The report published by professors Alberto Martín and Emilio Delgado exposes the malpractice carried out by the Rector of the University of Salamanca and confirms the deliberate manipulation of his scientific achievements.
Alberto Martín and Emilio Delgado, members of this research group, have reignited the debate surrounding the academic legitimacy of the highest authority at the University of Salamanca, Juan Manuel Corchado, with the publication of a report commissioned by the Spanish Committee on Research Ethics. The report highlights a series of irregularities pointing to a systematic manipulation of his academic record, sparking a renewed discussion on scientific integrity in Spain.
A brief background of the case
Juan Manuel Corchado is a professor of Computer Science at the University of Salamanca. Throughout his long career at the institution, he has held high-ranking positions, such as Vice-Rector for Research, director of several initiatives related to research and technology transfer, and is currently the Rector of USAL. His contributions to the field of computer science have been considered highly significant. His scientific output was frequently cited, and his profile as a researcher held a prestigious position. According to his personal website, he ranked 4th among computer science researchers nationally and appeared in the Stanford ranking of the top 2% of the most influential scientists globally.
However, his reputation has been severely compromised by allegations of inflating his academic impact through irregular means. Since 2022, unusual patterns were detected in the number of citations received on Google Scholar, as well as in the institutional repository GREDOS and the ResearchGate platform, all of which pointed to the intentional manipulation of his scientific output.
Corchado’s case began to gain attention in scientific media when journalist Dalmeet Singh Chawla reported on these questionable practices on the Retraction Watch blog on March 25, 2022, following an initial investigation that revealed an unusual increase in citations to his publications. The situation escalated in March 2024 when Manuel Asende wrote a series of articles in El País detailing new suspicions of citation manipulation, including the removal of documents from the GREDOS repository just as the case was being investigated. Now, the journal Nature has published an article on its blog, signed by the same author from Retraction Watch, denouncing the sharp rise in citations of certain authors on Google Scholar, making direct reference to the case of the rector of the University of Salamanca.
The Spanish Committee on Research Ethics, alerted by these reports, requested an analysis from our colleagues Alberto Martín and Emilio Delgado. Their recently published investigation confirms the existence of scientific misconduct, including the use of self-citations and the manipulation of profiles on Google Scholar and ResearchGate. Although Corchado has denied direct involvement in these irregularities, the evidence suggests that he at least had knowledge of and control over the profiles in question.
131 Pages of Findings
This document identifies clear patterns of citation manipulation and excessive scientific productivity in Professor Corchado’s publications. More than 11,000 citations were found to come from ResearchGate profiles of authors whose existence could not be verified, as well as the publication of a large number of documents in conference proceedings organized and edited by Corchado himself or close members of his team.
The publication of this report not only confirms these manipulative practices but also highlights the gaps in quality control systems on platforms such as Google Scholar and ResearchGate. This has sparked a broader discussion on how academic impact is assessed in Spanish universities.
If one thing is certain, it is that Juan Manuel Corchado will not use the articles appearing in the media about his self-referential interest to boost his metrics. There is no room in the enormous mountain he has built—based on self-citations—that can hide the scandal surrounding the current rector of the University of Salamanca.