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Persistent Citation of the Only Published Randomised Controlled Trial of Omega-3 Supplementation in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Six Years after Its Retraction

Author

Listed:
  • Ashley S. Fulton

    (School of Health Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia
    Alliance for Research in Exercise, Nutrition and Activity (ARENA), Sansom Institute for Health Research, Division of Health Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Alison M. Coates

    (School of Health Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia
    Alliance for Research in Exercise, Nutrition and Activity (ARENA), Sansom Institute for Health Research, Division of Health Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Marie T. Williams

    (Alliance for Research in Exercise, Nutrition and Activity (ARENA), Sansom Institute for Health Research, Division of Health Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia
    School of Population Health, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Peter R.C. Howe

    (Alliance for Research in Exercise, Nutrition and Activity (ARENA), Sansom Institute for Health Research, Division of Health Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia
    Clinical Nutrition Research Centre, School of Biomedical Sciences & Pharmacy, University of Newcastle, University Drive, Callaghan NSW 2308, Australia
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Alison M. Hill

    (Alliance for Research in Exercise, Nutrition and Activity (ARENA), Sansom Institute for Health Research, Division of Health Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia
    School of Pharmacy & Medical Sciences, University of South Australia, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

Abstract

Scientific articles are retracted infrequently, yet have the potential to influence the scientific literature for years. The only randomised controlled trial to explore the effects of omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids in people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease was retracted in 2008 due to falsified data. The objective of this research was to determine the frequency and nature of citations of this retracted paper. Web of Science and Google Scholar were used to determine the number of times the retracted article was cited. Citations were classified as either “retraction acknowledged” or “retraction not acknowledged”. The search was conducted on 6 August 2013 and updated on 25 March 2014. Results: The search resulted in 76 citations, of which 24 occurred prior to the retraction of the article. Of the 52 citations occurring after the retraction, only two acknowledged the retraction. Of the citations not acknowledging the retraction, 20 referred to specific data and 30 cited the reference in passing. This retracted article continues to be cited by authors, suggesting that information about the retraction was unsuccessfully communicated to the scientific community. Continual citation of retracted literature has the potential to bias a field of research and potentially misinform end-users.

Suggested Citation

  • Ashley S. Fulton & Alison M. Coates & Marie T. Williams & Peter R.C. Howe & Alison M. Hill, 2015. "Persistent Citation of the Only Published Randomised Controlled Trial of Omega-3 Supplementation in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Six Years after Its Retraction," Publications, MDPI, vol. 3(1), pages 1-10, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jpubli:v:3:y:2015:i:1:p:17-26:d:45773
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Chaomei Chen & Zhigang Hu & Jared Milbank & Timothy Schultz, 2013. "A visual analytic study of retracted articles in scientific literature," Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 64(2), pages 234-253, February.
    2. Chaomei Chen & Zhigang Hu & Jared Milbank & Timothy Schultz, 2013. "A visual analytic study of retracted articles in scientific literature," Journal of the Association for Information Science & Technology, Association for Information Science & Technology, vol. 64(2), pages 234-253, February.
    3. Bornmann, Lutz & Schier, Hermann & Marx, Werner & Daniel, Hans-Dieter, 2012. "What factors determine citation counts of publications in chemistry besides their quality?," Journal of Informetrics, Elsevier, vol. 6(1), pages 11-18.
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    Cited by:

    1. Jodi Schneider & Di Ye & Alison M. Hill & Ashley S. Whitehorn, 2020. "Continued post-retraction citation of a fraudulent clinical trial report, 11 years after it was retracted for falsifying data," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 125(3), pages 2877-2913, December.
    2. Simon Spedding, 2016. "Open Access Publishing of Health Research: Does Open Access Publishing Facilitate the Translation of Research into Health Policy and Practice?," Publications, MDPI, vol. 4(1), pages 1-9, January.

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