Search Results for: compromised peer review

SAGE journal retracts three more papers after discovering faked reviews

SAGE recently retracted three 2015 papers from one of its journals after the publisher found the articles were accepted with faked peer reviews. The retraction notices call out the authors responsible for submitting the reviews. This trio of retractions is the second batch of papers withdrawn by Technology in Cancer Research & Treatment over faked … Continue reading SAGE journal retracts three more papers after discovering faked reviews

Fake peer review, forged authors, fake funding: Everything’s wrong with brain cancer paper

The paper had everything: Fake peer review, forged authors, even a fake funder. In other words, it had nothing. A 2015 paper is the latest retraction stemming from an investigation into fake peer review by Springer, which has now netted more than a hundred papers. According to a spokesperson at Springer:

Fake peer review strikes again for pair of authors

Two authors who had a paper retracted for fake peer review in 2015 have lost another for the same reason. Elsevier recently retracted the second paper by the duo, a 2015 paper in a cancer journal, after finding evidence of fake peer review. The paper was submitted in October 2014 and accepted just a week … Continue reading Fake peer review strikes again for pair of authors

Can a tracking system for peer reviewers help stop fakes?

The problem of fake peer reviews never seems to end — although the research community has known about it since 2014, publishers are still discovering new cases. In April, one journal alone retracted 107 papers after discovering the review process had been compromised. By tracking individual reviewers’ contributions, Publons — recently purchased by Clarivate Analytics — … Continue reading Can a tracking system for peer reviewers help stop fakes?

Springer purge of fake reviews takes down 10+ more neuroscience papers

Back in April, Springer retracted a record number 107 papers from Tumor Biology after uncovering evidence they were subject to fake peer reviews. But it appears that the Tumor Biology sweep was only part of the story. During the Tumor Biology investigation, Springer found evidence that the “peer review process was compromised” in a dozen papers … Continue reading Springer purge of fake reviews takes down 10+ more neuroscience papers

A new record: Major publisher retracting more than 100 studies from cancer journal over fake peer reviews

Springer is retracting 107 papers from one journal after discovering they had been accepted with fake peer reviews. Yes, 107. To submit a fake review, someone (often the author of a paper) either makes up an outside expert to review the paper, or suggests a real researcher — and in both cases, provides a fake … Continue reading A new record: Major publisher retracting more than 100 studies from cancer journal over fake peer reviews

Researcher denies faking reviews for 5 newly retracted papers

Journals have retracted five papers by a materials researcher based in Poland after concluding the peer-review process had been faked.  According to the retraction notices — which all appear in Elsevier journals and contain the same text — the papers were accepted due to “positive advice of at least one faked reviewer report,” which were submitted … Continue reading Researcher denies faking reviews for 5 newly retracted papers

Medical journal retracts study over fake review, authorship concerns

A journal has retracted a 2015 study about lung cancer after learning the peer-review process had been compromised. The paper was published in March, 2015 — the same month publisher BioMed Central (BMC) pulled 43 papers for fake reviews. According to the retraction notice in the European Journal of Medical Research, the authors’ institution in China … Continue reading Medical journal retracts study over fake review, authorship concerns

Springer, BMC retracting nearly 60 papers for fake reviews and other issues

In a massive cleanup, Springer and BioMed Central announced today they are retracting 58 papers for several reasons, including manipulation of the peer-review process and inappropriately allocating authorship. The papers appeared in seven journals, and more are under investigation. In a release issued today, the publishers note:

Peer review manipulation fells another study

A spectroscopy journal has retracted a 2016 study after concluding that its editors had been misled by a fake review. According to the retraction notice, the journal — Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy — accepted the paper due to positive feedback from someone assuming the identity of an expert reviewer, using an … Continue reading Peer review manipulation fells another study