Retractions covered by retraction watch from 2017 to 2022: a perspective from Indian researchers

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine characteristics of retracted publications from Indian authors and inspect a relationship between journal impact factor (JIF) and the number of authors (NoA). Design/methodology/approach The authors examined the general characteristics of retracted publications and investigated the correlation between JIF and NoA from Indian authors from January 1, 2017, to December 31, 2022. Data were mined from retraction watch http://retractiondatabase.org/ (n = 1,459) and determined the year of publication, year of retraction, authors, journals, publishers and causes of the retractions. A journal citation report was extracted to gather the JIFs. Findings About one-third of retracted papers were published in 2020; 2022 has the highest retraction rate (723); studies with two authors represent about one-third (476) of the published articles; Journal of Ambient Intelligence and Humanized Computing (354) has the highest number of retractions; Springer published the most retracted papers (674); and the majority of the journal (1,133) is indexed in journal citation reports, with impact factor extending from 0.504 to 43.474. Retraction due to legal reasons/legal threats was the most predominant reason for retraction. Originality/value This study reflects growth in author collaborations with a surge in the JIF. This study recommends that quick retraction is essential to reduce the adverse effects of faulty research.