The survey found some significant geographical differences. Retracted papers with lead authors based in historical scientific superpowers, such as the United States and Germany, were more likely to be linked to fraud. In emerging scientific powers such as India and China, however, plagiarism and duplication caused more of the retractions. “These trends may reflect differences in incentives, cultural norms and proficiency in English among these countries,” says Fang.

Ivan Oransky, a New York-based journalist and co-founder of Retraction Watch, suggests setting up a ‘transparency index’ for journals, to rank them on criteria such as the clarity of their retraction notices. The idea, which he says he would be keen to work on, could provide a much-needed incentive for journals to improve their performance in this area. Data from the current study could also serve as a basis for a retractions database to help scientists avoid wasting time trying to replicate or build on retracted work, he adds.

“I’m not necessarily opposed to the idea, but I have concerns about how such a database could be properly maintained and updated,” says Fang. “Our study is merely a snapshot. Creating an accurate, centralized database that could be used as an ongoing resource would be a considerable undertaking.”

This article is reproduced with permission from the magazine Nature. The article was first published on October 1, 2012.

2 Comments

1. 1. dougreed 06:28 PM 10/3/12

   science has become a business. How does big business succeed?...this is where science is headed to keep funding, and it ain't gonna' get no better, no-how...it has to compete with "virtual reality", "augmented reality", "tweets", "likes", and "friending" . No matter how much more amazing & exciting real reality is, science is seldom instantly gratifying, and facts do not like artificial manipulation to entertain.

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2. 2. dougreed 06:29 PM 10/3/12

   Proof....??? look at the column on the left side of this comment column!!!!! It even follows you up & down the page as you scroll!!!!!!

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