What is a retraction?
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Corrections, expressions of concern and retractions
Published articles sometimes need to change. Journals use three different tools, and readers should not confuse them.
Correction. Used when an error can be fixed without undermining the main findings. COPE's retraction guidance treats a correction as the alternative when the main findings remain reliable.
Expression of concern. A notice that an editor may publish while an investigation of possible misconduct or an integrity problem is still open. ICMJE describes it as an interim step while procedures such as COPE's are followed.
Retraction. The article stays available but is marked as withdrawn from the scholarly record because it should no longer be relied on.
A retraction is not automatically a finding of misconduct by the authors. Some are requested by the authors themselves after an honest error is found. The notice should say who is retracting and why.
Why articles are retracted
The COPE retraction guidelines list the situations in which an editor should consider retraction:
the findings are unreliable because of major error, or fabrication or falsification;
plagiarism or redundant (duplicate) publication;
unauthorised use of material or data, copyright infringement or other serious legal issues;
unethical research;
compromised or manipulated peer review;
failure to disclose a major competing interest that unduly affected interpretation.
The same guidance says retraction is usually not appropriate when authorship is only disputed but the findings are valid, when a correction would be enough, when the evidence is inconclusive or an investigation is still pending, or when a post-publication conflict of interest is unlikely to have affected the work. COPE revised these guidelines in 2025; ICMJE refers to that version, so check the current text on the COPE site.
How a retraction is shown
COPE and ICMJE agree on the main features of a good notice:
It is clearly labelled as a retraction, not buried as an ordinary correction or letter, and its heading includes the title of the original article.
It gives a complete citation of the original, states the reason, and is factual rather than inflammatory.
It is freely accessible, published promptly, and linked both ways: the notice links to the article and the article links to the notice.
The retracted article remains publicly available and is labelled as retracted in the abstract, full text and PDF.
Crossref also offers Crossmark, a button that publishers place near the title on web pages and PDFs. It shows the current status of the item, including corrections and retractions. Whether a journal participates in Crossmark is a choice of that journal, so a missing button does not prove there is no retraction.
The journal's corrections page
This section links to the journal's own corrections and retractions page, where any notices are listed with the original article and the reason. If the page is empty, that means no notices have been published, and the page should say so rather than being omitted.
For readers and authors:
Before citing an article, search its DOI or title for a retraction or expression of concern. The Retraction Watch Database, acquired by Crossref in 2023 and made open, is published as open data and many tools draw on it.
Do not cite a retracted article as if it were sound. If you must cite it, for example to discuss the retraction, say clearly that it was retracted.
Reference managers and databases may lag behind journals, so check the publisher's page as well.
Sources
COPE retraction guidelines (page version dated 19 November 2020): https://publicationethics.org/node/19896/revisions/66396/view
COPE notice of updated retraction guidelines: https://publicationethics.org/node/45411
ICMJE, scientific misconduct, expressions of concern and retraction: https://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/publishing-and-editorial-issues/scientific-misconduct-expressions-of-concern-and-retraction.html
Crossref Crossmark: https://www.crossref.org/services/crossmark/
Retraction Watch, database becomes open (12 September 2023): https://retractionwatch.com/2023/09/12/the-retraction-watch-database-becomes-completely-open-and-rw-becomes-far-more-sustainable