A Cornell researcher whose work came under scrutiny earlier this year for text recycling has had a third paper retracted. The latest retraction for Robert Sternberg — whose work was the subject of allegations by Brendan O’Connor and Nick Brown — appears in the Review of General Psychology. Here’s the retraction notice for “A model of ethical reasoning:”
Is peer review a good way to weed out problematic papers? And if it is, which kinds of peer review? In a new paper in Scientometrics, Willem Halffman, of Radboud University, and Serge Horbach, of Radboud University and Leiden University, used our database of retractions to try to find out. We asked them several questions about … Continue reading Which kind of peer review is best for catching fraud?
Are current classification systems for research misconduct adequate? Toshio Kuroki — special advisor to the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science and professor emeritus at the University of Tokyo and Gifu University — thinks the answer is no. In a new paper in Accountability in Research, Kuroki — who has published on research misconduct before … Continue reading Is it time for a new classification system for scientific misconduct?
Two months after Harvard and the Brigham and Women’s Hospital said they were requesting the retraction of more than 30 papers from a former cardiac stem cell lab there, two American Heart Association journals have retracted more than a dozen papers from the lab. Yesterday, Circulation retracted three papers, and Circulation Research retracted 10. All 13 were … Continue reading Anversa cardiac stem cell lab earns 13 retractions
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 two new names on our leaderboard, vindication for The Joy … Continue reading Weekend reads: Prominent doctors who don’t disclose conflicts, and the journals that enable them; a “nudge” study faces scrutiny
We’ve seen plagiarizers plagiarizing plagiarizers, but here’s what seems to be a first: A journal has retracted an article that duplicated text…from a paper that had been retracted for containing dubious data. The Journal of Applied Pharmaceutical Science published the recycled paper, titled “Development and in vitro-in vivo characterization of chronomodulated multi-particulate drug delivery system of … Continue reading Authors try to duplicate bad data, fail miserably
In March 2017, a group of researchers in Vancouver, along with a colleague in Philadelphia, published a paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) concluding that a particular antibiotic might be useful for treating conditions in people with rare mutations. Then, this past July, while continuing the work, they had an … Continue reading Researchers retract PNAS paper when they realize they’d been victims of an antibiotic switcheroo
The U.S. Office of Research Integrity has announced findings of misconduct against a once-promising pharmaceutical scientist at the University of Colorado. The ORI says Rajendra Kadam fabricated data on government grants while working on his PhD at UC Denver under the supervision of Uday Kompella. As we reported in 2015 when this case first broke, … Continue reading Former Colorado “golden boy” earns three-year ban on Federal funding
A leading journal in ecology and evolution is going through an evolution of its own, following the resignation of its editor in chief and more than half of its editorial board. The mass exodus at Diversity & Distributions came after Wiley, which publishes the journal, allegedly blocked it from running a letter protesting the company’s … Continue reading Majority of journal’s editorial board resigns after publisher’s handling of letter about move to open access
As we’re fond of repeating, sunlight is the best disinfectant. Which doesn’t jibe with the findings in an eye-catching 2018 paper that found people were less fearful of catching a contagious illness if they were in a dark room or were wearing sunglasses. Fortunately for us, although not for the researchers, we no longer have … Continue reading Psychology journal to retract study claiming that people fear contagion less in the dark