A two-year BMJ investigation into the research integrity of Australian neurologist Associate Professor Paul McCrory has concluded with a further six articles retracted and two corrected, mostly due to plagiarism.
The inquiry followed concerns an editorial by the high-profile concussion expert, written in 2005 when he was editor-in-chief of the BMJ’s British Journal of Sports Medicine, shared similarities with another researcher’s work.
The initial findings resulted in the retraction of 10 single-authored articles in 2022 — including editorials, opinion pieces, and commentaries – due to plagiarism, redundant publication, and in one case, misrepresentation of a quote.
In an editorial published this month [link here], the journal explained the latest tranche of retractions and corrections was the result of a request for review of ‘several other articles’ by a former employer, the University of Melbourne.
“This has resulted in the retraction of four ‘warm up’ editorials and one book review in BJSM due to plagiarism. A letter in BJSM has been retracted due to duplicate publication. A research article and a review article in BJSM have also been corrected due to inappropriate reuse of content,” the journal said.
Professor McCrory was the only author of the articles, which were published between 2005 and 2013, and agreed to the retractions, the journal said.
Expressions of concern have also been applied to articles published in BMJ journals in which McCrory was the single author – mostly in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, but also the BMJ and Injury Prevention.
A former advisor to sports bodies including the AFL and Formula 1 as well as Collingwood Football Club doctor for 15 years, Professor McCrory had been considered a leading figure in concussion research before plagiarism accusations became public in February 2022.
At the time, he was also stood down as chair of the influential Concussion in Sport Group, which had developed consensus guidelines on concussion.
Publication ethics and content integrity editor Dr Helen Macdonald said no further action would be taken as no other concerns had been raised with the BMJ.
“But should any further allegations be made about Dr McCrory’s work published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine or in any of the other titles in BMJ’s journal portfolio, these will be investigated,” she said in a statement.
Professor Jonathan Drezner, editor-in-chief of the British Journal of Sports Medicine, added: “Upholding the scientific integrity of our published content is a top priority for the British Journal of Sports Medicine and all BMJ journals.”