February 6th, 2017

Retraction Watch Article:

Columbia University probe retraction of cardiovascular paper

1. Columbia University requested to retract the paper in Clinical Science

because it used a figure that was previously used in a paper from the
same author a few years prior.
2. The author claimed that the use of the picture was a writing error. He
argued that he was asked to submit a specific amount of images in the
paper. Due to the pressures of the demand he was forced to submit a
previously used figure. This is a form of dishonesty because the image
did not come from this specific study.
3. The call for the retraction was unsuccessful because the plagiarism
was deemed a mix-up. The author requested the journal instead be
published with a revised figure legend stating there was no misconduct
with the experiment or results found.
4. There could be no mix-up with images from one experiment done 2
years before and the one done now. The author had intentions to falsify
figures, which should have forced his entire paper to be retracted.
Although he had pressure to produce a specific amount of images in
his experiment, the use of an image that wasnt produced from the
same study is falsifying results and plagiarism of his own findings. An
example of this from a students perspective would be retaking a class
and submitting your own work from before. However, there was
pressure on the researcher to produce the amount of images that the
University demanded. Science needs to focus on the quality of the
work rather than the quantity.