Abstract
The speed in producing information and the rush to publish scientific articles on COVID-19 in several knowledge areas have resulted in what is known as an infodemic also in the scientific field, potentially producing inaccurate information and sources of misinformation at scholarly communication. This has led to some articles being retracted or withdrawn due to unintentional errors or deliberate misconduct, but they continue to be cited. This article (i) gives an overview of the COVID-19 retracted articles and preprints, and (ii) analyses a set of post-retraction citations in the context of the COVID-19 infodemic. We analyzed 56 retracted articles and preprints by using the list available in the section on “retracted coronavirus (COVID-19) papers” in the Retraction Watch (RW) webpage. We found that 64.3% of these retractions were articles published in journals, 33.9% were uploaded in preprints servers, and 1.8% conference papers. We also analyzed 162 eligible articles out of 612 records identified by using the Google Scholar search engine. This research found that an article from The Lancet continued to be cited even after being retracted. In this case, we identified 214 post-retraction citations, of which 38% were negative (n=81), 32% were neutral (n=69), and 30% were positive citations (n=64)
Highlights
From January 2020 until the date of writing this article, the COVID-19 disease (SARSCoV-2) has already decimated about 2,970,389 people across the globe2
Part I gives an overview on the retracted COVID-19 articles and preprints, and Part II presents an analysis of the post-retraction citations in the context of the COVID-19 infodemic
For the sake of investigating the main characteristics of the retracted COVID-19 articles and preprints and examine the nature of a set of post-retraction citations in the context of the COVID-19 infodemic, by using a paper as a case study, we set out a methodological strategy based on information metrics studies and the in-text citation analysis technique
Summary
From January 2020 until the date of writing this article, the COVID-19 disease (SARSCoV-2) has already decimated about 2,970,389 people across the globe2. Part I gives an overview on the retracted COVID-19 articles and preprints, and Part II presents an analysis of the post-retraction citations in the context of the COVID-19 infodemic.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
