Most chemistry papers retracted for serious, not trivial problems

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From the Trust Science! Files: While most of the papers were retracted for plagiarism and data manipulation, according to a recent study,

Dr. Coudert learned that 229 of the 331 papers (69%) were retracted for plagiarism and “data manipulation,” which, more often than not, is a nice way of saying “fraud.” (See chart.) Only 54 of the papers (16%) were retracted due to “honest errors.”Alex Berezow, “Chemistry Papers Are Retracted Mostly Due To Plagiarism, Data Manipulation” at American Council on Science and Health

… that’s not the whole story. Plagiarism is now easy to catch (which is why we hear about it so much). Treating data as the basis for stunning fiction can often be detected too, Berezow says. But honest error? That’s surprisingly hard to catch, for reasons he sets out.

Paper. (open access)

Trust science? No. Rather, trust but verify.

See also: Another Snippet From “Why People Don’t Trust Science Any More”

At Forbes: Four Reasons People “Fear Science”

Educating Oneself Away From Science Denial: Two True Stories

and

A study of the causes of science skepticism sails right by the most obvious cause of skepticism: Repeated untrustworthiness

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