Investigation into papers with problematic images complete, report submitted: CSIR director-general 

An independent committee formed by CSIR in early June 2019 to investigate into image duplication and/or manipulation in published papers has submitted its report to CSIR Director-General Dr. Shekhar Mande. The report will be sent to the directors of four-five CSIR labs, which were investigated, for necessary action. An independent committee that was formed in … Continue reading Investigation into papers with problematic images complete, report submitted: CSIR director-general 

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UGC’s half-hearted attempt to teach research ethics

Finally, UGC is set to introduce a course for PhD students on research and publication ethics. Ironically, the course will not be teaching even the basics of preparing images for publication. India has the highest probability of containing problematic images in published papers. After years of ignoring the elephant in the room, the University Grants … Continue reading UGC’s half-hearted attempt to teach research ethics

ICMR-NICED scientist has 16 papers with duplicated, manipulated images

Dr. Mamta Chawla-Sarkar, a senior scientist at ICMR's NICED has 16 papers listed on PubPeer for image duplication and/or manipulation. Six of these papers were published when she was a Post-doc in Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio. She is a Fellow of the National Academy of Science. A senior scientist — Dr. Mamta Chawla-Sarkar — … Continue reading ICMR-NICED scientist has 16 papers with duplicated, manipulated images

65 papers from India retracted for image falsification/fabrication, errors

Among papers retracted in chemistry and material sciences in 2017-2018, 17.2% was from India though only 7.3% papers from India were published, thus contributing to 2.4-fold difference between retractions and papers published. With 18 papers, Dr. Rashmi Madhuri and Dr. Prashant Sharma from IIT Dhanbad had the “largest clusters of retractions in the two-year period”. … Continue reading 65 papers from India retracted for image falsification/fabrication, errors

Manipulation within a photo should always result in a retraction: Elisabeth Bik

Scrutinising images for tell-tale signs of manipulation is no longer a hobby for Dr. Elisabeth Bik; it has become a passion. The passion has become so overpowering that she has taken a “year off from paid work to focus more on science misconduct volunteer work”. She has voluminous papers to report on and a mountain … Continue reading Manipulation within a photo should always result in a retraction: Elisabeth Bik

127 papers from India retracted for image duplication, manipulation

The searchable database of retracted papers launched by RetractionWatch shows 982 papers from India have been retracted so far. Of these, 330 have been retracted for plagiarism and, surprisingly, 118 papers for image duplication and/or manipulation. The number of papers retracted for image issues has suddenly increased since 2016, with 37 papers retracted in 2018 … Continue reading 127 papers from India retracted for image duplication, manipulation

IISc has 33 papers listed on Pubpeer for image duplication

About half a dozen IISc researchers have 33 papers listed on Pubpeer for image duplication. Most of the duplication is within the same paper. With 13 papers, Akhil R. Chakravarty has the most number of problematic articles. A few researchers have already got or are about to get an erratum published. India’s premier institution Indian … Continue reading IISc has 33 papers listed on Pubpeer for image duplication

Department of Applied Chemistry, IIT Dhanbad has 45 papers with duplicated, manipulated images

The Department of Applied Chemistry at IIT Dhanbad has 45 papers listed on Pubpeer for image duplication and/or manipulation. Of the 45, 19 papers are of Dr. Rashmi Madhuri's. The 19 papers of Dr. Madhuri are in addition to the 25 papers that have already been retracted. Dr. Madhuri is already under investigation by the … Continue reading Department of Applied Chemistry, IIT Dhanbad has 45 papers with duplicated, manipulated images

CSIR-CDRI scientists take steps to correct mistakes in images

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

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