Search Results for: mathematics

“False” results in retracted paper by senator are inaccurate, not fraudulent, say editors

Last week, we wrote about a somewhat remarkable retraction, of a 15-year-old paper by a current Illinois senator who used to be a mathematician. At the time, we were a bit perplexed by the language of the notice, which the senator — who helpfully took our call — couldn’t answer, since he wasn’t involved in … Continue reading “False” results in retracted paper by senator are inaccurate, not fraudulent, say editors

Journal retracts paper by state senator (and former mathematician)

Here’s something you don’t see every day: A state senator with an academic publication record, in his former career as a mathematician. Even more unusual: A retraction of one of his 15-year-old papers, after the journal realized most of the results were incorrect. According to the notice, some aspects of the paper by Daniel Biss … Continue reading Journal retracts paper by state senator (and former mathematician)

Major publisher threatened to sue author who didn’t realize he owed open access fees

Around two years ago, when mathematics researcher Jean Ecalle submitted a paper to Acta Mathematica Vietnamica, he saw that he had the option of making the paper open access. So he checked a box on the submission form — which included a mention of the fees that he apparently missed — and didn’t think anything of it. … Continue reading Major publisher threatened to sue author who didn’t realize he owed open access fees

Weekend reads: Pseudoscience in the literature; a world without journals; “invisible and abandoned” trials

The week at Retraction Watch featured the heartfelt response of a researcher when she found out a paper she’d reviewed had been retracted, and a new member of our leaderboard.  Here’s what was happening elsewhere:

Weekend reads: Is the peer review system sustainable?; when to submit papers; fraud as an outbreak

The week at Retraction Watch featured news of a publisher hack, and a story about a Nature Cell Biology paper likely headed for retraction. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:

We are judging individuals and institutions unfairly. Here’s what needs to change.

The way we rank individuals and institutions simply does not work, argues Yves Gingras, Canada Research Chair in the History and Sociology of Science, based at the University of Quebec in Montreal. He should know: In 1997, he cofounded the Observatoire des sciences et des technologies, which measures innovation in science and technology, and where he … Continue reading We are judging individuals and institutions unfairly. Here’s what needs to change.

Weekend reads: Frustrated scientists; most brutal rejection ever?; public shaming in science

The week at Retraction Watch featured 58 retractions in one fell swoop, and a look at what you should do if you find out a paper you’ve cited has been retracted. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:

Author of retracted math paper defends against plagiarism charge, threatens to sue journal

A researcher in Egypt is threatening to sue a mathematics journal if it doesn’t un-retract one of his papers. The American Journal of Computational Mathematics in May retracted Mostafa M. A. Khater‘s 2015 paper, “The Modified Simple Equation Method and Its Applications in Mathematical Physics and Biology.” The retraction notice is sparse on the details, indicating … Continue reading Author of retracted math paper defends against plagiarism charge, threatens to sue journal

PLOS ONE flags math paper over algorithm concerns

PLOS ONE has issued an expression of concern (EOC) for a 2014 math paper after readers raised concerns with its algorithm. According to the first author of the paper — Hafsa Athar Jafree from the University of Karachi in Pakistan — none of the authors agreed to the EOC notice. She told us the paper contains … Continue reading PLOS ONE flags math paper over algorithm concerns

Do publishers add value? Maybe little, suggests preprint study of preprints

Academic publishers argue they add value to manuscripts by coordinating the peer-review process and editing manuscripts — but a new preliminary study suggests otherwise. The study — which is yet to be peer reviewed — found that papers published in traditional journals don’t change much from their preprint versions, suggesting publishers aren’t having as much of an influence … Continue reading Do publishers add value? Maybe little, suggests preprint study of preprints