Weekend reads: 20th anniversary of a fraud; uses and misuses of doubt; how common is scooping?

Before we present this week’s Weekend Reads, a question: Do you enjoy our weekly roundup? If so, would you consider a tax-deductible donation to support it?  The week at Retraction Watch featured the story of how two highly cited papers turned out to be wrong; a big prize for a researcher who has been dogged by … Continue reading Weekend reads: 20th anniversary of a fraud; uses and misuses of doubt; how common is scooping?

Weekend reads: We’re back! (We hope); the data thugs; heroes of retraction

As many of our readers will know, we’ve been having serious technical issues with the site. We’re cautiously optimistic that they’ve been solved, so although we’re still working on fixes, we’re going to try posting again. Thanks for your ongoing patience. This week, we posted at our sister site, Embargo Watch. Here are those posts: … Continue reading Weekend reads: We’re back! (We hope); the data thugs; heroes of retraction

University requests 4th retraction for psychologist under fire

The University of Amsterdam has requested another retraction for a prominent social psychologist, after reviewing the dissertations he supervised while at the university. The university made the announcement this week after reviewing the theses supervised by Jens Förster, whose own work has been subject to considerable scrutiny. The results of this investigation come more than … Continue reading University requests 4th retraction for psychologist under fire

Weekend reads: Problems in studies of gender; when scholarship is a crime; a journal about Mark Zuckerberg photos

The week at Retraction Watch featured a call to make peer reviews public, lots of news about Cornell food researcher Brian Wansink, and a request by the U.S. NIH that the researchers it funds don’t publish in bad journals. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:

“(Hundreds of hours of) work vindicated:” Critic of food researcher reacts to new retraction

Ever since Cornell food researcher Brian Wansink wrote a blog post one year ago praising a graduate student’s productivity, things have gone downhill for him. Although he initially lauded the student for submitting five papers within six months of arriving at the lab, the four papers about pizza have all since been modified in some … Continue reading “(Hundreds of hours of) work vindicated:” Critic of food researcher reacts to new retraction

Weekend reads: Clinical trials in hotel rooms; dressing as a pirate; reducing replication-related stress

The week at Retraction Watch featured the temporary removal of the director of the U.S. HHS’ Office of Research Integrity, a mass resignation of an journal’s editorial board, and a court injunction against OMICS. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:

Weekend reads: No peer review crisis?; Fake conferences overwhelm real ones; Bullying vs. criticism

The week at Retraction Watch featured a retraction by a Nobel laureate, the eight excuses journal editors hear in responses to questions about data, and a description of a “disease” that affects many scientists. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:

Retract, replace, retract: Beleaguered food researcher pulls article from JAMA journal (again)

A high-profile food researcher who’s faced heavy criticism about his work has retracted the revised version of an article he’d already retracted last month. Yes, you read that right: Brian Wansink at Cornell University retracted the original article from JAMA Pediatrics in September, replacing it with a revised version. Now he’s retracting the revised version, citing … Continue reading Retract, replace, retract: Beleaguered food researcher pulls article from JAMA journal (again)

Weekend reads: Why critics criticize; a Big Bang Theory retraction; Nobels under scrutiny

The week at Retraction Watch featured admissions of fake data from a biotech company whose compound is now in clinical trials, a look at who recycles text, and the apparent demotion of a researcher who had a paper on video games retracted. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:

Errors in govt database prompt authors to retract and replace paper in JAMA journal

Researchers have retracted and replaced a June 2016 paper in JAMA Internal Medicine after discovering errors in their data. The paper explored whether Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) — groups of health care providers who earn more when they deliver high-quality care without boosting costs  — improve care and lower health care costs for Medicare patients. … Continue reading Errors in govt database prompt authors to retract and replace paper in JAMA journal