A published research boosts an author’s academic credentials. Hence, he/she should proceed for submission after validating the facts and data according to the journal guidelines and general publishing ethics. After submission, the paper undergoes a peer review process by the journal for accuracy and validation. However, despite such checks, some papers get published with gross discrepancies and are subsequently retracted. Hence, there is a need to know more about the main reasons for retraction of a manuscript.
Reasons for Retraction
Manuscripts get retracted by the journal editors for four main reasons:
- Misconduct: The falsification of the research study and results constitute academic misconduct. Reasons like salami-slicing, data fabrication, undisclosed conflicts of interest, non-adherence to ethical protocols, and duplicate submissions are considered as misconduct that eventually leads to retraction of the manuscript.
- Honest error: An error in data collection that goes unverifiable under peer review is termed as an honest error. Such errors encompass the errors found in sample or data collection, skewed statistical analysis reports, information having no accuracy or verification, irreproducibility, redundant publication, and authorship disputes.
- Unethical research: When the researchers are unwilling to fully explain the details to patients about the nature of the research and its potential adverse effects, these research works are considered as unethical researches.
- Plagiarism: When authors use the data, words, or theories of others as their work without proper acknowledgment, it is termed as plagiarism and becomes a valid reason for retraction.
The rising number of retractions of manuscripts has increased the pressure on scientific publications. With many recent studies on misconducts plaguing science, peer reviewers and journal editors are likely to be more alert in spotting issues with papers before they are published.