Johnny Matson
Johnny Lee Matson is a former professor in the Department of Psychology at Louisiana State University recognized for his work in the social sciences. Matson's research topics were development, assessment and treatment of co-morbid conditions in developmental intellectual disabilities, including autism spectrum disorders. Matson's high number of self publications, self citations, and peer review practices have been questioned by social scientists. In 2023 it was reported that Matson had 24 of his research papers retracted due to scientific misconduct.
Johnny Lee Matson | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 23, 1951 |
| Alma mater | Eastern Illinois University, Indiana State University |
| Spouse | Yes |
| Children | Two |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Child psychology |
| Institutions | Louisiana State University |
| Thesis | A study of positive practice overcorrection versus time-out for eliminating the classroom disruptions of relatively normal children (1976) |
Background and research career
Matson was born on June 23, 1951, in Watseka, Illinois.[1] He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and Biology, and a Master of Science degree in Counseling Psychology from Eastern Illinois University. Matson received a Ph.D. in Psychology from Indiana State University in 1976 and completed his internship in Clinical Psychology at Central Louisiana State Hospital. Matson was an assistant professor of child psychiatry and psychology at University of Pittsburgh from 1978 through 1981, associate professor and professor in the Department of Learning, Developmental and Special Education at Northern Illinois University, and starting in 1985 a professor in the Department of Psychology at Louisiana State University.
Matson's research career focused upon the assessment and treatment and functioning of people with intellectual disabilities and autism spectrum disorders, including psychotropic medication side effects, social skills of children and adults, psychopathology, symptoms of autism spectrum disorders, problem behavior, behavioral function, and feeding problems. Matson supported the use of indirect assessment measures to assess symptoms, side-effects, and treatment progress.[2][3] Matson participated in the development of the Psychopathology Inventory for Mentally Retarded Adults (PIMRA) and the Questions About Behavior Function (QABF) measure.[4] Matson is also the co-developer of the Functional Assessment for Multiple Causality (FACT) measure, which has been found to have superior psychometric properties to the QABF, when a given behavior is reinforced by multiple factors.[5]
Scientific misconduct
Since 2015 researchers have raised concern about Matson's high number of self publications and self citations. His peer review practices as a journal editor have also been questioned.[6][7] In 2023 Matson had 24 of his research publications retracted,[8] with the original journal publisher citing undisclosed conflicts of interest, duplicated methodology and a compromised peer-review process as reasons for the retractions. Matson responded by writing, "This only applies to a small handful of articles [and] there is no rule about self-citations."[9]
References
- Johnny Matson Curriculum Vitae Archived 2013-12-14 at the Wayback Machine
- "Thomson Reuters Names LSU Professor Among the World's Most Influential Scientific Minds". Archived from the original on 2015-02-14. Retrieved 2015-02-13.
- "LSU Department of Psychology". Archived from the original on 2013-12-14. Retrieved 2013-12-14.
- Matson, Johnny L. International Handbook of Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorders. p. 280.
- Zaja, R.H., Moore, L., van Ingen, D.J., & Rojahn, J. (2011). "Psychometric Comparison of the Functional Assessment Instruments QABF, FACT and FAST for Self-injurious, Stereotypic and Aggressive/Destructive Behaviour". Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities. 24: 18–28. doi:10.1111/j.1468-3148.2010.00569.x.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Jump, Paul (February 26, 2015), "Journal editor's self-citation rate under scrutiny", Times Higher Education
- Etchells, Pete; Chambers, Chris (March 12, 2015), "The games we play: A troubling dark side in academic publishing", The Guardian
- "Retraction Watch Database". Retraction Watch. Center for Scientific Integrity. Retrieved 2023-02-04.
- Montanari, Shaena (2023-02-02). "Prolific autism researcher has two dozen papers retracted". Spectrum. Simons Foundation. Retrieved 2023-02-04.