful in the treatment of malaria from a TV documentary in 2017. The documentary, featuring Lucile Cornet-Vernet, the director of the La Maison de l’Artemisia, a non-profit organization that grows artemisia and promotes its use in centers across Africa, focused on … Continue reading A bitter aftertaste: Legal threats, alleged poisoning muddy the waters for a trial of a tea to treat malaria