Search Results for: fraud

Following criticism, PLOS removes blog defending scrutiny of science

Community blog PLOS Biologue has pulled a post by journalists Charles Seife and Paul Thacker that argued in favor of public scrutiny of scientists’ behavior (including emails), following heavy criticism, including from a group and scientist mentioned in the post. Their reasoning: The post was “not consistent with at least the spirit and intent of our community guidelines.” The … Continue reading Following criticism, PLOS removes blog defending scrutiny of science

Weekend reads: “Unfeasibly prolific authors;” why your manuscript will be rejected; is science broken?

The week at Retraction Watch featured revelations of yet more fake peer reviews, bringing the retraction total to 250. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:

Investigation digs up data falsification in two papers on roundworm stress

An investigation at the University of Florida has led to the retraction of a pair of papers on the stress responses of Caenorhabditis elegans in Molecular and Cellular Biology. One paper has been retracted, and one “partially” retracted, as the main conclusion was “not compromised.” According to the retraction notes, the investigation found the data were “falsified” by … Continue reading Investigation digs up data falsification in two papers on roundworm stress

17 retractions from SAGE journals bring total fake peer review count to 250

On Monday, we reported on 64 new retractions from Springer journals resulting from fake peer reviews. Yesterday, SAGE — which retracted 60 papers for the same reason just over a year ago — added 17 additional retractions to their list. The articles were published in five different journals, and one retraction involved authorship fraud in … Continue reading 17 retractions from SAGE journals bring total fake peer review count to 250

8 things you might not know about research misconduct proceedings: Guest post

Have you ever wondered what could happen if you’re accused of misconduct and face official proceedings? We are pleased to present a guest post from Callan Stein, a lawyer who represents U.S. researchers in misconduct cases, who describes some nuances many may not realize about these situations.  Most researchers know that being accused of research … Continue reading 8 things you might not know about research misconduct proceedings: Guest post

Nutrition researcher Chandra loses libel case against CBC

The self-proclaimed “father of nutritional immunology,” Ranjit Kumar Chandra, has lost a libel lawsuit against the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC). The suit was in response to a 2006 three-part documentary from the CBC, which examined allegations of fraud against the former Memorial University researcher. After the 58-day trial, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice “ruled … Continue reading Nutrition researcher Chandra loses libel case against CBC

Weekend reads: Fame bias at journals; retractions as good news; hoarding data as bad news

This week at Retraction Watch featured the retraction of a widely covered paper on marriage and illness, and the resignation of a high-profile lab head in Toronto. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:

Weekend reads: How to publish in Nature; social media circumvents peer review; impatience leads to fakery

The week at Retraction Watch featured a look at why a fraudster’s papers continued to earn citations after he went to prison, and criticism of Science by hundreds of researchers. Here’s what was happening elsewhere:

Paper cited by New York Times for key stat gets retracted

A paper that had served as the key aspect of an April New York Times article about a recent surge of violence against immigrants in South Africa has since been retracted for plagiarism. The research, which appeared in the Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, had served as the source of the newspaper’s statement that the country is “home to … Continue reading Paper cited by New York Times for key stat gets retracted

High-profile biologist is suspended after two investigations found he “breached his duty of care”, committed “misconduct”

High-profile plant biologist Olivier Voinnet has been suspended for two years from the Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) following the results of two investigations that revealed a number of issues in his publication record. An investigation at ETH Zurich found that the scientist “breached his duty of care in the handling of figures as well as in … Continue reading High-profile biologist is suspended after two investigations found he “breached his duty of care”, committed “misconduct”