Comparative Study On Characteristics Of Chinese And American Retracted Articles Based On WoS Database

PurposeIn order to explore the differences between the retracted papers in China and America,this study targeted at Chinese and American retracted papers in Web of Science(WoS)database as the object.MethodThe bibliometric method was used to analyze the differences in the general results,temporal characteristics,spatial characteristics,and related influence of these retracted papers,and the correlations among some indicators of these retracted papers were analyzed in order to provide reference for scientific research and academic work for related scholars and research institutions in China.Results1.In terms of the general results,the difference in the amounts and proportion of retracted papers between China and America were statistically significant(P=0.000).2.In terms of the time characteristics of retracted papers,the earliest published time and retracted time of retracted papers in China were all later than those in America.There was significant statistical difference in the proportion of retracted papers published in each year between two countries in the past 20 years(P<0.001);Nearly 15 years,the difference on the proportion of these retracted papers each year between two countries wasstatistically significant(P<0.001);The time-to-retraction of retracted papers in China and America were(25.47 ± 20.70)months,(49.71 ± 47.59)months,the difference was statistically significant(P<0.001),and the difference on the distribution of retracted papers with different time-to-retraction was statistically significant(P=0.000).3.In terms of the spatial distribution characteristics of the retracted papers,these retracted papers in China and America were mainly concentrated in colleges and universities,and there was significant statistical difference in the distribution of research institutions between two countries(P=0.000);The most foundations of retracted papers in China and America were from the National Natural Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health,respectively;There was significant statistical difference in the proportion of retracted papers with different foundations between two countries(P=0.000);There were many similar research areas in the retracted paper of China and America,and there was no statistical difference in the research area between two countries(P=0.417);The percentage of papers retracted due to content errors were the highest in China and America,and there was statistical difference in the overall distribution of retracted papers due to various reasons between two countries(P=0.000).4.In terms of the influence of retracted papers and journals published them,the cited frequency of retracted papers in China and America were(12.71±26.02)times and(47.00± 73.24)times,and the differences was statistically significant(P=0.000);The impact factor of the journals where these retracted papers published in China and America were respectively 3.310±4.801 and 8.651±11.000,there was statistically significant(P=0.000);There was significant difference among JCR divisions of retraction journals in China and America(P=0.000).5.In terms of the correlation of relevant features,the total cited frequency of retracted papers in China and America was positively correlated with time-to-retraction(P= 0.000),the cited frequency before retraction was positively correlated with time-to-retraction(P=0.000),and the cited frequency after retraction was negatively correlated withtime-to-retraction(P=0.000),and the time-to-retraction was positively correlated with the impact factor of journals(P=0.000).Conclusion1.The number of retracted papers in China is not only higher than that in America,but also the retraction rate is much higher than that in America;2.The purification rate of Chinese papers by WoS database is faster than that of America;3.The retracted papers in China and America are mainly concentrated in research institutions with strong comprehensive strength,and the proportion of foundation papers in the retracted papers in America is significantly higher than that of China,and the retracted papers in China and America are mainly concentrated in the same 15 research fields,and the reasons for the retracted of papers in both countries are mainly errors and controversies;4.The cited frequency of the retracted papers and the average impact factors of the journals were significantly lower in China than in America;5.The relevance of the characteristics of the retracted papers in both countries is basically consistent.