Retraction is an important way of maintaining the integrity of scholarly literature. 4,500+ Research Papers Were Retracted in 2025.
The purpose is not to punish authors, but to ensure that published research remains trustworthy.
Journal Editors may retract an article when they lose confidence in its results or conclusions. This blog post of PhDTalks brings together causes of retraction from three key sources:
- Elsevier’s official guidance on paper retractions
- A large systematic review of biomedical retractions
- Actual retraction reasons recorded for papers retracted in 2026, based on the Retraction Database
Must read: Indian Research Retractions Surge after 2021
Major Retraction Reasons Identified by Elsevier
Elsevier highlights that retractions usually fall into two broad categories: Self-Retraction and Editorial Retraction.
Self-retraction occurs when authors discover mistakes after publication, such as Errors in analysis or interpretation, or Unintentional methodological problems, etc. In such cases, authors may voluntarily request retraction.
Editorial Retraction occurs when unethical behavior is involved, including falsification of data, Plagiarism, disputed authorship claims, Multiple or duplicate submissions, and violations of ethical standards.
Causes for Retraction in the Biomedical Literature
A major systematic review titled Causes for Retraction in the Biomedical Literature analyzed data from thousands of retracted papers.
Key findings from the review:
- Misconduct accounts for about 60% of all retractions
- Errors (honest mistakes or methodological flaws) contribute around 17%
- Publication issues (peer review problems, authorship disputes) account for about 9%
The most common reasons among misconduct cases were Plagiarism, Data fabrication, Duplication or overlap of publications, and ethical violations (such as lack of IRB approval).
Retraction Reasons Observed in 2026
An analysis of papers retracted in 2026 reveals the following retraction reasons:
- Concerns/Issues about Article
- Concerns/Issues about Authorship/Affiliation
- Concerns/Issues about Data
- Concerns/Issues about Results and/or Conclusions
- Concerns/Issues about Referencing
- Unreliable Results and/or Conclusions
- Original Data and/or Images Not Provided and/or Not Available
- Falsification/Fabrication of Data
- Duplication of Data
- Cites Retracted Work
- Misconduct by Author
- Breach of Policy by Author
- Compromised Peer Review
- Lack of IRB/IACUC Approval and/or Compliance
- Investigation by Journal/Publisher
- Investigation by Company/Institution
- Investigation by a third party
- Objections by Author
- Author Unresponsive
- Rogue Editor