What is a Retraction and How It Impacts Scientific Reputation

Antonio Carlos Filho
2 min readJul 6, 2024

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Retractions in scientific research occur when a published paper is withdrawn from a journal due to errors, misconduct, or irreproducibility.

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Retractions can damage scientific reputation significantly. They indicate flaws in the research process, from experimental design to data analysis or ethical misconduct. This damages the reputations of both the authors and the institution associated with the study.

Reasons for retractions vary widely from mistakes in data analysis, interpretation, or reporting, to fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism. The impact of retractions extends beyond the specific paper. It damages trust in the scientific community and to science as a whole.

The most recent cases of retraction are related to misuse of AI. Here are some examples:

1 — Authors created inaccurate images for a published paper using AI.

2 — Author’s created the paper’s abstract using ChatGPT and forgot to double check:

Detecting retractions is crucial for researchers and the public. Tools like Retraction Watch track retractions globally, providing transparency and accountability in scientific publishing.

Also, tools like wisio.app help you write science more easily using AI in the right way, with references and adequate translation, avoiding retactions

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