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Retractions are on the rise. In the early 2000s, only about 30 retraction notices appeared annually; in the last five years, that number has jumped to around 500 (Nature, 478:26-28, 2011). And since the launch of Retraction Watch in August 2010, there has been a growing interest among publishers, editors, authors, and the press in manuscripts that are pulled from the literature. Previously, retractions had no visibility, as they were published without any warning. Retraction Watch provides a central location where researchers can keep track of flawed papers and often learn a little about the stories underlying their retractions.
While it’s good that this problem is receiving more attention, this trend highlights another important issue: often little or no information is given about the reasons ...
