Research ethics

The Elsevier journal Stoten has recently retracted 161 papers, many of them over concerns about conflicts of interest and the addition of authors late in the review stage. But can editors who are handling hundreds of papers a year be expected to keep oversight of such matters, or do publishers need to design better systems? John Ross reports 

Scholars of Chinese heritage in Australia agree with the rationale for research security measures but not how they are implemented, survey finds

Universities caution against reliance on AI detection tools after media probe alleges 20 per cent of recent master’s theses were mostly produced using chatbots 

MI5 warning underlines need for ‘tougher’ research security measures and more resources to guard against espionage risks, MPs and research managers warn

Universities have urgently been told to review their ties with Chinese research institute after spy warning

With country now holding largest share of research retractions globally, scholars hope putting a number on the problem will trigger action

Committee mulls amendment of threshold standards as new report highlights how ARC-funded researchers continue to collaborate with likes of Iran and Russia

Article that examined ‘Zionist Israeli’ financiers’ support for far-right riots relies on ‘antisemitic conspiracy theories’, say critics

Intellectual disagreements, broader societal problems and ‘governance 101’ are being misconstrued as blunders, Carolyn Evans claims

Senate committee inquiry blocked and stakeholder objections ignored, as ‘wide-ranging’ powers become law

Several Australian universities pause applications from Iran but say government unclear over whether students from sanctioned countries banned

Detectors can help pinpoint where image manipulation is occurring but should not be seen as a ‘universal truth machine’, experts say

Decisions ‘above my pay grade’, says Nobel laureate, as authorities quash joint research into pain relief and drug-resistant tuberculosis

The man I met was kind and engaging. While the questions we asked of him were justified, that doesn’t make his death any less tragic, writes Tom Williams

Surge in generative AI use in US federal grant proposals is reducing diversity and narrowing the scope of ideas, study finds

Office for Students urged to investigate wider sector issues after star sociology professor accused of plagiarism

Force say actions of officer had the potential to ‘frustrate legitimate journalism’

My investigation into alleged plagiarism was undertaken seriously – journalistic enquiries should not be a matter for Scotland Yard, writes THE reporter Jack Grove

Star sociology professor quits amid allegations of plagiarism and academic misconduct

In examining sociologist’s PhD thesis, our journalists were seeking to address matters of legitimate public interest, writes Chris Havergal

University to carry out review of ‘academic culture’ following media reports accusing one of its professors of producing research that downplayed the risks of mixing energy drinks with alcohol

Death of youngster following experimental gene therapy only made public after journalists investigated

Content creator who helped oust top Chinese academics after accusing them of fabricating data promises to strike again

Former Radboud professor’s academic career has come under renewed scrutiny after concerns raised over peer review process

Amendments bring offshore campuses under Foreign Arrangements Scheme, while reframing it around ‘national interest’

Rapid development of technology outpacing any attempts to reform assessment system, researchers warn

Universities are better off seeking support elsewhere than accepting funds with ‘conditionalities’, says v-c

High-profile case involving popular science communicator shines light on how institutions deal with research misconduct

The likelihood of investigation and the severity of punishment have most influence on whether experienced academics take a chance on dodgy research

A series of new initiatives to punish researchers for retractions and AI hallucinations has led to fierce disagreements about whether such draconian methods are merited by the nature and scale of malpractice. Jack Grove considers the arguments

Modern research culture’s encouragement of widespread sharing makes disclosure risks inevitable, say Elizabeth Green and Felix Ritchie

Withdrawal of education papers by British Education Research Association is long overdue, says integrity campaigner who argues more retractions are needed

Businesses charging up to $5,000 for lead author credit with textbooks and design patents also for sale

After winning a spectacular legal claim against a Harvard University cancer centre, Eugenie Reich tells Jack Grove about the impact of the case, how universities ‘stonewall’ fraud allegations and why she quit journalism to help whistleblowers in science

Universities face sanctions if they fail to probe wrongdoing but critics say latest integrity push does nothing to tackle root causes of problem

The how and why of conducting transparent, rigorous, ethical research must be explicitly taught, say Madeleine Pownall, Charlotte Pennington and Flavio Azevedo 

Large numbers of editors publishing in their own special issue attacked as ‘academic narcissism’ and ‘scientific misconduct’ in first-of-its-kind study

Indian campaigner Achal Agrawal says research watchdog he founded gets tens of tip-offs regarding suspected malpractice every day

Little-noticed joint efforts by publishers to catch fake papers are delivering results but further ‘scaling’ is needed, says report

The £2 million recently awarded to a whistleblower by a US court is a rare reward for the volunteers who trawl the scientific literature for error and fraud. Yet their numbers continue to grow. So what drives them? And can their efforts ever cleanse more than a drop in a troubled ocean? Jack Grove reports 

Penalties for withdrawn papers and self-citation proposed by Stanford researcher would hit standing of Chinese universities

Disparity reflects broader under-representation of women in senior roles rather than increased likelihood men will make mistakes, researcher says

Chinese researchers worst affected as hundreds excluded from influential ranking because of ‘extreme’ level of authorship

All levels of scientific research must be transparent about where grants come from to avoid ‘manipulation and bias’, global science group says

Views becoming more entrenched on both sides, with roughly equal numbers positive and negative about new technologies, poll finds

Responding to early-career researchers’ honest questions with accusations of misconduct is a travesty of open science, says Madeleine Pownall

Digital Science said its investigation showed how weaknesses in research and publishing systems can be systematically exploited

With academics at ‘increasing risk’ of arbitrary detention, governments and universities must tackle cases in a ‘proactive’ way

Systems in place to deal with fraud struggling to keep up, increasing risk of research becoming ‘completely poisoned’

European universities’ overcompliance with data protection rules is making social research increasingly difficult, say Carine Vassy and Robert Dingwall   

New programme at Northumbria helps those with lived experience take more active role in researching mental health

‘Valuing voices’ checklist hopes to help academics to design research projects with ‘principles of inclusiveness’ in mind

‘Strategic obstruction’ by over-possessive researchers is ‘pervasive’ in some disciplines, forcing many scientists to exit sector, paper claims

National security U-turn ‘cutting Australia off from knowledge creation frontier’ just as US turns its back on collaboration

Bots’ tendency to display ‘unwarranted confidence’ and fixate on ‘pink elephants’ particularly risky in medical research, according to new paper

Institutions taking ‘as long as they like’ over investigations to protect reputations, according to Australian research integrity campaigner

Recording gender identity but not sex perpetuates historical exclusion of women from research, paper argues

Researchers are less likely to cite those accused of sexual misconduct but remain unmoved by fraud allegations, study finds

Dubious design registrations in the UK are being passed off as ‘international patents’ by Indian academics seeking to game promotion criteria, sleuths find

Victor Ponta quit as prime minister amid scandals including a renounced doctorate. Should he be allowed to run for president, asks Ararat Osipian