EASE has updated its Standardised Retraction Form to make it easier to use, and better serve its purposes of supporting editors when preparing a retraction notice, and enriching our understanding of retractions, to help researchers analyse activity in this area.
The form has been redesigned in a word .docx, to allow users to add details directly into the form and used more effectively. We have added a brief introduction with guidance and explanation to the start of the form to make it stand alone better, and it now has its own webpage in the EASE Resources section of the website to fully explain what it is and highlight it better.
Retractions are often used as a proxy for publication quality and have been studied with cohorts of various sizes over different time periods. Time after time the results have shown that there is often no clearly stated reason for retraction and any reasons that are given often lack detail. This template helps editors and journal managers understand whether an article meets the pre-requisites for the COPE retraction guidelines.
The form consists of tick boxes and space for supporting clarification, to indicate who is retracting the article, the reason for the retraction and history of errata/ expressions of concern. A free text box allows the editor to add any information they consider useful, and a final Retraction Notice box is provided to summarise the details in the form into text to be published to announce the retraction.
The form was originally developed in 2014, when EASE members Hervé Maisonneuve and Evelyne Decullier put forward a proposal for a standardised form to support retraction.
The document was discussed on the COPE forum, and the discussion feedback notes summarised into a provisional document in September, 2014, incorporated into a revised version of the form which was published on the EASE website, then presented at the World Congress on Research Integrity on 3 June, 2015.
More recently, the Form was mentioned in a RetractionWatch interview with Herve and Evelyne, in August 2018, discussing whether retraction notices have improved over time.
Hervé and Evelyne will continue to develop the form and would welcome any comments from members.
Visit the EASE website to download a copy of the Form
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