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Editorial
. 2011 Oct;79(10):3855-9.
doi: 10.1128/IAI.05661-11. Epub 2011 Aug 8.

Retracted science and the retraction index

Ferric C Fang, Arturo Casadevall
Editorial

Retracted science and the retraction index

Ferric C Fang et al. Infect Immun. 2011 Oct.

Abstract

Articles may be retracted when their findings are no longer considered trustworthy due to scientific misconduct or error, they plagiarize previously published work, or they are found to violate ethical guidelines. Using a novel measure that we call the "retraction index," we found that the frequency of retraction varies among journals and shows a strong correlation with the journal impact factor. Although retractions are relatively rare, the retraction process is essential for correcting the literature and maintaining trust in the scientific process.

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Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Correlation between impact factor and retraction index. The 2010 journal impact factor (37) is plotted against the retraction index as a measure of the frequency of retracted articles from 2001 to 2010 (see text for details). Journals analyzed were Cell, EMBO Journal, FEMS Microbiology Letters, Infection and Immunity, Journal of Bacteriology, Journal of Biological Chemistry, Journal of Experimental Medicine, Journal of Immunology, Journal of Infectious Diseases, Journal of Virology, Lancet, Microbial Pathogenesis, Molecular Microbiology, Nature, New England Journal of Medicine, PNAS, and Science.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

References

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