Is the ratio of retracted Iranian papers compatible with their research growth rate? An international database surveys

Background: Retraction of articles occurs as a result of scientific misconducts or honest errors. The main purpose of this study was to identify the frequency of retracted Iranian publications, compare them with other countries and adjust it with influential parameters such as research growth and growth of retracted publications worldwide. Methods: All publications that were indexed on the Scopus database from 2008 to 2017 and then retracted due to scientific misconduct were extracted through the Retraction Watch database and selected as the research community. To calculating the growth of retraction for each proposed country (or region), first the rate of absolute number of retracted papers for years 2013-2017 divided to the similar number for years 2008-2012, then this rate was adjusted to the retracted rate which similarly computed for the total retracted statistics of world. Results: Overall, 545 Iranian retracted publications from 2008 to 2017 were identified, of which 240 and 305 retracted articles related to the first 5-year and second 5-year of the study, respectively. The results showed that less than one percent (0.82) of all scientific articles published by Iranian researchers were retracted. However, the rate of retracted scientific articles in Iran compared to this rate in the world was significantly higher than in many other countries and regions. Conclusion: Although retracted Iranian publications make up a small percentage of all Iranian publications, but the number of retracted publications is increasing. It is important to recognize the reasons for scientific misconducts and to provide researchers with proper education.