A qualitative investigation of "honest" retractions by researchers in the Netherlands and other countries

Authors who retract their own papers following the discovery of an honest mistake show a highly proactive attitude with regards to their professional and moral responsibilities. In this qualitative study, we explored the circumstances, motivations and beliefs of scientists who retracted one of their own publications between 2010 and 2015. Scientists were selected primarily amongst Dutch researchers. Through semistructured interviews, we sought to understand the experience of discovering an error and retracting one’s own publication. For all the participants, the process of retracting a publica... Mehr ...