Trikahnos, NA; Evangelou, E; Loannidis, JPA Falsified papers in high-impact journals were slow to retract and indistinguishable from nonfraudulent papers JOURNAL OF CLINICAL EPIDEMIOLOGY, 61 (5): 464-470 MAY 2008

[Eugene Garfield]

E-mail Address: jioannid at cc.uoi.gr 

Author(s): Trikahnos, NA (Trikahnos, Nikolaos A.); Evangelou, E 
(Evangelou, Evangelos); Loannidis, JPA (Loannidis, John P. A.) 

Title: Falsified papers in high-impact journals were slow to retract and 
indistinguishable from nonfraudulent papers 

Source: JOURNAL OF CLINICAL EPIDEMIOLOGY, 61 (5): 464-470 MAY 2008 

Language: English 

Document Type: Article 

Author Keywords: fraud; falsification; retraction; impact; journals; 
senior investigators 

Keywords Plus: SCIENTIFIC MISCONDUCT; FRAUD; PUBLICATION 

Abstract: Objective: The aim was to evaluate papers retracted due to 
falsification in high-impact journals.

Study Design and Setting: We selected articles retracted due to 
allegations of falsification in January 1, 1980 to March 1, 2006 from 
journals with impact factor > 10 and > 30,000 annual citations. We 
evaluated characteristics of these papers and misconduct-involved authors 
and assessed whether they correlated with time to retraction. We also 
compared retracted articles vs. matched nonretracted articles in the same 
journals.

Results: Fourteen eligible journals had 63 eligible retracted articles. 
Median time from publication to retraction was 28 months; it was 79 months 
for articles where a senior researcher was implicated in the misconduct 
vs. 22 months when junior researchers were implicated (log-rank P < 
0.001). For the 25 implicated authors, the median time from the first 
publication of a fraudulent paper to the first retraction was 34 months, 
again with a clear difference according to researcher rank (log-rank P = 
0.001). Retracted articles didn't differ from matched nonretracted papers 
in citations received within 12 months, number of authors, country, 
funding, or field, but were twofold more likely to have multinational 
authorship (P = 0.049).

Conclusions: Retractions due to falsification can take a long time, 
especially when senior researchers are implicated. Fraudulent articles are 
not obviously distinguishable from nonfraudulent ones. (c) 2008 Elsevier 
Inc. All rights reserved. 

Addresses: Univ Ioannina, Dept Hyg & Epidemiol, Sch Med, Ioannina 45110, 
Greece; Fdn Res & Technol Hellas, Biomed Res Inst, Ioannina, Greece; Tufts 
Univ New England Med Ctr, Dept Med, Inst Clin Res & Hlth Policy Studies, 
Boston, MA USA 

Reprint Address: Loannidis, JPA, Univ Ioannina, Dept Hyg & Epidemiol, Sch 
Med, Ioannina 45110, Greece. 

E-mail Address: jioannid at cc.uoi.gr 

Cited Reference Count: 19 

Times Cited: 0 

Publisher: PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD 

Publisher Address: THE BOULEVARD, LANGFORD LANE, KIDLINGTON, OXFORD OX5 
1GB, ENGLAND 

ISSN: 0895-4356 

29-char Source Abbrev.: J CLIN EPIDEMIOL 

ISO Source Abbrev.: J. Clin. Epidemiol. 

Source Item Page Count: 7 

Subject Category: Public, Environmental & Occupational Health 

ISI Document Delivery No.: 288HX 

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