Category Archives: public health/safety
Data mishap forces retraction of paper on gun laws, domestic killings
The authors of a 2018 paper on the effects of gun laws on domestic violence have retracted the article after discovering errors in their analysis and replaced it with a clean version. The new study shows that some gun laws — particularly ones that keep firearms out of the hands of violent offenders, even if … Continue reading Data mishap forces retraction of paper on gun laws, domestic killings
Posted by in data issues, oxford university press, public health/safety, united states
How much cancer stems from diabetes, obesity? Lancet journal swaps high-profile paper
Six months ago, the media was ablaze with the findings of a new paper, showing that nearly six percent of cancer cases are caused, at least in part, by obesity and diabetes. But this week, the journal retracted that paper — and replaced it with a revised version. The new paper doesn’t change the main … Continue reading How much cancer stems from diabetes, obesity? Lancet journal swaps high-profile paper
A frustrated former editor asked a publishing group for help. He didn’t like what they said.
When the former editor of a public health journal didn’t get a straight answer about why the journal retracted his paper that was critical of corporate-sponsored research, he brought his concerns to an organization dedicated to promoting integrity in academic publishing. He wanted the group to help resolve the impasse he’d reached with the publisher, … Continue reading A frustrated former editor asked a publishing group for help. He didn’t like what they said.
Don’t like a paper, but don’t want to retract it? Just issue an “editorial statement”
Last April, the American Journal of Epidemiology and the American Journal of Public Health published a rare joint editorial statement. It concerned a pair of papers on the topic of mortality and obesity. Several complaints had prompted the journals to investigate. Their assessment: These papers contained inaccurate results. The statement was not a retraction—it was … Continue reading Don’t like a paper, but don’t want to retract it? Just issue an “editorial statement”
Study that said hate cuts 12 years off gay lives fails to replicate
A highly cited paper has received a major correction as a result of the ongoing battle over attitudes towards gay people, when a prominent — and polarizing — critic showed it could not be replicated. In December 2017, researchers led by Mark Hatzenbuehler of Columbia University corrected the paper, originally published in Social Science […]
For the second time, researchers retract — then republish — a vaccine paper
Two researchers with a troubled publication history about vaccine safety have withdrawn their third paper. Along with several other co-authors, Christopher Shaw, of the University of British Columbia, and Lucija Tomljenovic, of the Neural Dynamics Research Group, recently withdrew a 2017 paper about a controversy over a tetanus vaccination program in Kenya. The paper […]
Journal retracts “hopelessly flawed” paper linking cell phone radiation to pain
A journal is retracting a paper linking radio waves from cell phone towers to pain in amputees, despite objections from the authors. “Anthropogenic Radio-Frequency Electromagnetic Fields Elicit Neuropathic Pain in an Amputation Model,” originally published Jan. 16, 2016 in PLOS ONE, suggested that rats with injured nerves experienced pain when exposed to the type of […]
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RAND re-releases withdrawn report modelling child mistreatment
A think tank has re-issued a report on child welfare in the U.S., six months after it pulled the document amidst criticism from dozens of researchers. The report offered policy recommendations for improving the child welfare system, based on numerical modeling conducted by researchers at the RAND Corporation. RAND pulled the initial version of the […]
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Posted by in psychology, public health/safety, united states
“This is about saving kids’ lives:” Authors update pivotal car seat safety results
A BMJ journal has published an updated analysis of a 2007 paper that shaped current car seat safety recommendations, which reports less conclusive findings about the safest way to install the seat. The updated analysis follows an expression of concern the journal Injury Prevention added to the paper in June 2017, after the authors and […]
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Posted by in bmj, Injury Prevention, public health/safety, united states
Caught Our Notice: To know if someone’s been vaccinated, just asking isn’t enough
Title: Hepatitis B Virus Infection in Preconception Period Among Women of Reproductive Age in Rural China – A Nationwide Study What Caught Our Attention: When researchers set out to study hepatitis B among women in rural China, and they wanted to know if the women had been vaccinated against the virus, they simply asked them. While […]
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