{"id":21322,"date":"2020-07-20T16:31:15","date_gmt":"2020-07-20T10:31:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.enago.com\/academy\/?p=21322"},"modified":"2020-11-17T20:31:42","modified_gmt":"2020-11-17T14:31:42","slug":"is-self-retraction-bad-for-a-researchers-career","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.enago.com\/academy\/is-self-retraction-bad-for-a-researchers-career\/","title":{"rendered":"Does Self-Retraction Affect a Researcher’s Career?"},"content":{"rendered":"

That sinking feeling in your stomach when you realize the cell lines you have been working on were not the ones you thought. You discovered there was a labeling error. The conclusions of your experiments, which you published in a paper, are incorrect. You realize the ramifications: you have unintentionally misled the scientific community, and other scientists will spend resources trying to repeat your experiments. Before any more damage has occurred, you self-retract your paper. This retraction tells the scientific community that the research we published is invalid.\u00a0However, what is the consequence\u00a0<\/a>of self-retraction in your career?<\/p>\n

Consequences of Retracting a Paper<\/h2>\n

Retracting a paper has historically been associated with academic fraud<\/a>. Therefore, if you self-retract your paper, will other authors trust and cite your published work in the future? Will you be able to get future funding? Will you be able to get a job?<\/p>\n

The good news is that the academic community tends to forgive genuine mistakes. Scientists learn from these mistakes; it also \u201ccleans up\u2019’ the literature, benefitting everyone. Hence, encouraging self-retraction is beneficial to the scientific community. It is the right thing to do.<\/p>\n

Having an \u201cauthor self-retracted article<\/a>\u201d on your resume will raise questions, but you can use it to your advantage. It shows that you:<\/p>\n

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  1. Have integrity.<\/li>\n
  2. Can self-reflect and critically evaluate your work.<\/li>\n
  3. Are open to anyone challenging your assumptions.<\/li>\n
  4. Learn from your mistakes.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    <\/div>\n