Concussion expert in new plagiarism scandal as BMJ retracts more papers
High-profile Australian neurologist and concussion expert Associate Professor Paul McCrory is embroiled in a new plagiarism scandal, with The BMJ retracting six more of his articles.
The publisher began investigating Professor McCrory two years ago, amid allegations he had plagiarised another researcher’s work in a 2005 editorial while he was editor-in-chief of the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
That initial 2022 inquiry resulted in the retraction of 10 single-author articles, including opinions, editorials and commentaries for plagiarism, duplication or for allegedly misrepresenting another author’s work.
The latest retractions for plagiarism involved four ‘warm up’ editorials and one book review — with the latter found to involve self-plagiarism from Professor McCrory’s previous work.
The investigation found he directly lifted several paragraphs from two previous articles by other doctors.
A “significant part” of the content of other articles was found to have come from earlier publications.
A sixth article — a letter — was retracted because it was published twice in the journal.
Two further pieces — a research article and a review article — were corrected due to inappropriate re-use of content.
Professor McCrory had agreed to the retractions, The BMJ said.
The publisher said the investigation was now concluded, but it had placed ‘expressions of concern’ on single-author pieces by Professor McCrory.
Most of these were published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, with the remainder in The BMJ and Injury Prevention.
At the time the plagiarism allegations first surfaced in late February 2022, Professor McCrory was chair of the Concussion in Sport Group, an international group providing consensus statements to contact sports codes around the world, including the AFL and the NRL.
He had also acted as an adviser to the AFL and helped frame its return-to-play concussion policy.
Professor McCrory said an “unintentional error” was to blame for the “significant overlap” between an editorial he wrote and the work of British sports engineer and researcher Professor Steve Haake, published five years earlier.
“What was uploaded in this particular situation was the early working draft of the manuscript, not the final version, and as the draft was incomplete, it failed to appropriately cite the original and excellent work of Professor Haake,” he said at the time.
The AFL conducted an independent review into all the research and advice Professor McCrory had provided during his role of adviser until the two parted ways in 2021.
It found the plagiarism allegations did not “affect or taint the work that [he] has undertaken for the AFL, in large part because there is no accusation of falsification or fabrication of relevant research”.
The same year the Medical Board of Australia also revealed it had launched an investigation into the neurologist.
Professor McCrory has given an undertaking not to perform neurodiagnostic procedures, nerve conduction studies or electromyography until approved to do so by the board.
Read more:
- Top neurologist’s concussion advice not ‘tarnished’ by plagiarism, review finds
- BMJ retracts papers by Aus concussion researcher who ‘broke its trust’
More information: Br J Sports Med 2024; 10 May.
