Search Results for: mathematics

How did content from a hijacked journal end up in one of the world’s most-used databases?

Scopus is the world’s largest database of abstracts and citations, and calls itself “comprehensive,” “curated,” and “enriched.” But my recent experience with it suggests its curation could use some work. In October 2019, I discovered that the Scopus profile of the journal Transylvanian Review contained numerous faked articles. How did I know? A few years … Continue reading How did content from a hijacked journal end up in one of the world’s most-used databases?

Blaming “overflow of manuscripts” and “obviously biased” reviewers, journal will retract homeopathy-COVID-19 paper

A public health journal will be retracting a paper that argued for the adoption of homeopathy in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, according to the editor in chief. We reported on Saturday that the Journal of Public Health: From Theory to Practice, a Springer Nature title also known by its German name, Zeitschrift für Gesundheitswissenschaften, had … Continue reading Blaming “overflow of manuscripts” and “obviously biased” reviewers, journal will retract homeopathy-COVID-19 paper

Paper urging use of homeopathy for COVID-19 appears in peer-reviewed public health journal

A peer-reviewed journal has published a paper that urges the adoption of homeopathy in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. [Please see an update on this post.] The Journal of Public Health: From Theory to Practice — published by Springer Nature and also known by its German name, Zeitschrift für Gesundheitswissenschaften — published “Homeopathy combat … Continue reading Paper urging use of homeopathy for COVID-19 appears in peer-reviewed public health journal

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

‘Harming‌ ‌the‌ ‌scientific‌ ‌process‌:’ An attempt to correct the sports science literature, part 3

Why is it so difficult to correct the scientific record in sports science? In the first installment in this series of guest posts, Matthew Tenan, a data scientist with a PhD in neuroscience, began the story of how he and some colleagues came to scrutinize a paper. In the second, he explained what happened next. In today’s … Continue reading ‘Harming‌ ‌the‌ ‌scientific‌ ‌process‌:’ An attempt to correct the sports science literature, part 3

‘A flawed decision:’ What happened when sports scientists tried to correct the scientific record, part 2

Why is it so difficult to correct the scientific record in sports science? In the first installment in this series of guest posts, Matthew Tenan, a data scientist with a PhD in neuroscience, began the story of how he and some colleagues came to scrutinize a paper. In this post, he explains what happened next. … Continue reading ‘A flawed decision:’ What happened when sports scientists tried to correct the scientific record, part 2

Fake peer review, made-up author take down a paper

Manipulated peer review strikes again, this time with a 2015 article whose authors appear to have created a straw mathematician to make their work seem more legit.  The paper, “Fixed point theorems and explicit estimates for convergence rates of continuous time Markov chains,” appeared in Fixed Point Theory and Applications, a Springer Nature title.  Its … Continue reading Fake peer review, made-up author take down a paper

Up to 19% plagiarism is just fine, journal tells authors

Apparently, you can be a little bit pregnant. We’ll explain. The other day we received an email from a researcher tipping us off to a remarkable admission from a journal in Pakistan about how much (as in, precisely how much) plagiarism it was willing to accept in its pages. The publication, the Punjab University Journal … Continue reading Up to 19% plagiarism is just fine, journal tells authors

What really happened when two mathematicians tried to publish a paper on gender differences? The tale of the emails

Retraction Watch readers may be familiar with the story of a paper about gender differences by two mathematicians. Last month, in Weekend Reads, we highlighted an account of that story, which appeared in Quillette. The piece, by one of the paper’s authors — titled “Academic Activists Send a Published Paper Down the Memory Hole” — … Continue reading What really happened when two mathematicians tried to publish a paper on gender differences? The tale of the emails

Weekend reads: Why rhetoric and self-censorship is bad for science; an author threatens to sue his critics; why whistleblowing is critical

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 departure of a professor in Glasgow amidst three retraction; … Continue reading Weekend reads: Why rhetoric and self-censorship is bad for science; an author threatens to sue his critics; why whistleblowing is critical