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Correction of scientific literature: Too little, too late!

Lonni Besançon1, Elisabeth Bik2, James Heathers3

  • 1Faculty of Information and Technology, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia.

Plos Biology
|March 3, 2022
PubMed

Insights

The scientific publication system needs improvement to address post-publication errors faster. This perspective suggests ways academia can correct scientific mistakes more efficiently.

Area of Science:

  • Scientific Publishing
  • Academic Integrity
  • Research Ethics

Background:

  • The COVID-19 pandemic exposed critical delays in addressing post-publication scientific concerns.
  • Current scientific publication workflows hinder timely error correction, impacting research reliability.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify and propose actionable strategies for enhancing academia's response to scientific errors.
  • To foster a more robust system for post-publication scientific corrections.

Main Methods:

  • This perspective synthesizes expert opinion and analysis of current academic publishing practices.
  • It reviews existing mechanisms for scientific error identification and correction.

Main Results:

  • Significant delays in addressing post-publication concerns were observed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Existing systems are often too slow to mitigate the impact of scientific errors effectively.

Conclusions:

  • Academia must proactively improve its willingness and capacity for timely error correction.
  • Implementing suggested changes can enhance the integrity and reliability of scientific literature.

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