Core Concepts
The COVID-19 pandemic led to a rapid increase in research publications, some of which were later retracted due to various issues, including data manipulation, authorship conflicts, and ethical violations.
Abstract
This study analyzes the patterns and dynamics of COVID-19 research retractions by examining 400 retracted papers listed in the Retraction Watch database. The key findings are:
Retraction timeline: A significant portion of retractions occurred in 2021 (33%) and 2023 (23.2%), with the USA, China, and India being the top contributing countries.
Journal impact: One-third of the retracted papers were from Q1 journals, followed by Q2 (29.8%) and non-indexed publications (23.2%). The majority of retractions were from articles (69.75%), followed by reviews (12%).
Retraction reasons: The primary reasons for retractions were multiple causes (25.5%), data-related concerns (23.25%), and journal-related issues (13%). Retractions from Q1 journals were mainly due to data integrity issues, while Q2 journals had a higher proportion of retractions due to multiple reasons.
Time to retraction: On average, retractions from Q1 journals took 7.74 months, Q2 retractions took 10.44 months, and case reports had the longest duration at 12.3 months. Papers with specific reasons for retraction, such as fake-biased reviews, multiple reasons, and authorship issues, took over a year to be retracted.
Country collaboration: The USA, China, and India were the top contributors to retracted papers, with a higher proportion of national collaboration compared to international collaboration.
Authorship analysis: Male authors contributed to 69.3% of the retracted papers, while females were more likely to hold middle author positions.
The findings highlight the need for robust quality assurance measures, transparent reporting practices, and equitable authorship standards to uphold research integrity and foster responsible scientific conduct, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Stats
Around 21% of papers were retracted within one month of publication.
Retractions from Q1 journals took an average of 7.74 months, while Q2 retractions took 10.44 months.
Papers retracted due to fake-biased peer review took an average of 15.08 months, and those with multiple reasons took 14.64 months.
Quotes
"One-fourth of publications were retracted within the first month of their publication, followed by an additional 6% within six months of publication."
"Papers with specific reasons for retraction averaged over a year: fake-biased reviews took 15.08 months, multiple reasons took 14.64 months, and authorship issues took 12.63 months."