(20 November 2018, Piscataway, N.J.) IEEE, the world’s largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for humanity, today announced it is retracting 29 articles that were published in IEEE Transactions on Electromagnetic Compatibility from 2017 to 2018 because of violations of IEEE policy discovered in the peer review process of those articles. IEEE requires strict adherence to its policies, and will issue retractions when warranted.
In addition, the IEEE Board of Directors has established a committee to examine all aspects of peer review practice across the organization and make recommendations for improvement. The findings of the committee will be published upon the conclusion of the committee’s review.
Earlier this year, IEEE received an allegation of misconduct in the peer review process for IEEE Transactions on Electromagnetic Compatibility. An extensive investigation found evidence of systematic violation of IEEE’s policies governing peer review of articles. Three volunteer editors identified during the investigation as involved in the misconduct have been permanently excluded from IEEE membership. They have been prohibited from publishing with IEEE in the future and no longer hold any positions on an IEEE publication.
“IEEE is committed to ensuring the integrity and quality of the research results published in IEEE journals. A high-quality peer review process is essential to maintaining this standard of quality and integrity,” said Michael Forster, Managing Director, Publications, IEEE. “For that reason, the IEEE Board of Directors has directed a committee to review all policies, processes and systems used by IEEE to manage peer review. It will publish its findings and implement additional steps to safeguard and uphold the standards of our journals, editors and authors.”
The announcement is here.