Interlude: Integrity, Retractions, and Corrections
Over the summer, Marc Tessier-Lavigne stepped down as president of Stanford after some data integrity problems were discovered in a few of his publications. Since then, I've been asked a lot of questions about scientific misconduct, paper retractions, and correcting errors in papers.
But these situations are not new. I think that Dr. Tessier-Lavigne's situation made headlines because of his position at a prestigious university. But about 8 in every 10,000 papers are retracted. And during the COVID-19 pandemic, we saw a rise in retractions as researchers rushed to publish what they were learning about the virus.
We also need to understand that paper retractions occur for many reasons. They can involve ethical or other extreme misconduct, such as falsifying data or using paper mills. Or they can be inadvertent mistakes, such as mislabeling vials during experiments.
In any case, we need to correct the errors to uphold integrity in our work, in our reputation, and in science. This integrity is vital for supporting trust in science.
Because retractions have been a hot topic recently, I thought I'd put together a themed issue for you.
Let's get to it.
💌 Round-up
👓 Reading
Society-first science: 10 rules for responsible research
"Scientific research...can also inadvertently cause harm to individuals or social groups by reinforcing stereotypes, biases, or negative perceptions. Researchers often lack the necessary training and tools to consider and minimise such negative impacts of their studies. To address this issue,...a team of international colleagues have developed 10 rules for socially responsible science..."
There’s far more scientific fraud than anyone wants to admit
"The number of retractions each year reflects about a tenth of a percent of the papers published in a given year – in other words, one in 1,000....We estimate that at least 100,000 retractions should occur every year; some scientists and science journalists think the number should be even higher."
How scientists work to correct the record when there is an error in a paper
This article gives a helpful overview that answers key questions about the correction process. How often do errors occur? How are errors identified? What happens when concerns are raised? And why correct the record?
🧰 Tools
PubPeer
PubPeer is a discussion forum where researchers can comment on the validity of scientific papers. The site is separate from publishers' web pages, which can help researchers share their views more frankly. And when comments are made on a paper, PubPeer contacts the authors to share the commenters' feedback on the paper.
💬 Quote
"Scientists make mistakes. Accordingly, it is the job of the scientist to recognize our weakness, to examine the widest range of opinions, to be ruthlessly self-critical. Science is a collective enterprise with the error-correction machinery often running smoothly." — Carl Sagan
Thank you so much for reading.
Warmly,
Crystal
