On June 6, two days after the report on image duplication in papers by CSIR-CDRI scientists was published, the director has instructed them to either send the correct image to the journal and get an erratum published or retract the paper if the mistake has an impact on the conclusion or if the mistake has … Continue reading CSIR-CDRI scientists take steps to correct mistakes in images
predatory journals
Bhim B. Prasad of BHU has 51 papers with manipulated, duplicated images
Prof. Bhim Bali Prasad from Banaras Hindu University has 51 papers on Pubpeer for image manipulation and/or duplication. There are more papers with manipulated images. Dr. Rashmi Madhuri, who did her PhD under Prof. Prasad's supervision, is a co-author in 16 papers. Dr. Madhuri is under investigation for image manipulation at IIT Dhanbad. With 51 … Continue reading Bhim B. Prasad of BHU has 51 papers with manipulated, duplicated images
Paper publication prior to PhD thesis submission rule may go
Balaram committee has recommended to do away with the current UGC rule requiring PhD students to publish a paper prior to thesis submission. Many institutions have abdicated the responsibility for PhD quality by outsourcing it to journals, says Prof. Balaram. Prof. VijayRaghavan's alternative solution is to allow students to submit thesis chapters to a preprint server … Continue reading Paper publication prior to PhD thesis submission rule may go
Hyderabad-based OMICS fined $50 million for ‘unfair, deceptive business practices’
A court in the U.S. has slapped a $50 million fine on Hyderabad-based OMICS International, which publishes over 700 questionable scientific journals, many of which appear predatory, for “unfair and deceptive business practices”. The fine comes along with permanent injunctions against most of its activities that are highly objectionable. The company says it will go … Continue reading Hyderabad-based OMICS fined $50 million for ‘unfair, deceptive business practices’
Retraction saga: IIT Dhanbad faculty learnt to reuse published images during their doctoral programme
Rashmi Madhuri and Prashant Sharma of IIT Dhanbad have 15 and 19 papers respectively listed on Pubpeer website. These papers have been published while they were doing their doctoral programme at different institutes. Like their two dozen retracted papers, these papers too have serious issues with published images being reused to represent different samples or … Continue reading Retraction saga: IIT Dhanbad faculty learnt to reuse published images during their doctoral programme
Science communication: Hey directors, leave the researchers alone!
Even as DST is taking steps to promote science communication, researchers at certain government labs and academic institutions are prevented from communicating even their published work with the media without the prior permission from the director. Since the government service conduct rules do not bar researchers from discussing their work, restrictions placed by some directors … Continue reading Science communication: Hey directors, leave the researchers alone!
Should science journalists stay away from preprints?
If science journalists can report results discussed at conferences, why should preprints be off-limit, especially if reported responsibly? While peer-reviewed papers published in reputable journals give journalists a degree of confidence in reporting, there have been instances when such papers have caused much harm. Peer-reviewing is not a magic bullet as the number of papers … Continue reading Should science journalists stay away from preprints?
Investigation confirms serious scientific misconduct by IIT Dhanbad faculty
IIT Dhanbad has completed its investigation into possible scientific misconduct by Dr. Rashmi Madhuri and Dr. Prashant Sharma. The scientific misconduct appears serious and may attract major penalty. Fourteen papers have been retracted and two corrected for image duplication; there are more than two-dozen problematic papers still listed on Pubpeer. Investigation by a four-member committee … Continue reading Investigation confirms serious scientific misconduct by IIT Dhanbad faculty
Communicate your research as a popular science article and get rewarded
From August 15 to September 30, 2018 science PhD scholars and Post-doctoral fellows can submit popular science articles about their research work to be considered for a cash prize under the Augmenting Writing Skills for Articulating Research (AWSAR) initiative. DST is offering attractive cash prize to motivate and equip students to communicate science with lay people. Starting … Continue reading Communicate your research as a popular science article and get rewarded
Two scientists at Bose Institute have 14 papers with manipulated, duplicated images
A research group at the Department of Chemistry, Bose Institute, Kolkata has 14 problematic papers with image manipulation and/or duplication listed on Pubpeer website. Two papers have been retracted and two more have been corrected for image manipulation. The two senior researchers of the group admit that there has been “inadvertent misrepresentation of images”. Manipulation and/or … Continue reading Two scientists at Bose Institute have 14 papers with manipulated, duplicated images
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