Search Results for: sting

Elsevier says “integrity and rigor” of peer review for 400 papers fell “beneath the high standards expected”

Elsevier says it is reassessing its procedures for special issues after one of its journals issued expressions of concern for six such publications, involving as many as 400 articles, over worries that the peer review process was compromised.  The journal, Microprocessors & Microsystems, published the special issues using guest editors.   The EoCs vary slightly, but … Continue reading Elsevier says “integrity and rigor” of peer review for 400 papers fell “beneath the high standards expected”

Researchers forfeit $10,000 award when paper’s findings can’t be replicated

The authors of a prizewinning paper on how large financial institutions hedge risk have retracted their article and have returned the award after another researcher could not replicate the findings.  The paper, “Risk Management in Financial Institutions,” was published in 2019 in the Journal of Finance by a group from Duke University, in Durham, N.C., … Continue reading Researchers forfeit $10,000 award when paper’s findings can’t be replicated

University terminates affiliation with researcher who had paper on COVID-19 vaccines retracted as mask study comes under scrutiny

A researcher who co-authored a now-retracted paper claiming that two vaccinated people died of COVID-19 for every three deaths prevented has had an affiliation with a Polish university terminated. Yesterday, Poznan University tweeted about the researcher, Harald Walach: Today, it confirmed the move in a statement:

Weekend reads: Fraud in gaming vs. fraud in science; ‘a scholarly screw-up of biblical proportions’; pregnant male rats

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 fig leaf that doesn’t quite cover up’: Commission says … Continue reading Weekend reads: Fraud in gaming vs. fraud in science; ‘a scholarly screw-up of biblical proportions’; pregnant male rats

A scientist critic was sued, and won — but did not emerge unscathed. This is his story.

Retraction Watch readers may be familiar with the name David Sanders. Sanders, a biologist at Purdue University, has become a scientific sleuth, ferreting out problems in numerous papers. In one of those cases, that of Ohio State University professor Carlo Croce, Sanders ended up being sued — before an article in which he was quoted … Continue reading A scientist critic was sued, and won — but did not emerge unscathed. This is his story.

Ten journals denied 2020 Impact Factors because of excessive self-citation or “citation stacking”

Clarivate, the company behind the Impact Factor, a closely watched — and controversial — metric, is calling out more than 20 journals for unusual citation patterns. The 21 journals — 10 of which were suppressed, meaning they will not receive an Impact Factor in 2020, and 11 of which received an expression of concern — … Continue reading Ten journals denied 2020 Impact Factors because of excessive self-citation or “citation stacking”

Paper claiming two deaths from COVID-19 vaccination for every three prevented cases earns expression of concern

A study published last week that quickly became another flashpoint for those arguing that COVID-19 vaccines are unsafe has earned an expression of concern. [Please see an update on this post; the paper has been retracted.] The original paper, published in the MDPI title Vaccines, claimed that: The number of cases experiencing adverse reactions has been … Continue reading Paper claiming two deaths from COVID-19 vaccination for every three prevented cases earns expression of concern

Britney Spears story prompts apology from Nature and author

Britney Spears has, as Retraction Watch readers no doubt know, been in the news a great deal lately, as the battle over her father’s “broad control over her life and finances” plays out in court. But a science fiction story about Spears that published in Nature in 2008 — the year Spears’ father was appointed … Continue reading Britney Spears story prompts apology from Nature and author

Widely covered paper on ranitidine-cancer link retracted

A paper linking the use of a wildly popular drug for heartburn to cancer has been retracted after the authors concluded that their widely touted finding appears to have resulted from a hiccup in the way they conducted their testing.  The 2016 article, in Carcinogenesis, has played a minor role in an ongoing class action … Continue reading Widely covered paper on ranitidine-cancer link retracted

Publisher retracts 20 of a researcher’s papers — then asks him to peer review

Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me. So the saying goes.  What about fool me 20 times? In December of last year, Dove Press — a unit of Taylor & Francis — retracted 14 papers by Marty Hinz, a Minnesota physician who has been sanctioned by the U.S. FDA as … Continue reading Publisher retracts 20 of a researcher’s papers — then asks him to peer review