{"id":606524,"date":"2024-01-28T20:32:41","date_gmt":"2024-01-28T17:32:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/science-sleuths-are-using-technology-to-find-fakery-and-plagiarism-in-published-research\/"},"modified":"2024-01-28T20:32:41","modified_gmt":"2024-01-28T17:32:41","slug":"science-sleuths-are-using-technology-to-find-fakery-and-plagiarism-in-published-research","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/science-sleuths-are-using-technology-to-find-fakery-and-plagiarism-in-published-research\/","title":{"rendered":"#Science sleuths are using technology to find fakery and plagiarism in published research"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3bc1a0d1b82\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3bc1a0d1b82\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/science-sleuths-are-using-technology-to-find-fakery-and-plagiarism-in-published-research\/#WHAT_HAPPENED_AT_DANA-FARBER\" >WHAT HAPPENED AT DANA-FARBER?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/science-sleuths-are-using-technology-to-find-fakery-and-plagiarism-in-published-research\/#WHAT_HAPPENS_NEXT\" >WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<pre><code>                                     by Carla K. Johnson                                                                                                                    &lt;\/p&gt;&lt;div&gt;\n<\/code><\/pre>\n<div class=\"article-gallery lightGallery\">\n<div data-thumb=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/tmb\/2024\/science-sleuths-are-us-1.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/hires\/2024\/science-sleuths-are-us-1.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"This photo provided by Sholto David shows David at his home in Pontypridd, Wales, Friday, Jan. 26, 2024. David is a scientist-sleuth who detects image manipulation in published scientific papers. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute announced it is requesting six retractions and 31 corrections of scientific papers after he flagged problems in a recent blog post. Credit: Sholto David via AP\">\n<figure class=\"article-img\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/800a\/2024\/science-sleuths-are-us-1.jpg\" alt=\"Science sleuths are using technology to find fakery and plagiarism in published research\" title=\"This photo provided by Sholto David shows David at his home in Pontypridd, Wales, Friday, Jan. 26, 2024. David is a scientist-sleuth who detects image manipulation in published scientific papers. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute announced it is requesting six retractions and 31 corrections of scientific papers after he flagged problems in a recent blog post. Credit: Sholto David via AP\" width=\"800\" height=\"530\"\/><figcaption class=\"text-darken text-low-up text-truncate-js text-truncate mt-3\">\n                This photo provided by Sholto David shows David at his home in Pontypridd, Wales, Friday, Jan. 26, 2024. David is a scientist-sleuth who detects image manipulation in published scientific papers. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute announced it is requesting six retractions and 31 corrections of scientific papers after he flagged problems in a recent blog post. Credit: Sholto David via AP<br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Allegations of research fakery at a leading cancer center have turned a spotlight on scientific integrity and the amateur sleuths uncovering image manipulation in published research.<\/p>\n<pre><code>                                          &lt;section class=\"article-banner first-banner ads-336x280\"&gt;&lt;!-- \/4988204\/Phys_Story_InText_Box --&gt;\n  &lt;\/section&gt;Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, a Harvard Medical School affiliate, announced Jan. 22 that it's requesting retractions and corrections of scientific papers after a British blogger flagged problems in early January.\n<\/code><\/pre>\n<p>The blogger, 32-year-old Sholto David, of Pontypridd, Wales, is a scientist-sleuth who detects cut-and-paste image manipulation in published scientific papers.<\/p>\n<p>He&#8217;s not the only hobbyist poking through pixels. Other champions of scientific integrity are keeping researchers and <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/sciencee\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"5\" title=\"Science\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">science<\/a> journals on their toes. They use special software, oversized computer monitors and their eagle eyes to find flipped, duplicated and stretched images, along with potential plagiarism.<\/p>\n<p>A look at the situation at Dana-Farber and the sleuths hunting sloppy errors and outright fabrications:<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"WHAT_HAPPENED_AT_DANA-FARBER\"><\/span>WHAT HAPPENED AT DANA-FARBER?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>In a <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/forbetterscience.com\/2024\/01\/02\/dana-farberications-at-harvard-university\/\">Jan. 2 blog post<\/a>, Sholto David presented suspicious images from more than 30 published papers by four Dana-Farber scientists, including CEO Laurie Glimcher and COO William Hahn.<\/p>\n<p>Many images <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>eared to have duplicated segments that would make the scientists&#8217; results look stronger. The papers under scrutiny involve lab research on the workings of cells. One involved samples from bone marrow from human volunteers.<\/p>\n<p>The blog post included problems spotted by David and others previously exposed by sleuths on <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/pubpeer.com\/static\/about\">PubPeer<\/a>, a site that allows anonymous comments on scientific papers.<\/p>\n<p>Student journalists at <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thecrimson.com\/article\/2024\/1\/12\/dana-farber-research-misconduct-allegations\/\">The Harvard Crimson<\/a> covered the story on Jan. 12, followed by reports in other <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a>. Sharpening the attention was the recent plagiarism investigation involving former Harvard president Claudine Gay, who resigned early this year.<\/p>\n<pre><code>                                                                                                                                        &lt;h2&gt;HOW DID DANA-FARBER RESPOND?&lt;\/h2&gt;\n<\/code><\/pre>\n<p>Dana-Farber said it already had been looking into some of the problems before the blog post. By Jan. 22, the institution said it was in the process of requesting six retractions of published research and that another 31 papers warranted corrections.<\/p>\n<p>Retractions are serious. When a journal retracts an article that usually means the research is so severely flawed that the findings are no longer reliable.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Barrett Rollins, research integrity officer at Dana-Farber, said in a statement: &#8220;Following the usual practice at Dana-Farber to review any potential data error and make corrections when warranted, the institution and its scientists already have taken prompt and decisive action in 97 percent of the cases that had been flagged by blogger Sholto David.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-gallery lightGallery\">\n<div data-thumb=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/tmb\/2024\/science-sleuths-are-us.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/hires\/2024\/science-sleuths-are-us.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"A sign hangs from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Aug. 18, 2022, in Boston. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute announced it\u2019s requesting six retractions and 31 corrections of scientific papers after a British blogger flagged problems in early January 2024. Credit: AP Photo\/Charles Krupa, File\">\n<figure class=\"article-img text-center\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/800a\/2024\/science-sleuths-are-us.jpg\" alt=\"Science sleuths are using technology to find fakery and plagiarism in published research\" title=\"A sign hangs from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Aug. 18, 2022, in Boston. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute announced it\u2019s requesting six retractions and 31 corrections of scientific papers after a British blogger flagged problems in early January 2024. Credit: AP Photo\/Charles Krupa, File\"\/><figcaption class=\"text-left text-darken text-truncate text-low-up mt-3\">\n                A sign hangs from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Aug. 18, 2022, in Boston. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute announced it\u2019s requesting six retractions and 31 corrections of scientific papers after a British blogger flagged problems in early January 2024. Credit: AP Photo\/Charles Krupa, File<br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><b>WHO ARE THE SLEUTHS?<\/b><\/p>\n<p>California microbiologist Elisabeth Bik, 57, has been sleuthing for a decade. Based on her work, scientific journals have retracted 1,133 articles, corrected 1,017 others and printed 153 expressions of concern, according to a spreadsheet where she tracks what happens after she reports problems.<\/p>\n<p>She has found doctored images of bacteria, cell cultures and western blots, a lab technique for detecting proteins.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Science should be about finding the truth,&#8221; Bik told The Associated Press. She <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/journals.asm.org\/doi\/10.1128\/mbio.00809-16\">published an analysis<\/a> in the American Society for Microbiology in 2016: Of more than 20,000 peer-reviewed papers, nearly 4% had image problems, about half where the manipulation seemed intentional.<\/p>\n<p>Bik&#8217;s work brings donations from Patreon subscribers of about $2,300 per month and occasional honoraria from speaking engagements. David told AP his Patreon income recently picked up to $216 per month.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Technology<\/a> has made it easier to root out image manipulation and plagiarism, said New York University science educator Ivan Oransky, co-founder of the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/retractionwatch.com\/\">Retraction Watch<\/a> blog. The sleuths download scientific papers and use software tools to help find problems.<\/p>\n<p>Others doing the investigative work remain anonymous and post their findings under pseudonyms. Together, they have &#8220;changed the equation&#8221; in scientific publication, Oransky said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;They want science to be and do better,&#8221; Oransky said. &#8220;And they are frustrated by how uninterested most people in academia\u2014and certainly in publishing\u2014are in correcting the record.&#8221; They&#8217;re also concerned about the erosion of public trust in science.<\/p>\n<pre><code>                                                                                                                                        &lt;h2&gt;WHAT MOTIVATES MISCONDUCT?&lt;\/h2&gt;\n<\/code><\/pre>\n<p>Bik said some mistakes could be sloppy errors where images were mislabeled or &#8220;somebody just grabbed the wrong photo.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>But some images are obviously altered with sections duplicated or rotated or flipped. Scientists building their careers or seeking tenure face pressure to get published. Some may intentionally falsify data, knowing that the process of peer review\u2014when a journal sends a manuscript to experts for comments\u2014is unlikely to catch fakery.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;At the end of the day, the motivation is to get published,&#8221; Oransky said. &#8220;When the images don&#8217;t match the story you&#8217;re trying to tell, you beautify them.&#8221;<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"WHAT_HAPPENS_NEXT\"><\/span>WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Scientific journals investigate errors brought to their attention but usually keep their processes confidential until they take action with a retraction or correction.<\/p>\n<p>Some journals told the AP they were aware of the concerns raised by David&#8217;s blog post and were looking into the matter.<\/p>\n<pre><code>                                                                                                                         &lt;p class=\"article-main__note mt-4\"&gt;\n                                              \u00a9 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.\n                                         &lt;\/p&gt;\n\n                                    &lt;!-- print only --&gt;\n                                    &lt;div class=\"d-none d-print-block\"&gt;\n\n                                            &lt;strong&gt;Citation&lt;\/strong&gt;:\n                                            Science sleuths are using technology to find fakery and plagiarism in published research (2024, January 28)\n                                            retrieved 29 January 2024\n                                            from https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2024-01-science-sleuths-technology-fakery-plagiarism.html\n\n\n                                         This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no\n                                         part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.\n\n                                    &lt;\/div&gt;\n\n                                &lt;\/div&gt;&lt;script id=\"facebook-jssdk\" async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js\"&gt;&lt;\/script&gt;\n<\/code><\/pre>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more Like this articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/science\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Science category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2024-01-science-sleuths-technology-fakery-plagiarism.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Carla K. Johnson &lt;\/p&gt;&lt;div&gt; This photo provided by Sholto David shows David at his home in Pontypridd, Wales, Friday, Jan. 26, 2024. David is a scientist-sleuth who detects image manipulation in published scientific papers. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute announced it is requesting six retractions and 31 corrections of scientific papers after he flagged problems in&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":606525,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/hires\/2024\/science-sleuths-are-us-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-606524","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sciencee"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/606524","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=606524"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/606524\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/606525"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=606524"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=606524"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=606524"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}