Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 27, 2025
Databases to Efficiently Manage Medium Sized, Low Velocity, Multidimensional Data in Tissue Engineering
Published on: November 22, 2019
Assessing database accuracy for article retractions: A preliminary study comparing Retraction Watch Database, PubMed,
1University Institute for Primary Care (IuMFE), University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
Objective:
This study aimed to compare the accuracy of metadata for retracted articles in Retraction Watch Database (RWD), PubMed, and Web of Science (WoS).
Methods:
Twenty general internal medicine journals with an impact factor > 2 were randomly selected. RWD, PubMed, and WoS were used to retrieve all retracted articles published in these journals. Eight metadata variables were examined: journal, title, type of article, author(s), country/countries of affiliation, year of publication, year of retraction, and reason(s) for retraction (assessed only for RWD, as this information was unavailable in PubMed and WoS). Descriptive analyses were conducted to document errors across databases.
Results:
Thirty-five retractions were identified, and 280 metadata entries (35 × 8) were analyzed. RWD contained the most metadata errors, affecting 16 articles and 20 metadata entries, including seven errors in year of publication, six in article type, six in author names (five misspellings, one missing two authors), and one in country of affiliation. WoS had one error (a missing author), and PubMed had none.
Conclusion:
The relatively high error rate in RWD suggests that researchers should cross-check metadata across multiple databases. Given the preliminary nature of this study, larger-scale research is needed to confirm these findings and improve metadata reliability in retraction databases.
Related Concept Videos
02:07Improving Translational Accuracy
01:18Effects of EDTA on End-Point Detection Methods
In the visual method, metal-ion indicators (metallochromic dyes), which have distinct colors in their free and complex forms, are added to the mixture to signal the titration's end point. They form stable complexes with metal ions, but these complexes are weaker than the corresponding metal–EDTA complexes. As a...
02:27Nonsense-mediated mRNA Decay
Usually, Upf3 binds to an Exon Junction Complex (EJC) at mRNA splice sites. If a ribosome fully translates the mRNA,...
02:57Real Time RT-PCR
The real-time quantification of the number of amplified products is...
01:43Proofreading