I scanned thousands of research images by eye to expose academic fraud

Science consultant Elisabeth Bik is on a mission to detect duplicate images in scientific papers, exposing either genuine mistakes or signs of fraud.

So, what do you do?

I scan the biomedical literature for scientific papers with duplicated images. There are several causes of duplicates, ranging from honest errors to sloppy data management or deliberate intention to mislead. If I find papers with image or other concerns, I write to the editors of the journal or to the affiliated institutions.

What’s wrong with duplicates?

The duplicated images fall into three broad categories. There is the simple duplication, in which the whole photo is inserted twice within the same paper. This type is the most likely to be an honest mistake. The second category …