Flaws in papers have become less likely to slip through, says study.
The number of retractions has risen in recent years in part because journals are acting more quickly, says a study in PLOS ONE (R. G. Steen et al. PLOS ONE 8, e68397; 2013). R. Grant Steen of MediCC! medical-communication consultants in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and his colleagues analysed 2,047 papers published between 1973 and 2012, and later retracted. Those published in or before 2002 were retracted in 50 months on average; later, retractions took 24 months. Data that seemed “too good to be true” may now slip by less often, says Steen. “There might be a tendency to confront the author.”
Related links
Related links
Related links in Nature Research
Misconduct is the main cause of life-sciences retractions
Retraction record rocks community
Research: Uncovering misconduct
Science publishing: The trouble with retractions
Nature News blog: The stigma of retractions
Nature Medicine blog: Looking back at retractions
Nature News blog: The reasons for retractions
Related external links
Study: 'Why has the number of scientific retractions increased?'
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Retractions speed up. Nature 499, 511 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1038/nj7459-511c
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nj7459-511c