Research Report: Suspicious Methodology and Data Fabrication Tendencies in a Study on Passenger Equipment Failures and Casualty Processes in Metro Stations

Academic fraud report · Geng Detector

Summary

This report examines a 2025 paper by Cui Tiejun, Li Shasha, and Wang Xinyang published in the Journal of Chongqing Jiaotong University (Natural Science Edition), DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1674-0696.2025.10.08, titled 'Study on Equipment Failures Used by Passengers in Metro Stations and the Resulting Casualty Process.' The overall verdict is highly suspicious, with strong indicators of methodological padding and potential academic inflation rather than confirmed misconduct. The central methodological concern is that the authors arbitrarily set all 21 transmission probabilities (tp1–tp21) in their case-study network to the constant value 0.1, which is physically implausible and strips subsequent importance calculations of engineering meaning. Secondary issues include pseudo-precision in computed outputs (values reported to 8 decimal places despite inputs of only 4 decimals), reliance on literature-derived rather than empirically observed network topology, and heavy self-citation of the authors' prior 'spatial fault network theory.' Confidence in the methodological critique is high; the image-manipulation dimension is not applicable as no experimental figures are present. Final determination requires institutional investigation.

Verdict

Highly Suspicious — Strong Methodological Inflation and Potential Data Fabrication Tendency (Orange Alert). The paper's case study arbitrarily fixes all 21 transmission probabilities to a constant value of 0.1, undermining the physical meaning of the derived importance rankings. Additional concerns include pseudo-precise numerical outputs, a network topology constructed from secondary literature rather than field data, and extensive self-citation of the authors' prior theoretical framework. No confirmed misconduct is established; institutional investigation is recommended.

Key findings

Central methodological flaw: In Section 4 (Case Analysis, p. 36), all transmission probabilities tp1 through tp21 are set equal to 0.1 with no engineering justification.
Pseudo-precision in results: Importance values are reported to 8 decimal places (e.g., Za10 = 0.67185525; Za1 = 0.02075223) despite inputs limited to 4 decimal places, with no significant-figure rounding.
Empirical grounding absent: The 13-event / 21-condition / 20-path network (Figure 1) is constructed from the authors' interpretation of references [7] (urban rail transit risk evolution) and [8] (freight-vehicle accident causation), not from metro incident reports.
Self-referential citation pattern: References [5], [6], and [9] are all authored by Cui Tiejun and Li Shasha, indicating the framework is being reapplied across domains.
Image analysis: Not applicable; the paper contains only a topology diagram and no experimental imagery (Western blots, microscopy, flow cytometry, etc.).

Evidence highlights

Direct quoted setting from p. 36: "设定传递概率 tp1,…,tp21 = 0.1" (set all 21 transmission probabilities to 0.1).
Sample reported values: Za10 = 0.67185525; Za1 = 0.02075223; full-line transmission probability importance values to 8 decimal places.
Input precision: parameters such as q10 = 0.4291 (4 decimal places).
DOI preserved: 10.3969/j.issn.1674-0696.2025.10.08.
Author affiliations: Shenyang Ligong University, School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering; Liaoning Modern Safety Engineering Industry College.
Receipt date: 2024-10-27; publication: October 2025.

Notes

This report is AI-assisted and intended for academic discussion only.
The critique focuses on methodology and reporting; final determination of academic misconduct requires investigation by the journal editorial office and/or the authors' institution (Shenyang Ligong University).
Image-based fraud analysis (pixel-level manipulation) is not applicable to this purely theoretical paper.
All quoted figures and DOI are reproduced exactly as provided in the source report; no findings have been invented.