Following our coverage this summer of a book with citations that did not exist, we asked you to send us examples of other books with similar issues. One reader took the request as an assignment to find problematic texts. Michał Wójcik, a Ph.D. student at the Free University of Berlin, saw a link to our … Continue reading Challenge accepted: A reader wrote a program to find fake references in books| Retraction Watch
Clarivate has removed the mega-journal Cureus from its Master Journal List, according to the October update, released today. The move means Cureus will no longer be indexed in Web of Science or receive an impact factor. As we have reported, it can also mean researchers are less likely to submit to the journal, given universities … Continue reading Embattled journal Cureus delisted from Web of Science, loses impact factor| Retraction Watch
At the University of Technology in Baghdad, students must publish papers citing the school’s own journals if they wish to graduate, as we reported earlier this month. But down the road at Mustansiriyah University, one of Iraq’s highest-ranked institutions, researchers are facing even steeper citation requirements, according to new evidence we obtained. In a letter … Continue reading ‘A new low’: Researchers at Iraqi university must cite colleagues, school journals in papers| Retraction Watch
Did you know that Retraction Watch and the Retraction Watch Database are projects of The Center of Scientific Integrity? Others include the Medical Evidence Project, the Hijacked Journal Checker, and the Sleuths in Residence Program. Help support this work. Here’s what was happening elsewhere (some of these items may be paywalled, metered access, or require … Continue reading Weekend reads: NEJM launches rival to MMWR; Former NIH official gets expression of concern; ‘1 in 5 ch...| Retraction Watch
Six years after researchers called for the retraction of more than 400 papers about organ transplantation amid suspicion the organs used in the studies came from executed Chinese prisoners, journals are still working to clear the record. Although more than 40 papers were retracted or otherwise flagged shortly after the 2019 study was published, by … Continue reading Despite new retractions, suspect organ transplant papers remain in the literature| Retraction Watch
Ariel Karlinsky was confused. A Ph.D. student at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, he had just received a message stating the paper he had submitted to an economics conference in Moldova had been accepted. But Karlinsky hadn’t submitted his work to the conference. In fact, he had never even heard about the event. At first, … Continue reading ‘Confusing and frankly, disturbing’: When researchers are impersonated| Retraction Watch
The American Heart Association is reviewing its decision to give an award to the architect of a controversial theory that is the subject of eight seven retracted papers, Retraction Watch has learned. In the meantime, the researcher is using the award to contest several of the retractions. The Paul Dudley White International Scholar Award “recognizes … Continue reading Exclusive: American Heart Association reviewing award to rocket scientist with seven retractions| Retraction Watch
Academic publishing needs “renewed focus and collective action” to embrace new approaches and ensure the future of the industry, concludes a report from Cambridge University Press, released last week. What started as an exploration of barriers to open access models turned into a call for “radical change” in academic publishing. “It has been clear for … Continue reading Less is more: Academic publishing needs ‘radical change,’ Cambridge press report concludes| Retraction Watch
A journal says it will retract a 2019 paper on an Alzheimer’s treatment after an institutional investigation found research misconduct, according to emails seen by Retraction Watch. The move comes four years after another investigation by the same university uncovered image duplication in a different paper by a similar group of authors. The paper, published … Continue reading Exclusive: Journal to retract Alzheimer’s study after investigation finds misconduct| Retraction Watch
Did you know that Retraction Watch and the Retraction Watch Database are projects of The Center of Scientific Integrity? Others include the Medical Evidence Project, the Hijacked Journal Checker, and the Sleuths in Residence Program. Help support this work. Here’s what was happening elsewhere (some of these items may be paywalled, metered access, or require … Continue reading Weekend reads: Spinal researcher gave patients ‘false hope’; HHS admits error in laying off top ethics...| Retraction Watch
Sameer Quazi A former bioinformatics student who operated a paper mill while at the University of Manchester has lost another paper, bringing his total to 11 retractions. Sameer Quazi had bee…| Retraction Watch
10 posts published by Ellie Kincaid, Ivan Oransky, Marcus Banks, and Adam Marcus during September 2022| Retraction Watch
10 posts published by Eugenie Reich, Avery Orrall, Retraction Watch Staff, Dalmeet Singh Chawla, and Ellie Kincaid during January 2025| Retraction Watch
Leslie McIntosh Leslie McIntosh, like many other denizens of Science Twitter, saw a tweet from a pseudonymous account in mid-March that bemoaned a journal’s lack of action after the owner of the ac…| Retraction Watch
10 posts published by Retraction Watch Staff, Rita Aksenfeld, Lori Youmshajekian, Adam Marcus, and Avery Orrall during August 2025| Retraction Watch
George Church A paper coauthored by geneticist George Church has been retracted following an internal review at a university where several coauthors are based. The article appeared in the Proceedin…| Retraction Watch
10 posts published by Elisabeth Bik, Ivan Oransky, Victoria Stern, Alison McCook, and Mark Zastrow during February 2017| Retraction Watch
Science has retracted a 2010 paper describing a strain of bacteria that purportedly substituted arsenic for phosphorus, an element present in all known life. Science/AAAS Fifteen years after publis…| Retraction Watch
After months of investigation that identified networks of reviewers and editors manipulating the peer review process, Hindawi plans to retract 511 papers across 16 journals, Retraction Watch has le…| Retraction Watch
The decision to abandon a process to re-evaluate a review recommending exercise therapy for chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) has reignited calls for the article to be withdrawn. The 2019 ver…| Retraction Watch
The BMJ’s clinical practice guideline for chronic spine pain Thirty-four medical professional societies have called for The BMJ to retract a recently published guideline recommending against …| Retraction Watch
Less than two weeks ago, PLOS ONE published a paper about the parents of teenagers who appeared to immediately start questioning their gender identity around the time of puberty. Then the critiques…| Retraction Watch
updated October 23, 2024 Welcome to the Retraction Watch Database (RWDB). We’ve prepared this document to help you get started, and to answer some questions that are likely to come up. This documen…| Retraction Watch
Today is a very big day for Retraction Watch and The Center For Scientific Integrity, our parent non-profit. Bear with me while I explain, starting with some history. When Adam Marcus and I launche…| Retraction Watch
The origin of the phrase? The phrase was so strange it would have stood out even to a non-scientist. Yet “vegetative electron microscopy” had already made it past reviewers and editors at several j…| Retraction Watch
Salon today retracted a controversial 2005 story by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. about an alleged link between autism and thimerosal, the mercury-based preservative formerly used in vaccines. As Salon ex…| Retraction Watch
Last week, we reported on a case at the University of Leiden in which the institution found that a former psychology researcher there had committed research misconduct. In the anonymized report …| Retraction Watch
Although it’s the right thing to do, it’s never easy to admit error — particularly when you’re an extremely high-profile scientist whose work is being dissected publicly. So…| Retraction Watch
Almas Heshmati Last year, a new study on green innovations and patents in 27 countries left one reader slack-jawed. The findings were no surprise. What was baffling was how the authors, two profess…| Retraction Watch
