Search Results for: elsevier

Authors suspended as duplications sink papers on ship building

A pair of researchers affiliated with the University of Galati in Romania were suspended after duplicating work in their papers on materials used to build ships, earning them four retractions last year, and one the year before. According to Romanian newspaper Impact Est, in December an ethics committee found that co-authors Ionel Chirica and Elena-Felicia Beznea committed “a number of breaches of ethics,” including … Continue reading Authors suspended as duplications sink papers on ship building

Weekend reads: Another autism-vaccine fraud movie?; zombie papers; herbicide-cancer report taken down

The week at Retraction Watch featured an imposter editor and an author who threatened to sue a journal if it didn’t reverse a retraction. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:

Peer review scam leader now up to 20 retractions

We’ve unearthed four more retractions for Khalid Zaman, an economist who lost 16 papers in 2014 for orchestrating fake peer review. That brings Zaman’s total to 20, and ties him at the #18 spot on our leaderboard. One of the more recently discovered retractions is for fake peer review, attributed to Zaman; one is for plagiarism, and two … Continue reading Peer review scam leader now up to 20 retractions

Cancer paper that doctored image from Science story earns retraction

Here’s a joke for all you middle-schoolers out there. How are doctored images like bad pennies? They keep cropping up! Here’s the latest one we’ve picked up: Lung Cancer has retracted a 2014 paper on the genetics of tumors after concluding the authors cribbed a figure that had appeared in a 2005 feature story in … Continue reading Cancer paper that doctored image from Science story earns retraction

Weekend reads: Research parasite awards; money-back research guarantees; Sci-Hub takes over the world

This week at Retraction Watch featured a confession about research misconduct, and a debate over whether a paper should have been retracted. Here’s what was happening elsewhere: 

Economics paper retracted due to “extensive changes”

An article has been retracted from a proceedings of an economics conference after the publisher identified errors in several parts of the study. The retraction follows criticism from a Romanian blogger, who contacted the journal about several issues, and posted communications she received about the paper, “Sustainability of Social Enterprises: A Discourse Analysis.” It was part … Continue reading Economics paper retracted due to “extensive changes”

Raw files help fix 2003 figure by heart researcher accused of fraud

A researcher accused of misconduct by an anonymous Japanese blogger has corrected a 2003 paper in Circulation Research, after providing a university investigation with the original source files. Allegations of fraud have dogged Shokei Kim-Mitsuyama for years, and even caused him to step down from his position as editor in chief at another journal. However, Kim-Mitsuyama and his … Continue reading Raw files help fix 2003 figure by heart researcher accused of fraud

Two more retractions bring total to 9 for neuroscience duo

After the first author admitted to fraud, his colleagues have retracted a 2013 paper in the Journal of Neuroscience, as well as a 2015 book chapter about working memory. The retractions come as part of a backstory of pulled papers authored by psychologist Edward Awh and his former graduate student David Anderson when he was based at the University … Continue reading Two more retractions bring total to 9 for neuroscience duo

How did two papers on same gene with different authors, publishers, end up with identical retraction notices?

Here’s an interesting case: We’ve found two retracted papers that describe the same gene, and both have nearly identical retraction notices. What’s unusual is that the two papers don’t have any authors in common, and appeared in two different journals published by two different companies. The cause of both papers’ demise: Plagiarism, and use of unpublished data … Continue reading How did two papers on same gene with different authors, publishers, end up with identical retraction notices?

Communications researcher loses two book chapters, investigated for plagiarism

A researcher who studies how others communicate is struggling with his own communications: Peter J. Schulz has lost two book chapters for misappropriating the work of others, and is under investigation by his university. Although the publisher believes the errors were unintentional, the retractions have prompted it to stop selling the books altogether. Schulz now has a total of … Continue reading Communications researcher loses two book chapters, investigated for plagiarism