China sanctions hundreds of researchers following fraud investigation
Paper mills investigation results in funding bans and fines
China’s ministry of science and technology (Most) has sanctioned hundreds of researchers after an investigation concluded that they had published studies using fraudulent practices.
On 1 December, Most announced the outcome of its probe into 235 allegedly fake papers, with the agency concluding that 119 are definitely fraudulent.
‘That’s a very conservative number,’ concludes Xiaotian Chen, an information scientist at Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois. Chen notes that microbiologist-turned-science integrity expert Elisabeth Bik based in San Francisco, California, has flagged hundreds more fake studies that are produced by so-called paper mills, which churn out fake but plausible papers for cash.