Scientific misconduct is detrimental to both society and researchers, potentially
resulting in a mistrust in science. When the results of a scientific publication are
based on erroneous content or data, whether due to error or misconduct, the publication
must be retracted. The retraction of a publication alerts the scientific community
that its results and conclusions may not be valid [
[1]
]. Over the last 20 years, retractions due to misconduct have increased, surpassing
the number of retractions due to honest error and becoming the leading cause of retraction
at present [
COPE Council. COPE retraction guidelines [Internet]. Committee on publication ethics; 2019 [cited 2021 Jan 27]. Available from: https://publicationethics.org/retraction-guidelines.
[2]
]. Notorious cases of retraction in biomedicine have had a great impact on the public
opinion and even on health policies. One example is the recent Surgisphere case which
caused the World Health Organization (WHO) to suspend all clinical trials studying
hydroxicloquine as a treatment against COVID-19 [
[3]
].To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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References
COPE Council. COPE retraction guidelines [Internet]. Committee on publication ethics; 2019 [cited 2021 Jan 27]. Available from: https://publicationethics.org/retraction-guidelines.
- Misconduct as the main cause for retraction. A descriptive study of retracted publications and their authors.Gac Sanit. 2019; 33: 356-360
- Science at warp speed: medical research, publication, and translation during the COVID-19 pandemic.J Bioethical Inq. 2020; : 1-7
- Exploring the characteristics, global distribution and reasons for retraction of published articles involving human research participants: a literature survey.J Multidiscip Healthc. 2018; 11: 39-47
- An analysis of retractions of papers authored by Scott Reuben, Joachim Boldt and Yoshitaka Fujii.Anaesthesia. 2019; 74: 17-21
Handling Misconduct. ORI, The Office of Research Integrity [Internet]. [cited 2021 Jan 27]. Available from: https://ori.hhs.gov/handling-misconduct.
ALLEA. Memorandum on scientific integrity. 2016.
Country Reports Archive [Internet]. ENRIO. [cited 2021 Feb 14]. Available from: http://www.enrio.eu/country-reports/.
- Guidance on research integrity: no union in Europe.Lancet. 381. 2013: 1097-1098 (Elsevier)
- Heterogeneity in European research integrity guidance: relying on values or norms?.J Empir Res Hum Res Ethics. 2014; 9: 79-90https://doi.org/10.1177/1556264614540594
Article info
Publication history
Published online: August 03, 2021
Accepted:
July 21,
2021
Received:
June 13,
2021
Identification
Copyright
© 2021 European Federation of Internal Medicine. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
