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Retractions in the Cambridge Structural Database
Statement by Dr Colin Groom, Executive Director, CCDC
You may have read with concern the recent Editorial
Article by IUCr
in Acta Crystallographica Section E: Structure Reports Online (2010),
E66, e1-e2, which cited the publication of 70 structures based on
falsified data. These originated from the groups of Dr Zhong and Professor
Liu of Jinggangshan University, in 2007. The falsified data relating to these
publications are, of course, included in the Cambridge Structure
Database (CSD).
Structure data submitted for inclusion in the CSD have always gone
through a rigorous process of curation. Our team of experienced editors
checks depositions before they are passed into the database and we
regularly contact depositors to clarify inconsistencies. This is a
painstaking process in which we take great pride. We have always
operated on a basis of trusting that the submitting scientist has acted
honestly and, for the most part, our faith in the scientific community
at large has not been dented by this unfortunate incident. Indeed, we
congratulate the scientific team which uncovered the fraud and IUCr for
their prompt, effective actions. We realise, however, that we must now
be more vigilant for falsified data - a position we share with all
publishing bodies that serve the crystallography community.
We are, first and foremost, scientists, so we cannot pretend this
affair
did not happen and simply airbrush the relevant entries in CSD out of
existence. Such action would not serve our community well. We have
therefore decided to flag each relevant entry as "Retracted", remove
the data relating to it but to leave in place journal references and the
DOI's of each retraction. CSD users will be contacted with procedures
to update their installations accordingly.
Such instances of fraud are, thankfully, rare and we can now plan to
take the steps necessary to detect others tempted to falsify data.
This will ensure that the CSD remains the preeminent source of reliable,
curated crystallography data, serving chemistry communities worldwide.
Colin Groom
Executive Director
Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre
Cambridge, UK, January 2010
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