Medical Writing Regulatory Writing Basics Recommended procedures for retracting articles: Inadequate and patchily applied? Analysis of a recent article in PLoS One

Volume 23, Issue 2 - Regulatory Writing Basics

Recommended procedures for retracting articles: Inadequate and patchily applied? Analysis of a recent article in PLoS One

Abstract

Retraction of research articles ruins careers, dents confidence in the scientific literature, and can have a profound impact on meta-analyses. Retraction rates have seen a big recent rise, as journals act increasingly quickly to remove articles that are found to have broken ethics rules. In several notorious cases, many such articles have been linked to a single researcher. A 2014 study published in PLoS One sought to determine whether 88 articles by one of the worst known offenders were retracted as recommended and, if so, whether their retraction conformed to Committee on Publication Ethics guidelines and other recommended practices.

Download the full article

References

  1. Marcus A. Another retraction for former record holder Joachim Boldt. Retraction Watch; 2014 Jan 16 [cited 2014 Feb 5]. Available from: http://retractionwatch.com/2014/01/16/another-retraction-for-former-record-holder-joachim-boldt/
  2. Editors-in-Chief statement regarding published clinical trials conducted without IRB approval by Joachim Boldt. 2011 Mar 12 [cited 2014 Feb 5]. Available from: http://www.aaeditor.org/EIC.Joint.Statement.on.Retractions.pdf
  3. Elia N, Wager E, Tramèr MR. Fate of articles that warranted retraction due to ethical concerns: a descriptive cross-sectional study. PLoS One 2014;9(1):e85846.
  4. Wager E, Barbour V, Yentis S, Kleinert S, on behalf of COPE Council. Retractions: Guidance from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). COPE; 2009 Sep [cited 2014 Feb 5]. Available from: http://publicationethics.org/files/retraction%20guidelines.pdf
  5. PubMed. Bethesda: US National Library of Medicine; 2011 [cited 2014 Feb 5]. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15144295
  6. Wiley Online Library. Hoboken, USA: John Wiley & Sons; 2011 [cited 2014 Feb 5]. Available from: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2044.2004.03734.x/full
  7. Wiley Online Library. Hoboken, USA: John Wiley & Sons; 2011 [cited 2014 Feb 5]. Available from: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2044.2004.03734.x/pdf

Search

Articles

Regulatory writing basics
Message from the President
A guide to pre-approval regulatory documents
Effective authoring of clinical study reports: A companion guide
The clinical study protocol and medical writing: A good fit?
The Investigator's Brochure: A multidisciplinary document
An overview of the Common Technical Document (CTD) regulatory dossier
Good clinical practice (GCP): A universal call for ethics in biomedical research
Adverse event reporting: A brief overview of MedDRA
The approval process of medicines in Europe
Recommended procedures for retracting articles: Inadequate and patchily applied? Analysis of a recent article in PLoS One
The needs assessment in continuing medical education
Origin and development of English for Medical Purposes. Part II: Research on spoken medical English
Did minor flaws in a new drug reveal major flaws in company publication practices?
What every medical writer needs to know
Profile: An interview with Laura McMahon on the role of clinical research coordinators in Italy
In the Bookstores
Journal Watch: Dedicated medical writing rotation for pharmacists, publication of drug industry funded research, and evidence-based medicine for clinical decision making
Regulatory Writing: The essence of regulatory writing as defined by its jargon
Medical Communication
News from the EMA
English Grammar and Style: Points of view
The Webscout
Gained in Translation: Science at the multilingual crossroads
Out On Our Own
The Light Stuff

Links

The Write Stuff Archive Contact Instructions for Authors Article Template (Word) Journal Policies

Editoral Board

Editor-in-Chief

Raquel Billiones

Co-Editors

Evguenia Alechine

Jonathan Pitt

Managing Editor

Victoria White

Associate Editors

Anuradha Alahari

Jennifer Bell

Nicole Bezuidenhout

Claire Chang

Barbara Grossman

Sarah Milner

John Plant

Sampoorna Rappaz

Amy Whereat

Section Editors

Daniela Kamir

AI/Automation

Jennifer Bell

Biotechnology

Nicole Bezuidenhout 

Digital Communication

Somsuvro Basu

EMWA News 

Ana Sofia Correia 

Gained in Translation

Ivana Turek

Getting Your Foot in the Door

Wendy Kingdom / Amy Whereat

Good Writing Practice

Alison McIntosh 

In the Bookstores

Maria Kołtowska-Häggström

Lingua Franca and Beyond

Maddy Dyer

Publications

Lisa Chamberlain-James

Medical Communications/Writing for Patients

Payal Bhatia

Medical Devices

Evguenia Alechine

My First Medical Writing

Anuradha Alahari

News from the EMA

Adriana Rocha

Out on Our Own

Tiziana von Bruchhausen

Pharmacovigilance

Clare ChangZuo Yen Lee 

Regulatory Matters

Sam Hamilton

Regulatory Public Disclosure

Claire Gudex

Teaching Medical Writing

Louisa Ludwig-Begall / Sarah Kabani

The Crofter: Sustainable Communications

Louisa Marcombes

Veterinary Writing

Editors Emeritus

Elise Langdon-Neuner

Phil Leventhal

Layout Designer

Chris Monk