Search Results for: author ban

Science reporter spoofs hundreds of open access journals with fake papers

Alan Sokal’s influence has certainly been felt strongly recently. Last month, a critique by Sokal — who in 1996 got a fake paper published in Social Text — and two colleagues forced a correction of a much-ballyhooed psychology paper.  A few days after that, we reported on a Serbian Sokal hoax-like paper whose authors cited the scholarly … Continue reading Science reporter spoofs hundreds of open access journals with fake papers

Sixth retraction appears for virtual reality researcher

Dong Hee Shin, who studies virtual reality and other technology and who has already retracted five papers, has had another retracted. Here’s the notice in the Journal of Media Economics:

Fredrickson-Losada “positivity ratio” paper partially withdrawn

In 2005, Barbara Fredrickson and Marcial Losada published a paper in American Psychologist making a bold and specific claim: …the authors predict that a ratio of positive to negative affect at or above 2.9 will characterize individuals in flourishing mental health. The paper made quite a splash. It has been cited 360 times, according to … Continue reading Fredrickson-Losada “positivity ratio” paper partially withdrawn

Papers on potential cancer drugs retracted for image manipulation

A group of researchers at the Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, New York has retracted two papers for image manipulation. The retraction notices for “PM02734 (Elisidepsin) Induces Caspase-Independent Cell Death Associated with Features of Autophagy, Inhibition of the Akt/mTOR Signaling Pathway, and Activation of Death-Associated Protein Kinase” and “The Phosphatase Inhibitor Menadione (Vitamin … Continue reading Papers on potential cancer drugs retracted for image manipulation

Too much skin in the game, as duplications force retraction of psoriasis paper

A group of dermatology researchers from Egypt who passed around a psoriasis paper like a bottle of sunscreen at the beach have been burned (sorry) by a journal that caught them in the act. Acta Dermatovenerologica Alpina, Pannonica et Adriatica is retracting the 2009 article “Association of cytokine gene polymorphisms with psoriasis in cases from … Continue reading Too much skin in the game, as duplications force retraction of psoriasis paper

Pesticide paper retracted for “major errors”

The authors of a 2013 paper in the journal Foods which sounded alarms about the concentrations of pesticides in vegetables and other commercial crops have pulled the article, citing an insurmountable mistake.  To wit: the levels of pesticides they reported were, in fact, not what the data really showed. The article, titled “Health risk assessment … Continue reading Pesticide paper retracted for “major errors”

The brains in Spain fall mainly on…Iran?

We’ve come across some odd examples of plagiarism in this job, from the fellow who tried to build a CV on the back of another researcher’s work, to the education researcher who, from what we can tell, preferred lifting the work of others to writing her own papers. Here’s another odd one for the pile. … Continue reading The brains in Spain fall mainly on…Iran?

What happens to researchers who publish duplicated papers? At one university, they’re promoted

One of the things we try to do here at Retraction Watch is see what happens to researchers who’ve had to retract papers. There’s Naoki Mori, who lost his job because of extensive image manipulation but sued successfully to get it back, for example. Now, courtesy of the Oakland Press, we have the story of … Continue reading What happens to researchers who publish duplicated papers? At one university, they’re promoted

Not our problem: Journal bows out of data dispute after U Minn challenges previous statement

Back in May we reported on an Expression of Concern in Cell Cycle — a notice that had entered life as a retraction but mysteriously metamorphosed into the less dramatic form. The statement limned a rather bizarre dispute between researchers who crossed paths at the University of Minnesota and are now embroiled in litigation over … Continue reading Not our problem: Journal bows out of data dispute after U Minn challenges previous statement

Retraction of JBC heparan paper shows much to like

We have knocked the Journal of Biological Chemistry in the past for what we believed to be needless — and unhelpful — obfuscation. And more recently, we have praised the journal for taking what we believe to be positive steps in the direction of greater transparency. Here, again, we come not to bury JBC but … Continue reading Retraction of JBC heparan paper shows much to like