Dealing with corrections and retractions: keeping science sound

Science claims to be self-correcting through the system of corrections and retractions in journal publications. But how effective and comprehensive is this self-regulating system? How to deal with potential mistakes? What distinguishes a correction from a retraction? When are they needed and who makes the decision? Where do the responsibilities lie and for whom?

In this episode 3 guests share thoughts on this: Gert Storms, Full Professor at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences at KU Leuven and chairperson of the Flemish Commission for Research Integrity; Ivan Oransky, co-founder of Retraction Watch, a website reporting on retractions of scientific papers and related topics; Line Edslev Andersen, a philosopher and postdoctoral researcher at the Centre for Logic and Philosophy of Science at Vrije Universiteit Brussel. 

In this episode, we cover:  

• The difference between corrections and retractions.
• The procedure to make these adjustments to the scientific literature.
• Why it is important to correct and retract literature
• Why it is important to be transparent about this.
• What to do when you suspect fraud/mistake in someone else’s paper.
• The responsibility of all authors of the questioned publication.

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This podcast series complements the online training tool 'Mind the GAP, training on Good Academic Practices'. Mind the GAP is an English-language training tool for all researchers and those involved in research, from PhD students to more experienced researchers, to teachers and policy makers.  

If you are affiliated with a Flemish university you can find the tool on your institution’s educational platform: 

Ghent University: Ufora 

KU Leuven: Toledo 

University of Antwerp: Blackboard 

Hasselt University: Blackboard  

Vrije Universiteit Brussels: Canvas 

Not part of the above institutions? Go to https://mindthegap.vlir.be/ and follow the international version of the tool (condensed version).   

The Mind the GAP Podcast was jointly developed by VLIR (Flemish Interuniversity Council – Filip Colson) and the five Flemish universities (Ghent University – Stefanie Van der Burght; KU Leuven – Wouter Vandevelde; University of Antwerp – Marianne De Voecht; Hasselt University – Stephanie Ruysschaert; Vrije Universiteit Brussel – Klara Swalus) and was financed by the Flemish government. It was produced by podcast agency De Praeters and hosted by Elisa Nelissen (KU Leuven). 

Connect with us: https://mindthegap.vlir.be/

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Resources Mentioned 

• NISO. (27/06/2024). NISO Publishes Recommended Practice for the Communication of Retractions, Removals, and Expressions of Concern (CREC). Retrieved September 6, 2024 from https://www.niso.org/press-releases/niso-publishes-recommended-practice-communication-retractions-removals-and   
• Retraction Watch: https://retractionwatch.com/ 
• Retraction Watch Database: http://retractiondatabase.org  

Key Takeaways

• The number of retractions is likely an underestimation of the actual number of publications that need to be retracted.
• Within the last years, more efforts have been made to discover errors in research.
• Mistakes can happen, if so, it is important to be transparent about this.
• A retraction does not mean that misconduct occurred.
• All authors on a paper are responsible to make sure that mistakes/fraud are handled appropriately.