A leading medical journal has retracted an editorial written by an Australian neurologist after an investigation revealed significant overlap with another article.
The BMJ group says it has retracted an article published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine in 2005 by its former editor Dr Paul McCrory.
Dr McCrory is a neurologist and sports physician with an interest in conditions such as concussion and is currently at the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne.
The retraction follows concerns raised by Professor Steve Haake, of the Sports Engineering Research Group, Sheffield Hallam University, that the article shared similarities with one he had written for Physics World in 2000.
The article “The time lords – measurement and performance in sprinting” appeared in the October 2005 print edition of the British Journal of Sports Medicine. Dr McCrory was editor of the journal between 2001 and 2008.
“This article has been retracted due to unlawful and indefensible breach of copyright. There was significant overlap with a previous publication, Physics, technology and the Olympics by Dr Steve Haake,” a retraction notice in the journal stated.