Search Results for: author ban

Scientist blames grad student for gibberish book chapter — a charge she calls ‘crazy’

The senior author of a book chapter in the 2020 volume that Springer Nature has retracted for plagiarism has blamed a former grad student from Cuba in the affair — a charge she dismisses as “crazy.”  The chapter was retracted nearly 10 months after readers pointed out passages that had appeared to have been churned … Continue reading Scientist blames grad student for gibberish book chapter — a charge she calls ‘crazy’

Weekend reads: A lawsuit over a cell line; criminal charges for a science agency; nonsense in prestigious journals

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: Leading marine ecologist, now White House official, violated prominent journal’s … Continue reading Weekend reads: A lawsuit over a cell line; criminal charges for a science agency; nonsense in prestigious journals

Criticism engulfs paper claiming an asteroid destroyed Biblical Sodom and Gomorrah

Scientific Reports is taking heat on social media and from data sleuths for publishing a paper implying that the Biblical story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah might have been the retelling of the devastation wrought by an exploding asteroid in or around the year 1,650 BCE.  To the lay reader — and to … Continue reading Criticism engulfs paper claiming an asteroid destroyed Biblical Sodom and Gomorrah

Paper that ripped off a PhD thesis is retracted

The authors of a 2021 article on “cognitive radio” have lost the paper after the journal learned that they’d pilfered the work from a doctoral dissertation. “A Cluster-Based Distributed Cooperative Spectrum Sensing Techniques in Cognitive Radio”  was published in the proceedings of the 2020 International Conference on Innovative Data Communication Technologies and Application, which was … Continue reading Paper that ripped off a PhD thesis is retracted

Springer Nature slaps more than 400 papers with expressions of concern all at once

A total of 436 papers in two Springer Nature journals are being subjected to expressions of concern, in the latest case of special issues — in this case, “topical collections” — likely being exploited by rogue editors or impersonators. The move follows the discovery, as we reported in August, of more than 70 papers in … Continue reading Springer Nature slaps more than 400 papers with expressions of concern all at once

Scale whose copyright owner defends zealously falls under scrutiny — and journal takes two years to publish a critique

As long-time readers of this blog know, we’ve spilled more than a few pixels on the work of Donald Morisky. His Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS) has been a financial boon to himself — and the bane of many researchers who have been forced to either retract papers or pay Morisky what they consider to … Continue reading Scale whose copyright owner defends zealously falls under scrutiny — and journal takes two years to publish a critique

“Fabulous document”, “very helpful guidance”: Sleuths react to recommendations for handling image integrity issues

Retraction Watch readers are likely familiar with the varied — and often unsatisfying — responses of journals to scientific sleuthing that uncovers potential problems with published images. Some editors take the issues seriously, even hiring staff to respond to allegations and vet manuscripts before publication. Some, however, take years to handle the allegations, or ignore … Continue reading “Fabulous document”, “very helpful guidance”: Sleuths react to recommendations for handling image integrity issues

University orders PhD supervisor to retract paper that plagiarized his student

A researcher at the University of Newcastle in Australia plagiarized a former student’s thesis, according to a summary of a university investigation obtained by Retraction Watch. Andy Eamens, who at least until recently was an agronomy researcher at Newcastle, published a paper in 2019 that included work by Kate Hutcheon, whose PhD work he supervised, … Continue reading University orders PhD supervisor to retract paper that plagiarized his student

Publisher offers cash for citations

Worried about scarce research funding? Does the prospect of paying rent on that meager post-doc salary keep you up at night? Fear no more!  Innoscience Research in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to the rescue. The company has launched an innovative (read: shady) scheme to pay researchers to cite studies from several journals it controls. How much … Continue reading Publisher offers cash for citations

Guest editor says journal will retract dozens of inappropriate papers after his email was hacked

What do aerobics and dance training have to do with geology? If that sounds like an odd question, take a look at more than 70 articles in a special collection of the Arabian Journal of Geosciences, published by Springer Nature, with titles such as: