Authors Disagreeing with Retractions: A Growing Procedural Concern?

Abstract

Several studies have already documented a lack of transparency in retraction notices (RNs), which often omit important information that would allow readers to appreciate the entire process’s intricacies, including those involved and the reasons leading up to the retrac-tion. One issue rarely discussed in the academic literature is authors’ disagreement with retractions, the wording of RNs, or retractions themselves. In this paper, using six examples of retractions and their respective RNs across journals and/or publishers, all COPE members, a reflection is offered as to why this issue needs a more intense debate and greater procedural clarity by editors, journals, and publishers.