Search Results for: fraud

Spanish lab admits to image manipulation, retracts one paper, corrects another

A group has retracted one paper and corrected another in the Journal of Biological Chemistry (JBC) for image manipulations. Last author José G. Castaño told us the manipulation occurred at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, where he and one other co-author are based. He declined to name who was responsible. Here’s the retraction notice for “Cytomegalovirus promoter up-regulation is the major cause … Continue reading Spanish lab admits to image manipulation, retracts one paper, corrects another

Peer review manipulation fells another study

A spectroscopy journal has retracted a 2016 study after concluding that its editors had been misled by a fake review. According to the retraction notice, the journal — Spectrochimica Acta Part A: Molecular and Biomolecular Spectroscopy — accepted the paper due to positive feedback from someone assuming the identity of an expert reviewer, using an … Continue reading Peer review manipulation fells another study

We’ve seen computer-generated fake papers get published. Now we have computer-generated fake peer reviews.

Retraction Watch readers may recall that in 2014, publisher Springer and IEEE were forced to retract more than 120 conference proceedings because the papers were all fakes, written by the devilishly clever SCIgen program and somehow published after peer review. So perhaps it was inevitable that fake computer-generated peer reviews were next. In a chapter … Continue reading We’ve seen computer-generated fake papers get published. Now we have computer-generated fake peer reviews.

Embezzlement, 15 retractions, and a whistleblower could add up to trouble for Duke

Retraction Watch readers may recall the case of Erin Potts-Kant, who pled guilty to embezzling funds from a lab, and now has 15 retractions, and Michael Foster, both formerly of Duke. You may also remember that we’ve featured discussions of the False Claims Act, which some attorneys are trying to use to expose wrongdoing — … Continue reading Embezzlement, 15 retractions, and a whistleblower could add up to trouble for Duke

Why do scientists commit misconduct?

What makes a person fabricate data? Pressure from different corners in his or her life, to get published, funding, or promotions? Are there personality traits that occur more often among those caught committing misconduct? We spoke with Cristy McGoff, the Director of the research integrity office at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro – … Continue reading Why do scientists commit misconduct?

Weekend reads: ORI staff revolt?; Excel creates big typos in papers; how to reward reviewers

The week at Retraction Watch featured health care fraud charges for a researcher who committed scientific fraud, and a first-ever government agency lawsuit against a scientific publisher for deceit. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:

Weekend reads: Scientific society vote rigging; why publish in predatory journals; academic apartheid?

The week at Retraction Watch featured a new member of our leaderboard and a discussion of what would happen if peer reviewers didn’t look at results. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:

Should systematic reviewers report suspected misconduct?

Authors of systematic review articles sometimes overlook misconduct and conflicts of interest present in the research they are analyzing, according to a recent study published in BMJ Open. During the study, researchers reviewed 118 systematic reviews published in 2013 in four high-profile medical journals — Annals of Internal Medicine, the British Medical Journal, The Journal of the American … Continue reading Should systematic reviewers report suspected misconduct?

Researcher in Brazil earns 12th retraction for recycling text and figures

A scientist in Brazil has gained his twelfth retraction for reusing text and figures from previously published papers. In 2011, Elsevier announced that it would retract 11 papers by Claudio Airoldi, a researcher at the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP) in Brazil. Subsequently, he was suspended for 45 days, and his co-author on the 11 … Continue reading Researcher in Brazil earns 12th retraction for recycling text and figures

Second retraction for bone researcher with lifetime funding ban

A researcher banned from funding by a Canadian agency for misconduct has earned her second retraction, after a reanalysis uncovered problems with the paper’s conclusions. The retraction follows an investigation by Sophie Jamal‘s former workplace, the Women’s College Hospital in Toronto, which has led to a recent retraction of a JAMA paper due to data manipulation, and a lifetime … Continue reading Second retraction for bone researcher with lifetime funding ban