TY - JOUR
T1 - Are you aware of your citations? A cross-sectional survey on improper citations of retracted articles in assisted reproduction
AU - Minetto, Sabrina
AU - Pisaturo, Domenico
AU - Cermisoni, Greta Chiara
AU - Vanni, Valeria Stella
AU - Pagliardini, Luca
AU - Papaleo, Enrico
AU - Berghella, Vincenzo
AU - Mol, Ben W.
AU - Alteri, Alessandra
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 Reproductive Healthcare Ltd.
PY - 2024/11
Y1 - 2024/11
N2 - Research question: Are authors aware when they have cited a retracted paper in their manuscripts in the medically assisted reproduction (MAR) field? Design: A cross-sectional study based on an online survey was conducted to acquire information on the citation pattern from corresponding authors who had cited a retracted article. A dataset of retracted articles in the MAR field was collected from PubMed and Retraction Watch. A complete list of published articles that cited each retracted article was retrieved. The survey was distributed via e-mail to corresponding authors who had cited a retracted paper in their study. Results: The survey revealed a significant lack of awareness among authors, with 78.7% unaware that they had cited retracted articles. This lack of awareness was attributed to insufficient notification mechanisms within research databases and journals, alongside a reliance on previously stored copies of manuscripts. A notable finding was that reference checks were typically performed by a single author, with no instances of retraction concerns raised during the peer-review process. Only a small fraction (17.8%) of respondents reported verifying retraction notices on both journal websites and scientific databases. Conclusions: Correcting publications that contain references which are subsequently retracted is significant for systematic reviews, meta-analyses and guidelines. Citations of retracted articles perpetuate erroneous scientific data, but assessing the accuracy of citations requires considerable effort. Proper notification of retraction status and cross-checking of citations can help to prevent errors.
AB - Research question: Are authors aware when they have cited a retracted paper in their manuscripts in the medically assisted reproduction (MAR) field? Design: A cross-sectional study based on an online survey was conducted to acquire information on the citation pattern from corresponding authors who had cited a retracted article. A dataset of retracted articles in the MAR field was collected from PubMed and Retraction Watch. A complete list of published articles that cited each retracted article was retrieved. The survey was distributed via e-mail to corresponding authors who had cited a retracted paper in their study. Results: The survey revealed a significant lack of awareness among authors, with 78.7% unaware that they had cited retracted articles. This lack of awareness was attributed to insufficient notification mechanisms within research databases and journals, alongside a reliance on previously stored copies of manuscripts. A notable finding was that reference checks were typically performed by a single author, with no instances of retraction concerns raised during the peer-review process. Only a small fraction (17.8%) of respondents reported verifying retraction notices on both journal websites and scientific databases. Conclusions: Correcting publications that contain references which are subsequently retracted is significant for systematic reviews, meta-analyses and guidelines. Citations of retracted articles perpetuate erroneous scientific data, but assessing the accuracy of citations requires considerable effort. Proper notification of retraction status and cross-checking of citations can help to prevent errors.
KW - Article retraction
KW - Citations
KW - MAR
KW - Medically assisted reproduction
KW - Research misconduct
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85202585294&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.rbmo.2024.104366
DO - 10.1016/j.rbmo.2024.104366
M3 - Article
C2 - 39216463
AN - SCOPUS:85202585294
SN - 1472-6483
VL - 49
JO - Reproductive BioMedicine Online
JF - Reproductive BioMedicine Online
IS - 5
M1 - 104366
ER -