Weekend reads: A climate change study correction; predatory journal critic banned from campus; why are publishers “the joint enemy?”

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 the tale of the researcher who pleaded guilty to faking … Continue reading Weekend reads: A climate change study correction; predatory journal critic banned from campus; why are publishers “the joint enemy?”

Former University of Kansas researcher who plagiarized Harvard prof banned from Federal funding for two years

A researcher fired from the University of Kansas Medical Center (KUMC) in 2014 for plagiarizing the work of a Harvard scientist has been barred from receiving Federal U.S. funding for two years. The sanctions come three years after the U.S. Office of Research Integrity (ORI) tried to impose a three-year ban on funding for Rakesh … Continue reading Former University of Kansas researcher who plagiarized Harvard prof banned from Federal funding for two years

Weekend reads: A debate over journal editors; academic corruption in China; a poisoning in a lab

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 the retraction and replacement of a paper on whether gun … Continue reading Weekend reads: A debate over journal editors; academic corruption in China; a poisoning in a lab

It’s time to end the code of silence at universities

Yesterday, Cornell University told a group of researchers who had petitioned them to release a report of their investigation into alleged misconduct by Brian Wansink, a food marketing researcher who recently resigned his post there, that they would not release that report. As BuzzFeed reports, the university is now conducting a “Phase II” investigation into … Continue reading It’s time to end the code of silence at universities

Aerospace researchers in Japan up to three retractions

A pair of researchers in Japan has lost their third paper in a UK journal, which cites problematic images and an institutional investigation for the move. The 2016 article, “Novel Rh-substituted hexaaluminate catalysts for N2O decomposition,” was written by Rachid Amrousse and Akimasa Tsutsumi, of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, in Sagamihara. It … Continue reading Aerospace researchers in Japan up to three retractions

Caveat scriptor: How a journal editor unraveled the mystery of the overlapping bad data

Caveat scriptor—writer beware. That’s the moral of a recent editorial in the Saudi Journal of Anesthesia, prompted by the retraction in that journal of a 2014 paper with bum data. The editorial was written by John Loadsman, an anesthesiologist in Sydney, Australia, and editor of the journal Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, who played a role … Continue reading Caveat scriptor: How a journal editor unraveled the mystery of the overlapping bad data

When is asparagus not asparagus? Why, when it’s ginger, of course!

Allow us to explain that headline. Food Science & Nutrition has retracted a 2018 article by a group of researchers in China and Pakistan for plagiarism. The article was titled “Experimentally investigated the asparagus (Asparagus officinalis L.) drying with flat-plate collector under the natural convection indirect solar dryer.”   Per the retraction notice:

Weekend reads: Our database of 18,000-plus retractions is launched; inside a trial gone wrong; scholarly publishers bow to censorship

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 the official launch of our database of more than 18,000 … Continue reading Weekend reads: Our database of 18,000-plus retractions is launched; inside a trial gone wrong; scholarly publishers bow to censorship

When researchers from a particular country dominate retraction statistics, what does it mean?

The Retraction Watch Leaderboard of authors with the most retractions is a frequent source of comment and speculation. Why do only men appear on it? And what fields and countries are represented? Here, Iekuni Ichikawa, Project Professor at Shinshu University and Emeritus Professor of Pediatrics at Vanderbilt University, as well as a co-founder of the Association for … Continue reading When researchers from a particular country dominate retraction statistics, what does it mean?

Retraction Watch Database User Guide Appendix B: Reasons

Reason Description Author Unresponsive Author(s) lack of communication after prior contact by Journal, Publisher or other original Authors Bias Issues or Lack of Balance Failure to maintain objectivity in the presentation or analysis of information Breach of Policy by Author A violation of the Journal, Publisher or Institutional accepted practices by the author Breach of … Continue reading Retraction Watch Database User Guide Appendix B: Reasons