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Tool tip: find retracted papers with Retraction Watch

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January 10, 2019

In the series of Tool tips, Library staff reviews handy research tools. Think of tools that can help you with publishing your research, accessing literature, and handling data. This tool tip introduces Retraction Watch, a free tool to identify retracted papers.

Have you ever cited a retracted paper? In tool tip #6, we're introducing the Retraction Watch Database to help you identify retracted papers.

Retracted papers are still being cited (Teixeira da Silva and Bornemann-Cimenti, 2017; Luwel and van Eck, 2018), partly because retractions are difficult to spot. Citing these papers is something you want to avoid mostly, as retractions indicate problems with the publication's validity.

Besides retractions, corrections and expressions of concern are included in the database, both from journals and from the Retraction Watch blog. The latter is an interesting blog to follow for those that are interested in the discussion on scientific quality and misconduct.

Start by reading the user guide to find out how you can search for retracted papers. Then dive into the Retraction Watch Database to ensure you will never cite retracted papers!