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Retracted papers are still cited. Check before you cite yours.

Anchorcite team · 4 min read ·

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A retraction does not stop the citations

When a paper is retracted, you might expect it to drop out of the literature. A study in JAMA followed 82 fully retracted articles and counted how often they were cited afterwards to support scientific claims. Retraction reduced citations compared with similar papers, but it did not stop them. 1

Source 1 · Abstract
“After retraction, these studies were cited, for support of scientific concepts, 733 times. Comparison with a control group revealed that retraction reduces subsequent citation by approximately 35%.”

Why retractions are easy to miss

The same study looked at why. The answers are practical rather than sinister: retraction notices were hard to find, they looked different from journal to journal, and some authors and editors did not look closely enough. 1

Source 1 · Abstract
“Several possible reasons why invalid information continues to be used were identified. These included a dearth of available information on retracted works; inconsistency in retraction format, terminology, and indexing; and an apparent lack of sufficient attention to manuscripts by some authors and editors.”

How to check a paper in two minutes

  1. Open the paper on the publisher's site, not a saved PDF. Retracted articles usually carry a notice or a "Retracted" label there.
  2. Search the title in the Retraction Watch database.
  3. Check again just before you submit. A paper can be retracted after you first read it.
  4. For a whole reference list, use the free retraction checker, which looks for retraction notices registered with Crossref and in the Retraction Watch data.

If you need to discuss a retracted paper

Sometimes the retraction is the point: a history of a controversy, or a review of how a field corrected itself. Then cite the paper, say plainly in your sentence that it was retracted, and cite the retraction notice as well, so a reader can see both.

References

  1. 1.Pfeifer, M. P., & Snodgrass, G. L. (1990). The continued use of retracted, invalid scientific literature. JAMA, 263(10), 1420–1423. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.1990.03440100140020