A journal has issued an expression of concern (EOC) for a nanofilm paper after a researcher protested being left off the author list. According to the notice in Carbohydrate Polymers, the University of Calcutta in West Bengal, India, where the research was carried out, has “failed to provide evidence of a thorough, fair, and proper … Continue reading Journal flags paper at center of authorship dispute
A child psychiatrist has lost two papers after an institutional investigation concluded that she intentionally misrepresented children’s medication history in her research. In November 2015, we reported on a retraction for Mani Pavuluri in the Journal of Psychiatry & Neuroscience following a probe at the University of Illinois at Chicago, her institution, which concluded that there was a … Continue reading Child psychiatrist flagged for misconduct loses two more papers
Some scientists raise their eyebrows when they see a paper was accepted only a day or two after being submitted — which is exactly what happened during an academic debate over a controversial topic: e-cigarettes. In 2015, a group of Harvard researchers published a paper in Environmental Health Perspectives suggesting the flavoring added to e-cigarettes could be … Continue reading A paper on chemical safety was accepted one day after submission. Was it peer reviewed?
The week at Retraction Watch featured a look at where retractions for fake peer review come from, and an eyebrow-raising plan that has a journal charging would-be whistleblowers a fee. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:
An Elsevier journal has angered an author by removing his study without telling him. After spending months asking the journal why it removed the paper — about a heavily debated theorem in physics — and getting no response, the author threatened to seek damages from the journal and publisher for “permanently stigmatizing” his work. Yesterday, an Elsevier … Continue reading Physics journal retracts paper without alerting author
A researcher who was dismissed from Wayne State University — then lost a whistleblower lawsuit against it — has logged his first retraction. In 2012, after Christian Kreipke was dismissed from Wayne State, he filed a lawsuit, alleging that the institution had defrauded the U.S. government of $169 million in research funding. A judge dismissed the case in 2014, … Continue reading 1st retraction for researcher who lost whistleblower lawsuit
Cell Press journals will not be retracting two papers that were flagged with expressions of concern (EOCs) in April after one author claimed to have manipulated some experiments. In a strange turn of events, as we previously reported, the study’s corresponding author refuted the claims of the author who confessed to fraud, citing concerns about … Continue reading Cell Press won’t retract papers despite one author confessing to fraud
A new analysis — which included scanning Retraction Watch posts — has identified some trends in papers pulled for fake peer review, a subject we’ve covered at length. For those who aren’t familiar, fake reviews arise when researchers associated with the paper in question (most often authors) create email addresses for reviewers, enabling them to … Continue reading What publishers and countries do most retractions for fake peer review come from?
A renewable energy researcher who recycled material in several papers — and has already agreed to withdraw 10 studies — has lost another paper. In January, we reported that six of 10 papers flagged by an investigation into author Shyi-Min Lu have either been retracted or withdrawn. Now, Lu has lost another paper that was not … Continue reading Renewable energy researcher with troubled record loses another paper
The week at Retraction Watch featured a look at whether we have an epidemic of flawed meta-analyses, and the story of a strange case involving climate research and pseudonyms. Here’s what was happening elsewhere: