Search Results for: elsevier

Brand researchers have a second study retracted due to data “anomalies”

Three researchers who study consumers’ relationships with brands have lost their second paper, this one a study which sought to explain why some people buy things to relieve inner conflicts, because of “data and analysis anomalies.” The study, “Identity Threats, Compensatory Consumption, and Working Memory Capacity: How Feeling Threatened Leads to Heightened Evaluations of Identity-Relevant … Continue reading Brand researchers have a second study retracted due to data “anomalies”

“Where there are girls, there are cats” returns, with a new title

The cats are back.  As promised, Biological Conservation has replaced a controversial paper on feral cats in China whose cringeworthy title — “Where there are girls, there are cats” — prompted an outcry on social media that resulted in a temporary retraction.  The new article boasts a different, non-gendered title: “Understanding how free-ranging cats interact … Continue reading “Where there are girls, there are cats” returns, with a new title

Weekend reads: Sexism in a medical textbook; proof Reviewer 2 is a jerk; COVID-19 and research misconduct

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 retraction of a paper that editors called “deeply offensive … Continue reading Weekend reads: Sexism in a medical textbook; proof Reviewer 2 is a jerk; COVID-19 and research misconduct

An influential osteoporosis study is “likely fraudulent” — but not retracted

Alison Avenell first came across The Yamaguchi Osteoporosis Study (YOPS) when she was working on a 2014 Cochrane Review on bone fractures. She cited the study but felt something was off about it. “I suppose, together with my collaborators over the years, we developed sort of antennae for rather suspicious looking studies,” Avenell, of the … Continue reading An influential osteoporosis study is “likely fraudulent” — but not retracted

A two-year drama: The anatomy of a retraction request

For more than a decade, I have been working with colleagues to request retractions from editors and publishers for plagiarizing articles, mostly in my discipline of philosophy and related fields. But almost two years ago I requested a retraction from a seismology journal. Since I have no training in the science of earthquakes, how did … Continue reading A two-year drama: The anatomy of a retraction request

Major indexing service sounds alarm on self-citations by nearly 50 journals

More than 70% of the citations in one journal were to other papers in that journal. Another published a single paper that cited nearly 200 other articles in the journal. Now, Clarivate, the company behind the Impact Factor, is taking steps to fight such behavior, suppressing 33 journals from their indexing service and subjecting 15 … Continue reading Major indexing service sounds alarm on self-citations by nearly 50 journals

Journal calls 2012 paper “deeply offensive to particular minorities”

An Elsevier journal plans to issue a retraction notice this week about a widely criticized 2012 paper claiming to find links between skin color, aggression, and sexuality. Earlier this month, we reported that the journal, Personality and Individual Differences (PAID), would retract the study “Do pigmentation and the melanocortin system modulate aggression and sexuality in … Continue reading Journal calls 2012 paper “deeply offensive to particular minorities”

Journal temporarily withdraws COVID-19 “labor cage” study

A study whose title suggested an “effective” way to give birth during the coronavirus pandemic has been temporarily retracted because the publisher says the word “effective” was included in the title by accident. The method (pictured above) involved an enclosed, transparent chamber walling off the mother’s upper half from the rest of the world. It … Continue reading Journal temporarily withdraws COVID-19 “labor cage” study

Weekend reads: When peer review fails; gender imbalances in citations; COVID-19 science under scrutiny

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 paper that took a journal three days to accept … Continue reading Weekend reads: When peer review fails; gender imbalances in citations; COVID-19 science under scrutiny

Meet Bo Liu, international man or woman of scientific mystery

An Elsevier journal is wearing an omelet on its face after accepting a paper by a group of authors who have completely disavowed the work.  Oh, and no one seems to know who one of the authors is, which makes the second time inside of a month that we’ve reported on a case like this. … Continue reading Meet Bo Liu, international man or woman of scientific mystery