Not-smart moves in “smart homes” paper prompt retraction

rsercover213Here’s a thought: If you’re going to write about the “challenges of information and communication technology,” it’s probably best not to use the Internet to plagiarize.

We’re guessing a group of researchers from Serbia is kicking themselves over missing that memo.

The researchers, from Singidunum University in Belgrade, published a 2012 paper in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews titled “Challenges of information and communication technology in energy efficient smart homes.” The work was supported by a grant from the Serbian government.

But according to a new retraction notice: Continue reading Not-smart moves in “smart homes” paper prompt retraction

Leading cancer researcher retracts 2003 paper for “inappropriate presentation”

cancer cellOne of the world’s leading cancer researchers, MIT’s Robert Weinberg, has retracted a decade-old paper after finding out it contained errors.

Here’s the notice for “Ras Modulates Myc Activity to Repress Thrombospondin-1 Expression and Increase Tumor Angiogenesis,” a paper originally published in Cancer Cell in 2003: Continue reading Leading cancer researcher retracts 2003 paper for “inappropriate presentation”

Do as I say, not as I do? Duplication in ethics journal earns author five-year publishing ban

j business ethicsThe next time a business professor in Thailand is looking for an ethics case study, he might look no further than the mirror.

Mohammad Asif Salam earned himself a five-year ban on publishing in a Springer journal after publishing work there that he’d already published elsewhere. Here’s the notice for “Corporate social responsibility in purchasing and supply chain,” a paper which appeared in the Journal of Business Ethics in 2009: Continue reading Do as I say, not as I do? Duplication in ethics journal earns author five-year publishing ban

“Extensive” errors force retraction of lymphoma radiation paper

IJROBPcoverA group of researchers from Mexico has been forced to retract their July 2012 paper in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology *Biology*Physics after a reader noticed cracks in the data that proved to be signs of fatal instability.

Here’s the retraction notice for the article, titled, “Randomized Clinical Trial to Assess the Efficacy of Radiotherapy in Primary Mediastinal Large B-Lymphoma”: Continue reading “Extensive” errors force retraction of lymphoma radiation paper

A word about the Retraction Watch comments policy

logoBecause of a number of heated exchanges in the comments over the past few weeks here at Retraction Watch — mostly in response to our coverage of the shutdown of the Science Fraud site — we’ve added this to our FAQ:

We are huge fans of Retraction Watch commenters. They broaden our posts, send us tips, and correct us when we get things wrong. Without them, the site would be a shadow of itself. However, we have recently found ourselves — this update is from January 2013 — having to edit ad hominem attacks out of comments, unapprove other comments, and contact some commenters to remind them of what’s appropriate.

It may not be clear to those who feel the need to resort to such personal attacks Continue reading A word about the Retraction Watch comments policy

Does “the computer ate my homework” explain retraction of higher ed paper?

ijpacoverWe’ve seen papers retracted for lots of reasons, but this is a new one.

A researcher at the University of Ruhuna in Sri Lanka has been forced to retract a paper in the International Journal of Public Administration after evidently failing to properly install the computer software used to process the data.

Here’s the retraction notice for the 2010 article, by Chamil Rathnayake: Continue reading Does “the computer ate my homework” explain retraction of higher ed paper?

Retraction eight appears for social psychologist Lawrence Sanna

jespEarlier this week, we reported on retractions six and seven , in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, for Lawrence Sanna, the former University of Michigan psychologist who resigned last May after questions were raised about his work. Retraction eight has now appeared, also in the JESP.

Here’s the notice for “When thoughts don’t feel like they used to: Changing feelings of subjective ease in judgments of the past:” Continue reading Retraction eight appears for social psychologist Lawrence Sanna

Tick-borne disease paper retracted for data reuse

mvecoverMedical and Veterinary Entomology has retracted a 2010 paper by a group of German researchers who populated the article with data from previously published studies.

The article, titled “Established and emerging pathogens in Ixodes ricinus ticks collected from birds on a conservation island in the Baltic Sea,” looked at the potential role of migrating birds in the spread of tick-borne infections such as Lyme disease and babesiosis. Here’s the abstract: Continue reading Tick-borne disease paper retracted for data reuse

Retraction 32 appears for Diederik Stapel

stapel_npcDiederik Stapel has another retraction, his 32nd.

Here’s the notice, for “”Information to go: Fluency enhances the usability of primed information,” which first appeared in 2010 in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology: Continue reading Retraction 32 appears for Diederik Stapel

Paul Muchowski, sanctioned last month by the ORI for falsely reporting results, offers an apology

muchowskip111Late last month, we reported on the case of Paul Muchowski, a former Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease researcher who was found by the Office of Research Integrity to have “falsely reported research experiments when the results did not exist at the time the grant applications were submitted.” At the time, Muchowski, who resigned from the Gladstone in November of last year, said he had no comment. Tonight, he sent us an apology and clarification to the scientific community, and asked us to post it. Here, we present Muchowski’s letter, unedited:

Apology and Clarification

To Members of the Community: Continue reading Paul Muchowski, sanctioned last month by the ORI for falsely reporting results, offers an apology