Scientific Integrity vs. Malpractice & Misconduct

...worried about scientific integrity & ethics, malpractice & misconduct?
...concerned that scientific fraud through 'FFP' (falsification, fabrication, plagiarism) is only the tip of the iceberg?
...troubled about 'paper mills' with papers & authorships on sale, 'ghost' authorships, fake & predatory journals?
...alarmed by fake affiliations, 'honorary', 'guest', 'gift' & hyper-authorships, hyperprolific authors and citation cartels?
...affected by bad science through lying & faking, re-inventing & concealing, neglectful citing, bumptious writing & eye-washing, careless reading & sloppy searching, and unscientific thinking & working?
you are not alone!

...if you are interested, I am offering seminars on these issues:

Scientific Integrity Decline in Current Materials Research:
Insights & Vistas Beneath the Tip of the Iceberg [Abstract]

Erosion of Scientific Integrity Fueled by Quantitative Evaluation Metrics [Abstract]

References & Links for further reading (...to be updated):

News on Scientific Misconduct

16.04.2024: The Spanish CSIC signs the Barcelona Declaration on Open Research, in particular not to leave the definition of quality of science to private companies read more (in Spanish)

12.02.2024: according to a recent report in the journal 'Nature', China conducts first nationwide review of retractions and research misconduct; Nature analysis reveals that since 2021 there have been more than 17,000 retractions with Chinese co-authors.

31.01.2024: according to a recent report in the journal 'Science', the recent removal of 1000 researchers from Clarivate's HCR list concerns the entire field of mathematics, due to the formation of a citation cartel, mainly located in China and Saudi Arabia ( read more), pushing irrelevant researchers with irrelevant papers into the HCR list.
Apparently, Clarivate is mortally terrified to loose it's business model, as 'citation gaming' becomes a popular 'sport' among certain researchers, fulfilling Goodhart's law.
Citation Cartels are found also in other fields and countries, see e.g. Clarivate Crackdown on Biochar Citation Cartel'' ...for our own research field, take a look also at these profiles (example-1, example-2), to conceive a qualified opinion.

12.12.2023 More than 10,000 research papers were retracted in 2023 — a new record, R. Van Noorden, Nature, 2023, 624, 479-481, read more ...now reaching a broader public: ‘The situation has become appalling’: fake scientific papers push research credibility to crisis point (R. McKie,The Guardian), read more

24.11.2023 Clarivate removes +1000 researchers from the list of "highly cited researcher", see their analysis, the article in El País, and A turning point for Saudi Arabian affiliations

Scientific Production & Hyperprolific Authorship:
04/2024: Elisabeth Bik, expert in scientific integrity: ‘We need to slow down scientific publishing’ read more
01/2024: Publishing and the Dissemination of Science read more
...articles in El País (in Spanish):
21.11.2023: Los científicos pagaron unos 1.000 millones de euros en cuatro años a las grandes editoriales para publicar sus estudios en abierto read more
31.10.2023: La burbuja de las revistas científicas se traga millones de euros de dinero público read more
...the El País article is based on the study by M. A. Hanson et al:
The Strain on Scientific Publishing
05.10.2023: Una megafábrica de estudios científicos falsos salpica a un vicerrector español y a tres colaboradores read more
03.06.2023: Un científico que publica un estudio cada dos días muestra el lado más oscuro de la ciencia read more
20.04.2023: Se nos pudre la ciencia read more
19.04.2023: Joan Subirats: “Una persona que hace un artículo cada tres días es algo complicado de entender” read more

Fake Affiliations:

03.11.2023 The Spanish science ministry takes action, establishing a ethics committee. In it's first report it defines rules on scientists' affiliations read more ...articles in El País (in Spanish):
08.11.2023: El CSIC abre expediente disciplinario a cinco científicos implicados en la trama saudí para amañar el ‘ranking’ de universidades” read more
04.05.2023: Un científico saudí que rechazó ser coautor fantasma en estudios españoles: “Debemos detener esta bufonada académica” read more
03.05.2023: Ética científica: ¿Cuántos escándalos tendrán que producirse para que tomemos medidas? read more
20.04.2023: Un catedrático capta con su empresa tapadera a científicos españoles para que mientan y digan que trabajan en una universidad saudí read more
19.04.2023: Una de las científicas más citadas del mundo, Ai Koyanagi, obligada a renunciar a su polémico contrato con una universidad saudí read more
18.04.2023: Arabia Saudí paga a científicos españoles para hacer trampas en el ‘ranking’ de las mejores universidades del mundo read more
31.03.2023: Suspendido de empleo y sueldo por 13 años uno de los científicos más citados del mundo, el español Rafael Luque read more
...if you want to see the whole updated international paylist of the "King Saud University", take a brave look at their 2023 "International Conference and Exhibition for Science" ...here all the resourceful 'scientrepeneurs' met together, including well-known faces who affiliated themselves with that 'extraordinary' Saudi institution while receiving their ordinary salaries from naive Spanish taxpayers... highlight of the conference was a future Nobel prize winner, to speak to this illustrious community of top Saudi scientists ...or to sum it up with Roman Emperor Vespasian: pecunia non olet

Hijacked Journals:
10.11.2020 The Journal of Nanoparticle Research victim of an organized rogue editor network!, N. Pinna, G. Clavel, M. C. Roco, J. Nanopart. Res. 2020, 22, 376

Citation Gaming:
03/2024: A. Bahamonde, P. Larrañaga, R. López de Mántaras, Contra la perversión del sistema de evaluación de la ciencia read more
03/2024: D. Docampo, The Dark World of ‘Citation Cartels’read more
05/2022: How citation cartels give ‘strategic scholars’ an advantage read more
07/2016: Watch out for cheats in citation game read more
06/2016: What do we know about journal citation cartels? read more
08/2013: Brazilian citation scheme outed read more

Predatory Conferences:
09/2023:The alarming rise of predatory conferences read more

Blogs on Scientific Integrity

Retractionwatch

Science Integrity Digest

The Scholarly Kitchen

Research Integrity Archives

For Better Science

The Embassy of Good Science

Research Misconduct News

Science-Education-Research

Essays & Perspectives on Scientific Integrity

Paper Trail - In the latest twist of the publishing arms race, firms churning out fake papers have taken to bribing journal editors, F. Joelving, Science 2024, 383, 253

The Strain on Scientific Publishing, M. A. Hanson et al, 2023, arXiv.2309.15884

Who should take responsibility for integrity in research?, G. Gaskell et al, 2023, read more

A Role for Funders in Fostering China’s Research Integrity, L. Tang, Science 2022, 375, 979

To Err is Human; To Reproduce Takes Time, S. L. Scott et al, ACS Catal. 2022, 12, 6, 3644

Re-imagining Priorities for Chemistry: A Central Science for “Freedom from Fear and Want”, S. A. Matlin, A. Krief, H. Hopf, G. Mehta, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2021, 60, 25610

Realigning science, society and policy in uncertain times, G. Mehta, H. Hopf, A. Krief, S. A. Matlin, R. Soc. Open Sci. 2020, 7, 200554.

Blocking the Hype-Hypocrisy-Falsification-Fakery Pathway is Needed to Safeguard Science, H. Hopf, S. A. Matlin, G. Mehta, A. Krief, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2020, 59, 2150

Research integrity: nine ways to move from talk to walk, N. Mejlgaard et al, Nature 2020, 586, 358

Transparency in authors’ contributions and responsibilities to promote integrity in scientific publication, M. K. McNutt et al, PNAS 2018, 115, 2557

May university rankings help uncover problematic or fraudulent research?, P. Wauters, 2013 read more

They did a bad bad thing, Editorial Nat. Chem. 2011, 3, 337

Scientific Self-Control

Barcelona Declaration on Open Research Information

EUChemS: Working Party on 'Ethics in Chemistry'

Scientific Misconduct and the Myth of Self-Correction in Science, W. Stroebe, T. Postmes, R. Spears, Perspect. Psychol. Sci. 2012, 7, 670

DORA: Initiative, based on the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (2013), read [addresses Individuals & Organizations]

COARA: Coalition for Advancing Research Assessment [addresses organizations]

Leiden Manifesto for Research Metrics (2015)

Hong Kong Principles for Assessing Researchers: Fostering Research Integrity (2020)

How Science Works (U. Berkeley)

PubPeer

Guidelines of Good Scientific Practice

German Science Foundation [DFG]: Code of Conduct “Guidelines for Safeguarding Good Research Practice” read more

The European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity (Revised Edition), ALLEA 2023, Berlin

CSIC (Spain): Scientific Integrity and Good Practises read more

European Charter for Researchers read more

COPE: Committee on Publication Ethics read more

Science & Society, Pseudoscience, Fake News

I. de Melo-Martín, K. Intemann, The Fight Against Doubt: How to Bridge the Gap Between Scientists and the Public, Oxford Academic, 2018

How the Scientific Method Invalidates “Fake News”, M. Carlton, L. Leininger, in: Teaching About Fake News: Lessons Plans for Different Disciplines and Audiences, (Ed.: C. Benjes-Small, C. Wittig, M. K. Oberlies). ACRL 2021. read more

Wiki Pseudociencias

Die Skeptiker (in German)

Teaching Science Ethics

J. Mehlich, Good Chemistry: Methodological, Ethical, and Social Dimensions, RSC Publishing, 2021

M. Thomsen, Ethics Inside and Outside the Physics Lab; in: R. Iphofen (Ed.) Handbook of Research Ethics and Scientific Integrity, p. 937-954, Springer 2020

Webinar Good Chemistry - Do Chemists Need Ethics? (J. Mehlich)

The Ethical and Social Dimensions of Chemistry: Reflections, Considerations, and Clarifications, J. Mehlich, F. Moser, B. Van Tiggelen, L. Campanella, H. Hopf, Chem. Eur. J. 2017, 23, 1210

Ethics of Chemistry - From Poison Gas to Climate Engineering, J. Schummer and T. Børsen (Eds), World Scientific, 2021

Ethics in Science - Ethical Misconduct in Scientific Research, J. D'Angelo, CRC Press, 2018

Scientific norms and ethical misconduct: research towards the design of a course in scientific ethics, A. M. Verdan, J. T. Ingallinera, G. Bhattacharyya, Chem. Educ. Res. Pract., 2010, 11, 118

Teaching Scientific Ethics Using the Example of Hendrik Schön, B. J. Feldman, US-China Education Review A 2012, 4, 418

Science on Science

Falsification & Fabrication
Research Misconduct—Definitions, Manifestations and Extent (Review), L. Bornmann, Publications 2013, 1, 87
The Demographics of Deception: What Motivates Authors Who Engage in Misconduct?, R. Grant Steen, Publications 2014, 2, 44
How Many Scientists Fabricate and Falsify Research? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Survey Data, D. Fanelli, Plos One 2009, 4, e5738

Retractions
The limitations of retraction notices and the heroic acts of authors who correct the scholarly record: An analysis of retractions of papers published from 1975 to 2019, Q.-H. Vuong, Learned Publishing 2020, 33, 119
Correcting the Scientific Record: Retraction Practices in Chemistry and Materials Science, F.-X. Coudert, Chem. Mater. 2019, 31, 10, 3593
Analysis of Retracted Manuscripts in Chemistry: Errors vs Misconduct, Y. Sevryugina, R. Jimenez, ACS Omega 2023, 8, 31568

Authorship
Intellectual contributions meriting authorship: Survey results from the top cited authors across all science categories, G. S. Patience, F. Galli, P. A. Patience, D. C. Boffito, PLoS ONE 2019, 14, e019811

Scientific Production
The strain on scientific publishing, M. A. Hanson, P. Gómez Barreiro, P. Crosetto, D. Brockington, read more
Research groups: How big should they be?, I. Cook, S. Grange, A. Eyre-Walker, PeerJ 2015, 3, e989

Citations
Growth in the number of references in engineering journal papers during the 1972–2013 period, I. Ucar, F. López-Fernandino, P. Rodriguez-Ulibarri, L. Sesma-Sanchez, V. Urrea-Micó, J. Sevilla, Scientometrics 2014, 98, 1855
Ten simple rules for responsible referencing, B. Penders, PLoS Comput Biol 2018, 14, e1006036
Literary runaway: Increasingly more references cited per academic research article from 1980 to 2019, C. Dai, Q. Chen, T. Wan, F. Liu, Y. Gong, Q. Wang, PLoS ONE 16(8): e0255849

Citation Gaming: Cartels, Mills, Fake
What Do Citations Count? The Rhetoric-First Model, Se. E. Cozzens, Scientometrics 1989, 15, 437
Toward the Discovery of Citation Cartels in Citation Networks, I. Fister Jr., I. Fister, M. Perc, Front. Phys. 2016, 4, 49
Detecting anomalous citation groups in journal networks, S. Kojaku, G. Livan, N. Masuda, Sci. Reports 2021, 11, 14524
Google Scholar is manipulatable H. Ibrahim, F. Liu, Y. Zaki, T. Rahwan, arxiv.org:2402.04607
Inaccurate citation, citation cartels, fake citations, citation of retracted papers: why research integrity needs citation integrity, J. Schneider, H. Kilicoglu, U. Illinois, read more

Publishing Metrics
Over-optimization of academic publishing metrics: observing Goodhart’s Law in action, M. Fire, C. Guestrin, GigaScience 2019, 8, 1
Some thoughts on transparency of the data and analysis behind the Highly Cited Researchers list, A.-M. Klein, N. Kranke, Scientometrics 2023, 128, 6773

Editorial Misconduct
Editorial Misconduct—Definition, Cases, and Causes (Review), M. Shelomi, Publications 2014, 2, 51

Reviewer Misconduct
Emerging plagiarism in peer-review evaluation reports: a tip of the iceberg?, M. Piniewski, I. Jaric, D. Koutsoyiannis, Z. W. Kundzewicz, Scientometrics 2024, in print

Research Projects on Scientific Misconduct

DFG Project: Summa cum fraude, and project description

ERC Project: NanoBubbles, dedicated on "how, when and why science fails to correct itself"

Glossary of Scientific Misconduct
...to come