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Wang H, Guan J. The impact of "Five No's for Publication" on academic misconduct. Account Res 2025; 32:299-317. [PMID: 37943174 DOI: 10.1080/08989621.2023.2279569] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2023] [Accepted: 11/01/2023] [Indexed: 11/10/2023]
Abstract
China initiated the "Five No's for Publication" in December 2015 as a response to rising incidents of retraction. Use the number of retracted publications and their original publication time as proxies to investigate the effect of the Five No's policy on academic misconduct. We searched the Retraction Watch Database for research articles published by Chinese scholars from 1 March 2010 to 29 February 2020. The short- and long-term trends of the number of publications were presented by conducting an interrupted time series analysis in quarterly time units. Of 4,215 retracted papers with Chinese authors, 2,881 involving academic misconduct were identified. In the first quarter (12.01.2015-02.29.2016) after the implementation of the Five No's, an average reduction of 55.80 (p < 0.001) publications that involve academic misconduct was observed, although there was an increase in the trend of publications of 3.34 per quarter (p < 0.01) in the long run (12.01.2015-02.29.2020), relative to the pre-intervention period (03.01.2010-11.30.2015). The validity of these results was further supported by three different robustness checks. China's government should strengthen enforcement, promote education, and improve the scientific evaluation system to consolidate the influence of the Five No's policy and foster an ethical research environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hang Wang
- Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Jian Guan
- Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
- The National Population and Health Scientific Data Center (Clinical Medicine), Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences & Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
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2
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Hu G. Challenges for enforcing editorial policies on AI-generated papers. Account Res 2024; 31:978-980. [PMID: 36840450 DOI: 10.1080/08989621.2023.2184262] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2023] [Accepted: 02/21/2023] [Indexed: 02/26/2023]
Abstract
ChatGPT, a chatbot released by OpenAI in November 2022, has rocked academia with its capacity to generate papers "good enough" for academic journals. Major journals such as Nature and professional societies such as the World Association of Medical Editors have moved fast to issue policies to ban or curb AI-written papers. Amid the flurry of policy initiatives, one important challenge seems to be overlooked: AI-generated papers are not easily discernible to the human eye, and we lack the right tools to implement the policies. Without such tools, the well-intentioned policies are likely to remain on paper.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guangwei Hu
- Department of English and Communication, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China
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3
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Khurana P, Sharma K, Uddin Z. Unraveling retraction dynamics in COVID-19 research: Patterns, reasons, and implications. Account Res 2024:1-24. [PMID: 39041839 DOI: 10.1080/08989621.2024.2379906] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2024] [Accepted: 07/10/2024] [Indexed: 07/24/2024]
Abstract
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, while the world sought solutions, few scholars exploited the situation for personal gains through deceptive studies and manipulated data. This paper presents the extent of 400 retracted COVID-19 papers listed by the RetractionWatch database until the month of February 2024. The primary purpose of the research was to analyze journal quality and retractions trends. Evaluating the journal's quality is vital for stakeholders, as it enables them to effectively address and prevent such incidents and their future repercussions. The present study found that one-fourth of publications were retracted within the first month of their publication, followed by an additional 6% within six months of publication. One third of the retractions originated from Q1 journals, with another significant portion coming from Q2 (29.8%). An analysis of the reasons for retractions indicates that a quarter of retractions were attributed to multiple causes, predominantly associated with publications in Q2 journals, while another quarter were linked to data issues, primarily observed in Q1 publications. Elsevier retracted 31% of papers, with the majority published as Q1, followed by Springer (11.5%), predominantly as Q2. The study also examined author contributions, revealing that 69.3% were male, with females (30.7%) mainly holding middle author positions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Parul Khurana
- School of Computer Applications, Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, Punjab, India
| | - Kiran Sharma
- School of Engineering and Technology, BML Munjal University, Gurugram, Haryana, India
| | - Ziya Uddin
- School of Engineering and Technology, BML Munjal University, Gurugram, Haryana, India
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Shi A, Bier B, Price C, Schwartz L, Wainright D, Whithaus A, Abritis A, Oransky I, Angrist M. Taking it back: A pilot study of a rubric measuring retraction notice quality. Account Res 2024:1-12. [PMID: 38919031 DOI: 10.1080/08989621.2024.2366281] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2023] [Accepted: 06/06/2024] [Indexed: 06/27/2024]
Abstract
The frequency of scientific retractions has grown substantially in recent years. However, thus far there is no standardized retraction notice format to which journals and their publishers adhere voluntarily, let alone compulsorily. We developed a rubric specifying seven criteria in order to judge whether retraction notices are easily and freely accessible, informative, and transparent. We mined the Retraction Watch database and evaluated a total of 768 retraction notices from two publishers (Springer and Wiley) over three years (2010, 2015, and 2020). Per our rubric, both publishers tended to score higher on measures of openness/availability, accessibility, and clarity as to why a paper was retracted than they did in: acknowledging institutional investigations; confirming whether there was consensus among authors; and specifying which parts of any given paper warranted retraction. Springer retraction notices appeared to improve over time with respect to the rubric's seven criteria. We observed some discrepancies among raters, indicating the difficulty in developing a robust objective rubric for evaluating retraction notices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alyssa Shi
- Duke University Initiative for Science & Society, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Brooke Bier
- Duke University Initiative for Science & Society, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Carrigan Price
- Duke University Initiative for Science & Society, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Luke Schwartz
- Duke University Initiative for Science & Society, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Devan Wainright
- Duke University Initiative for Science & Society, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Audra Whithaus
- Duke University Initiative for Science & Society, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Alison Abritis
- Retraction Watch/Center for Scientific Integrity, New York, NY, USA
- University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA
| | - Ivan Oransky
- Retraction Watch/Center for Scientific Integrity, New York, NY, USA
- Arthur Carter Journalism Institute, New York University, New York, NY, USA
- The Transmitter, Simons Foundation, New York, NY, USA
| | - Misha Angrist
- Duke University Initiative for Science & Society, Durham, NC, USA
- Duke University Social Science Research Institute, Durham, NC, USA
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Panahi S, Soleimanpour S. The landscape of the characteristics, citations, scientific, technological, and altmetrics impacts of retracted papers in hematology. Account Res 2023; 30:363-378. [PMID: 34612782 DOI: 10.1080/08989621.2021.1990049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Retraction is a mechanism for eliminating and correcting serious problems in the scientific literature and increasing awareness among members of the scientific community about unreliable literature. The objectives of this study were to identify the characteristics and reasons for retraction, analyze citations, and describe the scientific, altmetrics, and technological impacts of hematology retracted papers. Retracted papers were searched using the hematology category of the Web of Science database. The search yielded 101 retracted papers in WoS. Statistics methods such as frequency, mean, interquartile range (IQR), and Pearson's Correlation were used for data analysis. The findings showed the retracted papers were published in 28 different hematology journals. The majority of retracted documents were in Article type (n = 81). The mean time interval of the retracted papers from the first publication to retraction was 50.83 months. The largest number of retracted papers belonged to the United States (n = 46). The most frequently reported reason for retraction was misconduct (n = 55). The findings of this study provide a landscape into the characteristics and citations of retracted papers before and after retraction in addition to the scientific, technological, and altmetrics impacts of hematology retracted papers in the scientific community.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sirous Panahi
- Department of Medical Library and Information Science, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Samira Soleimanpour
- Department of Medical Library and Information Science, School of Health Management and Information Sciences, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
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Hwang SY, Yon DK, Lee SW, Kim MS, Kim JY, Smith L, Koyanagi A, Solmi M, Carvalho AF, Kim E, Shin JI, Ioannidis JPA. Causes for Retraction in the Biomedical Literature: A Systematic Review of Studies of Retraction Notices. J Korean Med Sci 2023; 38:e333. [PMID: 37873630 PMCID: PMC10593599 DOI: 10.3346/jkms.2023.38.e333] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2023] [Accepted: 08/31/2023] [Indexed: 10/25/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Many studies have evaluated the prevalence of different reasons for retraction in samples of retraction notices. We aimed to perform a systematic review of such empirical studies of retraction causes. METHODS The PubMed/MEDLINE database and the Embase database were searched in June 2023. Eligible studies were those containing sufficient data on the reasons for retraction across samples of examined retracted notices. RESULTS A 11,181 potentially eligible items were identified, and 43 studies of retractions were included in this systematic review. Studies limited to retraction notices of a specific subspecialty or country, journal/publication type are emerging since 2015. We noticed that the reasons for retraction are becoming more specific and more diverse. In a meta-analysis of 17 studies focused on different subspecialties, misconduct was responsible for 60% (95% confidence interval [CI], 53-67%) of all retractions while error and publication issues contributed to 17% (95% CI, 12-22%) and 9% (95% CI, 6-13%), respectively. The end year of the retraction period in all included studies and the proportion of misconduct presented a weak positive association (coefficient = 1.3% per year, P = 0.002). CONCLUSION Misconduct seems to be the most frequently recorded reason for retraction across empirical analyses of retraction notices, but other reasons are not negligible. Greater specificity of causes and standardization is needed in retraction notices.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Dong Keon Yon
- Center for Digital Health, Medical Science Research Institute, Kyung Hee University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
| | - Seung Won Lee
- Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Suwon, Korea
| | - Min Seo Kim
- Samsung Advanced Institute for Health Sciences & Technology (SAIHST), Sungkyunkwan University, Samsung Medical Center, Seoul, Korea
| | | | - Lee Smith
- Centre for Health Performance and Wellbeing, Anglia Ruskin University Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Ai Koyanagi
- Research and Development Unit, Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu, CIBERSAM, Barcelona, Spain
- ICREA, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Marco Solmi
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
- Department of Mental Health, The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, ON, Canada
- Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI), Clinical Epidemiology Program, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
- School of Epidemiology and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Charité Universitätsmedizin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Andre F Carvalho
- IMPACT - The Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation, School of Medicine, Barwon Health, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC, Australia
| | - Eunyoung Kim
- Department of Health, Social and Clinical Pharmacy, College of Pharmacy, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, Korea
- The Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Industry Management, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, Korea.
| | - Jae Il Shin
- Department of Pediatrics, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
- The Center for Medical Education Training and Professional Development, Yonsei Donggok Medical Education Institute, Seoul, Korea
- Severance Underwood Meta-Research Center, Institute of Convergence Science, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea .
| | - John P A Ioannidis
- Meta-Research Innovation Center at Stanford (METRICS) and Departments of Medicine, Epidemiology and Population Health, Biomedical Data Science, and Statistics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
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7
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Xu SB, Evans N, Hu G, Bouter L. What do Retraction Notices Reveal About Institutional Investigations into Allegations Underlying Retractions? SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING ETHICS 2023; 29:25. [PMID: 37402081 PMCID: PMC10319669 DOI: 10.1007/s11948-023-00442-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2023] [Accepted: 04/26/2023] [Indexed: 07/05/2023]
Abstract
Academic journal publications may be retracted following institutional investigations that confirm allegations of research misconduct. Retraction notices can provide insight into the role institutional investigations play in the decision to retract a publication. Through a content analysis of 7,318 retraction notices published between 1927 and 2019 and indexed by the Web of Science, we found that most retraction notices (73.7%) provided no information about institutional investigations that may have led to retractions. A minority of the retraction notices (26.3%) mentioned an institutional investigation either by journal authorities (12.1%), research performing organizations (10.3%), joint institutions (1.9%), research integrity and ethics governing bodies (1.0%), third-party institutions (0.5%), unspecified institutions (0.4%), or research funding organizations (0.1%). Comparing retraction notices issued before and after the introduction of retraction guidelines by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) in 2009 revealed that those published after the guidelines' publication were more likely to report investigations by journal authorities. Comparing retraction notices from different disciplines revealed that those from social sciences and the humanities were more likely to disclose investigations by research performing organizations than those from biomedical and natural sciences. Based on these findings, we suggest that the COPE retraction guidelines in the future make it mandatory to disclose in retraction notices institutional investigations leading to retractions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shaoxiong Brian Xu
- School of Foreign Studies, Huanggang Normal University, Huanggang, China.
- Department of English and Communication, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.
| | - Natalie Evans
- Department of Ethics, Law, and Humanities, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Guangwei Hu
- Department of English and Communication, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China
| | - Lex Bouter
- Department of Epidemiology and Data Science, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Philosophy, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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8
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Ribeiro MD, Kalichman MW, Vasconcelos SMR. Retractions and Rewards in Science: An Open Question for Reviewers and Funders. SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING ETHICS 2023; 29:26. [PMID: 37403005 DOI: 10.1007/s11948-023-00446-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2022] [Accepted: 05/19/2023] [Indexed: 07/06/2023]
Abstract
In recent years, the changing landscape for the conduct and assessment of research and of researchers has increased scrutiny of the reward systems of science. In this context, correcting the research record, including retractions, has gained attention and space in the publication system. One question is the possible influence of retractions on the careers of scientists. It might be assessed, for example, through citation patterns or productivity rates for authors who have had one or more retractions. This is an emerging issue today, with growing discussions in the research community about impact. We have explored the influence of retractions on grant review criteria. Here, we present results of a qualitative study exploring the views of a group of six representatives of funding agencies from different countries and of a follow-up survey of 224 reviewers in the US. These reviewers have served on panels for the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and/or a few other agencies. We collected their perceptions about the influence of self-correction of the literature and of retractions on grant decisions. Our results suggest that correcting the research record, for honest error or misconduct, is perceived as an important mechanism to strengthen the reliability of science, among most respondents. However, retractions and self-correcting the literature at large are not factors influencing grant review, and dealing with retractions in reviewing grants is an open question for funders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariana D Ribeiro
- Science Education Program, Institute of Medical Biochemistry Leopoldo de Meis (IBqM)/Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Michael W Kalichman
- Research Ethics Program, University of California San Diego (UCSD), San Diego, USA
| | - Sonia M R Vasconcelos
- Science Education Program, Institute of Medical Biochemistry Leopoldo de Meis (IBqM)/Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
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9
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Construction and management of retraction stigma in retraction notices: an authorship-based investigation. CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s12144-022-03738-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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10
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Benlidayi IC. MAY AUTHORS’ PUBLISHED ARTICLES LAST FOREVER! CENTRAL ASIAN JOURNAL OF MEDICAL HYPOTHESES AND ETHICS 2022. [DOI: 10.47316/cajmhe.2022.3.2.09] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
MAY AUTHORS’ PUBLISHED ARTICLES LAST FOREVER!
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