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arXiv · 2511.21176

Mapping Academic Integrity: Global Retraction Trends Explored through a Topic Lens

Zhengyi Zhou·Ying Lou·Zhesi Shen·Menghui Li
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Abstract

Scientific publications have long served as the cornerstone of innovation, exhibiting stable growth over the years. Recently, however, retractions have surged dramatically, driven largely by the proliferation of low-quality and fraudulent articles, posing a substantial threat to research integrity. By integrating annual publication and retraction data, this study employs the relative retraction rate (R3) to systematically examine disparities and evolving trends from a topical perspective. Our analysis reveals that the number of retractions has grown significantly faster than that of global publications, yielding an overall retraction rate of 0.12%. While retractions occur across all disciplines, substantial disparities exist, ranging from 0.035% in Physics to 0.34% in Computer Science. This gap widens at finer levels of granularity, reaching roughly 8.99% in Human-Computer Interaction. Moreover, unusually high R3 values frequently coincide with rapid publication growth in specific fields. We also developed Retraction Monitor, a web application for monitoring retraction dynamics across diverse fields, enabling stakeholders to visualize these trends and assess risks to research integrity. These findings provide valuable insights for identifying high-risk fields and developing tailored governance policies to strengthen research rigor and mitigate field-specific retraction risks.

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Zhengyi Zhou, Ying Lou, Zhesi Shen, Menghui Li. 2025-11-26. Mapping Academic Integrity: Global Retraction Trends Explored through a Topic Lens. https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.21176

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