Unearthing the misconduct and inaccuracies in social science research: a trend analysis of retracted articles based on retraction watch database
Global Knowledge, Memory and Communication
ISSN: 2514-9342
Article publication date: 11 October 2024
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to comprehensively analyze the research article retractions in social sciences over the past decade (2014–2023).
Design/methodology/approach
The study used scientometric methods to evaluate the prevalence, patterns and factors contributing to social sciences article retractions. Bibliographic data of retracted articles were collected from the Retraction Watch Database under an agreement signed with the database. Further, citations of the retracted articles were collected from Scopus and Google Scholar. The analysis encompasses performance assessment and citation-based analysis to reveal the trend of retraction and scrutinize the impact of retracted articles.
Findings
Over the past decade, article retractions have shown dynamic trends, with notable fluctuations in recent years. Further, investigating the time taken for article retraction reveals the urgency of addressing issues identified soon after publication. Scientific misconduct and publication-related concerns emerge as primary factors leading to retractions. Countries such as Russia, the USA, China and publishers such as Elsevier and Taylor and Francis led in the retractions of social science articles. A significant portion of retracted works had garnered academic attention prior to retraction and even after retraction.
Originality/value
This study can contribute to a better understanding among scholars and stakeholders of the trends and reasons for retractions of research articles in the social sciences.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors duly acknowledge Retraction Watch Database for generously providing the invaluable data used in this research article, in accordance with our mutual agreement.
Funding: The authors declare that no funding, grants or other forms of support were received from any source for this study.
Competing Interests: The authors declare that there is no potential conflict of interest in this research.
Citation
Basumatary, B. and Verma, M.K. (2024), "Unearthing the misconduct and inaccuracies in social science research: a trend analysis of retracted articles based on retraction watch database", Global Knowledge, Memory and Communication, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/GKMC-04-2024-0228
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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