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General Forums => Generic Discussion => Topic started by: Dan on August 07, 2013, 09:48:32 AM

Title: "Just make up an elemental analysis" - Apparent data fabrication request
Post by: Dan on August 07, 2013, 09:48:32 AM
This one is doing the rounds: Lack of proof-reading apparently leads to the following:

"Emma, please insert NMR data here! where are they? and for this compound, just make
up an elemental analysis..."

being left in the supporting information for Organometallics 2013 ASAP DOI: 10.1021/om4000067

Highlighted in this blog:

http://blog.chembark.com/2013/08/06/a-disturbing-note-in-a-recent-si-file/

Supporting information is open access and can be found here (see p12):

http://pubs.acs.org/doi/suppl/10.1021/om4000067/suppl_file/om4000067_si_002.pdf

How embarrassing... For the reviewers and editor as well as the authors.
Title: Re: "Just make up an elemental analysis" - Apparent data fabrication request
Post by: curiouscat on August 07, 2013, 10:19:25 AM
Love it!  ;D
Title: Re: "Just make up an elemental analysis" - Apparent data fabrication request
Post by: curiouscat on August 07, 2013, 10:24:56 AM
Guess what he'll say? I'm putting my bet on: "My English was bad. "Make up" = do / run"
Title: Re: "Just make up an elemental analysis" - Apparent data fabrication request
Post by: Corribus on August 07, 2013, 10:48:40 AM
Moral: If you're going to tell your grad student to fabricate data, pick up the phone.
Title: Re: "Just make up an elemental analysis" - Apparent data fabrication request
Post by: curiouscat on August 07, 2013, 10:51:41 AM
Moral: If you're going to tell your grad student to fabricate data, pick up the phone.

Know what I used to be mortally afraid of? Saying something like "That reviewer is an idiot" in a Word Comment field during the endless back-n-forth of multiple collaborator review phase and then an unsanitized Word File passes through.
Title: Re: "Just make up an elemental analysis" - Apparent data fabrication request
Post by: Archer on August 07, 2013, 11:00:09 AM
I would never let a student get away with making up data, I had to show my elemental analysis for my viva! fabricated results = failed PhD.

I hope that the supervisor is taken to task on this misconduct.
Title: Re: "Just make up an elemental analysis" - Apparent data fabrication request
Post by: curiouscat on August 07, 2013, 11:04:35 AM
The sad part is this sort of thing happens a lot more than we think. It's only rare that someone gets caught...
Title: Re: "Just make up an elemental analysis" - Apparent data fabrication request
Post by: Corribus on August 07, 2013, 11:22:56 AM
Sad or not, this one's going in my special 'funny figures and other crap from peer-reviewed articles' folder.
Title: Re: "Just make up an elemental analysis" - Apparent data fabrication request
Post by: 408 on August 07, 2013, 10:40:55 PM
(http://i.imgur.com/5GlRI.gif)
This is going to be good...
Title: Re: "Just make up an elemental analysis" - Apparent data fabrication request
Post by: 408 on August 08, 2013, 09:05:29 PM
This thread is potentially of interest to show a non-native English speaker using the same phrasing that got this prof in trouble:
http://www.chemicalforums.com/index.php?topic=70012.0#msg252172
Title: Re: "Just make up an elemental analysis" - Apparent data fabrication request
Post by: curiouscat on August 08, 2013, 11:57:11 PM
This thread is potentially of interest to show a non-native English speaker using the same phrasing that got this prof in trouble:
http://www.chemicalforums.com/index.php?topic=70012.0#msg252172

Send it to that Professor. It just might help save his job.
Title: Re: "Just make up an elemental analysis" - Apparent data fabrication request
Post by: Archer on August 09, 2013, 01:41:32 AM
This thread is potentially of interest to show a non-native English speaker using the same phrasing that got this prof in trouble:
http://www.chemicalforums.com/index.php?topic=70012.0#msg252172

Send it to that Professor. It just might help save his job.

Oh I think It's a bit late for advising the prof.

Chembark had a post from the editor of Organometallics as one of the comments on the original story.

Quote
Wednesday 07 August
Dear Friends of Organometallics,

Chemical Abstracts alerted us to the statement you mention,which was overlooked during the peer review process, on Monday 05 August. At that time, the manuscript was pulled from the print publication queue. The author has explained to us that the statement pertains to a compound that was”downgraded” from something being isolated to a proposed intermediate. Hence, we have left the ASAP manuscript on the web for now. We are requiring that the author submit originals of the microanalysis data before putting the manuscript back in the print publication queue. Many readers have commented that the statement reflects poorly on the moral or ethical character of the author, but the broad “retribution” that some would seek is not our purview. As Editors, our “powers” are limited to appropriate precautionary measures involving future submissions by such authors to Organometallics, the details of which would be confidential (ACS Ethical Guidelines, http://pubs.acs.org/page/policy/ethics/index.html). Our decision to keep the supporting information on the web, at least for the time being, is one of transparency and honesty toward the chemical community. Other stakeholders can contemplate a fuller range of responses. Some unedited opinions from the community are available in the comments section of a blog posting: http://blog.chembark.com/2013/08/06/a-­ disturbing-note‐in-a-recent-si-file/#comments

If you have any criticisms of the actions described above, please do not hesitate to share them with me. Thanks much for being a reader of Organometallics, and best wishes,
John Gladysz Editor-in‐Chief

The fact that the corresponding author has not come out immediately to say "this is a language issue, I meant to say just make up a sample for EA" shows that this is not the case.

I simply hope, for the supervisors sake, that this was a one off as the journal wants to see all EA data.
Title: Re: "Just make up an elemental analysis" - Apparent data fabrication request
Post by: curiouscat on August 09, 2013, 02:39:31 AM
The fact that the corresponding author has not come out immediately to say "this is a language issue, I meant to say just make up a sample for EA" shows that this is not the case.

I simply hope, for the supervisors sake, that this was a one off as the journal wants to see all EA data.

I have it over the grapevine that the Professor involved sent something in the vein of a private apology to fellow faculty.

Again, could be just a rumor.