Doubting 'authenticity', international journal removes article with student's name

Scientific article by Vietnamese authors has just been removed

PHOTO: RETRACTION WATCH FOR VIETNAM

Reason for removing scientific articles

In recent days, public opinion has been stirred up by the news that a group of Vietnamese authors had their scientific article published in the Journal of Intelligent and Fuzzy Systems (JIFS) removed. This is a journal of Sage Publishing House, specializing in publishing practical applications and case studies in the fields of fuzzy logic, intelligent systems and web-based applications (such as Canva - PV).

At the time the above scientific article was published, the JIFS journal was in the Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE) database with an IF of 2.0, classified as Q2 (in a range from Q1 to Q4, with Q1 being the best quality journals).

The reason the case received so much attention was because the group of authors not only included experts and university students, but also high school students and the director of a study abroad company based in Hanoi .

Specifically, the article that was removed was titled: "Application of deep learning to wireless sensor networks to monitor emotions of high school students", posted online on August 3, 2023 and was removed in an investigation campaign conducted by Sage Publishing from the beginning of 2024 until now. In the announcement posted on April 19, the journal said that the removed article showed one or more signs that raised doubts about the "authenticity of the research" and "the peer review process".

The signs listed include: "Citation manipulation, including citations unrelated to the article; confusing, redundant passages and tortured phrases; possible unauthorized third-party involvement in the submission process; evidence of collusion between authors and reviewers that went undetected before publication; citations to articles that have been removed due to evidence of third-party interference and manipulation of the peer review process."

JIFS magazine did not specify whether the article by the Vietnamese authors had any signs of violation.

Notice of removal of scientific article and explanation of the reason for JIFS

PHOTO: JIFS

The first author and corresponding author of the removed article is Associate Professor, Dr. Le Quang Thao, currently working at the Faculty of Physics, University of Science (Vietnam National University, Hanoi). In addition, the article also has another corresponding author, Ms. Nguyen Thi Bich Diep, whose work address is listed as "Ivycation Company" headquartered in Hanoi (IVY PathEducation Company Limited, commonly known as Ivycation - PV).

In addition, the article also had the participation of 3 authors who were high school students at that time, including LKL, Reigate Vietnam High School (Hanoi, formerly Vietnam International School); TNBL, Nguyen Sieu High School (Hanoi); and NVL, Hanoi-Amsterdam High School for the Gifted. Although there is no evidence that these 3 students are related to Ms. Diep, many people speculate that they are likely her clients.

On its official Facebook page, Ivycation Company introduces itself as the "number 1 SAT prep unit nationwide", with the mission of "bringing the young generation to the door of the Ivy League (a group of elite universities in the US - PV)". Meanwhile, the company's website is currently showing a warranty status since the afternoon of May 19, after information that the scientific article by director Nguyen Thi Bich Diep was removed.

The group of authors of the article also includes D.D.C, a student of the Faculty of Mathematics-Mechanics-Informatics, University of Science (Vietnam National University, Hanoi).

Information about the removal of the scientific article was first shared on the Facebook group "Scientific Integrity", attracting thousands of interactions and shares, then continued to be reposted by some accounts on the social network Threads and received hundreds of thousands of views.

According to Retraction Watch of the Center for Scientific Integrity, a US-based non-profit organization, since the beginning of 2024, Sage Publishing has investigated the JIFS journal and to date, a total of 1,561 scientific articles have been removed. Most recently in April, the journal removed 678 articles, including those by Mr. Thao and Ms. Diep. The previous number was 467 in August 2024 and 416 in January this year.

The removal of the scientific article by a group of Vietnamese authors is part of a cleansing campaign that JIFS magazine has just carried out.

PHOTO: GEMINI

The majority of the authors of the retracted papers were from India and China. About half of the papers removed in April were published in 2023 and 2024. Retraction Watch said the retraction was part of a broader crackdown on activities that appear to be linked to paper mills. The journal JIFS has resumed publication after a temporary suspension to facilitate the investigation.

Many times research with high school students

According to information from the JIFS journal, in addition to the scientific article that was just removed, Associate Professor, Dr. Le Quang Thao and Ms. Nguyen Thi Bich Diep are also the corresponding authors of two other articles also published in this journal. All were published in the same year 2023, with the publication time only one day or a few months apart. These works also have the appearance of a number of authors who are high school students.

In Mr. Thao's research published on JIFS, there is also the participation of author NCB, who is studying for a bachelor's degree at the Faculty of Physics, University of Natural Sciences (Vietnam National University, Hanoi) - also where Mr. Thao is working.

In particular, the article: "Deep learning strategy based on the FightNet model: An innovative solution to prevent school violence" has the participation of Mr. Thao, Ms. Diep, NCB students, along with a student N.D.HG from the High School for Gifted Students in Natural Sciences (Hanoi National University) and student LKL who is the author of the article that was just removed. This article was published on August 2, 2023, one day before the newly removed article was published.

In the article: "Optimizing school toilet cleaning using wireless sensor networks and LSTM models", in addition to Mr. Thao, Ms. Diep, NCB, LKL, there are also 2 other students: NHMH, a student at the High School for the Gifted in Natural Sciences (Hanoi National University) and NTHM, a student at TH School (Hanoi). The group of authors also includes Dr. NDT, a researcher in Mr. Thao's unit; NHTD, a student at the University of Massachusetts (USA); and student D.D.C.

This article was published on May 8, 2023, and is also the first article that Mr. Thao and Ms. Diep published in JIFS magazine.

In addition, Mr. Thao also published the article "Bbcry: A Lightweight Deep Learning Model for Infant Cry Classification" in the JIFS journal as the first author and corresponding author, no longer with Ms. Diep. This article, which he co-authored with NCB students, D.D.C students and LKL students, was published on August 5, 2023 - 2 days after the newly removed article was published.

Thus, in 2023 alone, LKL students have participated in publishing a total of 4 scientific articles in the same journal. According to the author page on ResearchGate , this student said that he enrolled in a university in Hanoi since September 2024 and is currently a student at this school. This means that LKL students published 4 articles when they were only in grade 10.

Ivycation Company's website is currently showing a maintenance status on the evening of May 19, after information that the scientific article by director Nguyen Thi Bich Diep was removed.

PHOTO: SCREENSHOT

In addition to the JIFS journal, Mr. Thao is also the first author of a scientific article published in the journal Sensors and Actuators A: Physical , published by Elsevier. This article is titled "Monitoring and improving student concentration using deep learning and wireless sensor networks", published in January 2024.

The list of authors also includes many familiar names including NHMH students, NCB students, and D.D.C students. In addition, the article also has two other authors who are also high school students, PXB and LPMH, both studying at Hanoi-Amsterdam High School for the Gifted. In addition, there are lecturers currently working at the University of Natural Sciences (Vietnam National University, Hanoi).

According to data from publishers, Associate Professor Dr. Le Quang Thao has many other articles under the same name as high school students, such as "Deploying deep learning on edge devices to detect and reduce snoring" with two authors who are students from Phan Boi Chau High School for the Gifted (Nghe An) and High School for the Gifted in Natural Sciences (Hanoi), published in November 2024; "Increasing the opportunity to reuse components on printed circuit boards using deep learning" with two authors who are students from Hanoi-Amsterdam High School for the Gifted, published in December 2024...

These articles were published in various journals.

On the other hand, NCB students and D.D.C students were awarded first prize by the University of Natural Sciences (Vietnam National University, Hanoi) at the school-level student scientific research conference in 2023. These two students have participated in publishing many scientific articles with Associate Professor, Dr. Le Quang Thao in various proceedings and journals, according to data from ResearchGate.

According to Thanh Nien , Mr. Thao achieved the Associate Professor title in Physics in 2024 and is currently a senior lecturer at the Faculty of Physics, University of Science (Vietnam National University, Hanoi). In his application for recognition as an Associate Professor, Mr. Thao said he had published 31 scientific articles, including 19 in prestigious international journals. His main research interests are hardware circuit optimization, software engineering in adaptive control systems; and data processing in intelligent embedded systems.

Thanh Nien contacted Associate Professor Dr. Le Quang Thao and Ms. Nguyen Thi Bich Diep on May 19 via the email provided in the scientific article to learn more about the incident and ask for official comments, but have not received any response so far. In the letter, we asked about the extent and form of the authors' contributions to the recently removed scientific article, the reason the article was removed, the reason the two authors collaborated on research with high school students...

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nghi-ngo-tinh-xac-thuc-chuyen-san-quoc-te-go-bai-bao-co-hoc-sinh-dung-ten-185250520120934099.htm