Retraction Watch

by Judy Farrar

One tool in the effort to highlight the fake paper crisis, is the non-profit Retraction Watch blog and database of retracted scientific papers. According to their blog, after they launched the website in 2010, the database listed about 200 papers.  Each year has seen an increase and as of now the database contains over 50,000 entries.  In September 2023 the Retraction Watch dataset was purchased by Crossref, an organization that assigns digital object identifiers, and was made a public resource with secure funding. Search the database at https://retractiondatabase.org/RetractionSearch.aspx

The Retraction Watch blog features topics such as the “The top 10 most highly cited retracted papers,” and “Retracted coronavirus (COVID-19) papers,” which currently lists over 450 retracted publications, and “Papers and peer reviews with evidence of ChatGPT writing.”  A recent feature is the Hijacked Journal tracker, a spreadsheet identifying hijacked journal domains based on an analysis of the archives of clone journals: https://retractionwatch.com/the-retraction-watch-hijacked-journal-checker

Caution sign
Photo by Oliver Hale on Unsplash

Paper Retraction: The Process and Why It Happens

by Sara Pike

This year, our committee will look at the sham and retracted paper crisis in more depth and share information with the community through this blog. We will begin by providing an overview and information about paper retraction, which is the flagging of a published work in a journal due to a serious issue like data falsification or major errors in the research that are discovered after the publication process is complete.

Discussion in academic circles and in the news about research integrity, paper retractions and falsified research continues to be a major topic and a major source of concern for academia and society at large, as examples of recent articles attest.

“1 in 7 scientific papers is fake, suggests study that author calls ‘wildly nonsystematic’” https://retractionwatch.com/2024/09/24/1-in-7-scientific-papers-is-fake-suggests-study-that-author-calls-wildly-nonsystematic/

“Whistleblowers flagged 300 scientific papers for retraction. Many journals ghosted them” https://www.science.org/content/article/whistleblowers-flagged-300-scientific-papers-for-retraction-many-journals-ghosted-them

Paper retraction goes beyond the correction of mistakes in published papers, and should be considered by either the author(s) or an editorial board if there are ethical concerns related to plagiarism, peer review, unreliable data, unauthorized use of data, copyright infringement, conflicts of interest and the like. https://publicationethics.org/retraction-guidelines

COPE, the Committee on Publication Ethics, provides this and much more information, including formal guidelines for paper retraction that many publishers rely on. If authors become aware of relevant issues with their work, they are strongly encouraged to explore self-retraction of papers by contacting the editorial board of the publication in question. In the months ahead we will explore topics related to paper mills and falsification of research articles as we seek to support scholars and their work.

Research and Publishing Roundup

Kudos to the following members of the UMass Dartmouth community on their research and publishing accomplishments:

Associate Dean of the College of Engineering Iren Valova participated in a panel on artificial intelligence at the Associated Industries of Massachusetts’ Commonwealth Conversation series. Valova joined Dell Technologies and TD Bank officials to discuss how artificial intelligence is changing the business landscape across industries and sectors of the economy.

Professor Avijit Gangopadhyay (Estuarine & Ocean Sciences) co-authored “On the evidence of helico‑spiralling recirculation within coherent cores of eddies using Lagrangian approach” in Nature’s Scientific Reports. The article aims to advance comprehension of coherent eddies’ structural characteristics and their internal dynamics.

Professor Geoff McDonald (Law) was interviewed for an article about post-foreclosure evictions. Based on his research, McDonald focuses on technical bankruptcy questions and the moral basis of bankruptcy, including the interrelated issues of debt, justice, and forgiveness.

Professor Brian Williams (History) authored an article in The Conversation on Ukraine’s defeat of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet due to their superior weapons and naval tactics.

Professor Chad McGuire (Public Policy) published “Using the Legal Concept of Fault Attribution to Analyze the Effectiveness of Coastal Climate Change Adaptation in the United States” in The Palgrave Handbook of Environmental Policy and Law. The article introduces the legal concept of fault attribution as a framework for assessing the effectiveness of current national coastal climate change policies.

Professor Kenneth Manning (Political Science) discussed the intricacies and “luck” involved in the recent Supreme Court ruling regarding presidential immunity and the impact on former President Trump.

Executive Director of Economic Development and Community Partnerships Michael Goodman was featured in the Summer 2024 issue of MassBenchmarks with his highlight titled “State of the State Economy.” The chapter discusses the Massachusetts economy’s slowing in the face of continued inflation, high interest rates, and slight downtrends in job growth.

Ethan Moyer (’25) was featured in an article for his artistic contribution to the Envision Resilience Mural Project in New Bedford. Moyer’s graphic will be turned into a mural that serves as a visual reminder of the impact of climate change

Do you need help accessing any of these publications? The librarians have you covered. Contact our reference staff with your request: https://lib.umassd.edu/about/staff-directory/contact-rils/

Research and Publishing Roundup

Here is the latest news in UMD faculty, staff, and community publishing and research:

Professor Chad McGuire (Public Policy) was featured in an article that detailed the impact of rising seas on the SouthCoast and mitigation strategies already in place. McGuire was also featured in an article about the changes in policy impacting coastal decision-making due to climate-induced sea level rise.Assistant Professor Peeranuch LeSeure (Nursing) was featured in the International Family Association’s newsletter, highlighting her research on improving self-care management for diabetic patients among the Portuguese population in Massachusetts. LeSeure is developing a mobile app tailored to this population’s cultural needs and values to support self-care management.Associate Professor Nikolay Anguelov (Public Policy) was featured in a Newsweek article about his research on the number of missing indigenous women in the U.S. and how it relates to the story told in the recently released film Killers of the Flower Moon.Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Kimberly Scott and Assistant Vice Chancellor for Career & Civic Engagement Matt Roy were interviewed on the Chamber of Commerce’s Education Spotlight. The episode focused on UMass Dartmouth’s commitment to students and community.

Professor Brian Glyn Williams (History) was featured in an article that analyzed the many conflicts currently occurring across the globe and the implications of varying levels of U.S. support.

Do you need help accessing any of these publications? The librarians have you covered. Contact our reference staff: https://lib.umassd.edu/about/staff-directory/contact-rils/