The Rise of the Retraction

Retraction rates for scientific journal articles are up ten-fold, according to the UK's Times Higher Education. An analysis by Thomson Reuters for Times looked at the number of peer-reviewed articles published each year since 1990 and the number of retractions and found that while the number of articles has doubled, the number of retractions increased by 20 times. (Taking the increase in the number of articles publishes, that comes out to a 10-fold increase, Times says.) The acting head of the UK's Research Integrity Office James Parry says that there are many possible reasons behind the increase. It could be a rise in misconduct or a rise in detection of misconduct, though he notes that many retractions are due to honest mistakes.