A Survey of Retracted Articles by Turkish Authors

Abstract

Background: Not all manuscripts that are accepted and published in scientific journals have retained their status as published articles, and some of them are retracted after publication. There are various reasons for retraction that are usually grouped into a scientific error, such as statistical flaws, and research misconduct such as plagiarism. Nowadays the number of scientific publications are a source of career advancement and respect in the scientific community. To attain these, the focus of researchers is towards increasing the number of publications per year which sometimes compromises the quality of publications. Aim: The current study aimed to investigate the characteristics of retracted publications that were contributed by Turkish authors to scientific databases. Methods: We searched PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases. The search strategies were based on a combination of MeSH terms relevant to “retracted publication” and “Turkey.” The databases were searched on 23rd October 2021, without any restrictions on the search period. The inclusion criteria were: (i) retracted publication and, (ii) any authors of the study having affiliation with an institution in Turkey. The titles, authors' affiliations, and abstracts of the search results were screened and bibliographic information was extracted. Results: After removing duplicates and irrelevant studies, our search retrieved a total of 147 publications. The oldest retracted article was published in 1996; thereafter an increasing trend of retracted publications was evident. Regarding access to full-text status, 106 (72.1%) of full-texts were available. Overall 127 scientific journals have published these articles. Biochemical Genetics was the most frequent publisher with five publications. From the institutional point of view, Hacettepe University was the main university, contributing seven papers. The most common reason for retractions was duplication = 50 (34%), and most retracted notices have been issued by the editor-in-chief = 63 (42.9% of papers). The majority of publications were from Medical Science = 93 (63.3% of papers). Among the Medical Science publications, the highest number, 44, were from surgery and allied fields. Turkish authors had international collaborations with 20 countries. Sixteen papers have international collaborations with researchers from Iran. Only 10 of the retracted publications have received funding. Five of the first authors have submitted more than one retracted publication. Citation analysis indicates that the median number of citations received by retracted publications was two (IQR 0-7). The minimum time lag between publication and retraction was less than one year and the maximum was 13 years. Conclusion: The publish or perish pressure in academia sometimes leads to intentional and unintentional research misconduct. Although the number of retracted publications is fewer, their trend is increasing. To overcome the problem, it can be suggested that research methodology and research ethics training are essential in the under- and post-graduate curriculum.