Analysis of Indian Retracted Publications: A Study Based on Scopus Data

Abstract

ABSTRACT Retracted publications are the scholarly articles that have been withdrawn from publication by authors or journals due to errors, misconduct, or ethical concerns. The present study aims to identify and analyse retracted papers by Indian authors. The data was extracted from the Scopus and also checked from the Retraction Watch database along with the journal's website. The extracted data was analysed using MS Excel, Jamovi, and SPSS-21. The study examined the year-wise retraction rate, reasons for retraction, authorship patterns, time lag for retraction, and impact on citations after retraction. The results showed that while the number of retracted publications per year increased over time, the rate of retraction per 10K publications remained constant. Duplicate publication and plagiarism were the most common reasons for retraction. Approximately one-third of the publications were retracted within six months, and the retraction time decreased over the years, especially in open-access journals. The average number of citations per paper per year before and after retraction were nearly similar. This study could assist librarians and researchers in understanding retractions, avoiding their use, and being cautious when referencing them.