Warning Before the Collapse: How the Research Boom is Undermining Scientific Integrity?

With the rise of open access journals, all major science publishers have faced scrutiny over the large volume of papers being published. This boom in research has gone hand in hand with a surge in retracted papers, most of which due to unethical practice by some authors which has helped fuel serious doubts over scientific integrity nowadays publish or perish mentality. Using data of retracted papers, this paper explains how the pressure to increase research productivity can negatively impact scientific integrity. Trends such as retracted articles, h-index or citation count increases that occur with great speed, dubious collaborations, and sudden ranking advancement of universities have been discussed in order to identify whether these indicators offer beneficial information on the current state of scientific integrity. Based on the cascading effects of retractions, we found that both the ratio of retracted to analyzed papers of 0.11 % and the ratio of high-risk to analyzed papers of 0.37 % can serve as important indicators for institutions to be concerned about their reputation. These findings suggest a need for stricter ethical policies and targeted workshops for faculty to help prevent potential damage to the institution’s credibility and standing.