We have read with great interest the study of Stretton et al.Citation1, which provides relevant information about the native language and country of origin of the authors of articles with misconduct and plagiarism retractions. In this study, significant differences in the frequency of these faults is reported if the authors come from low-income countries and do not speak English as their native language, but there is no information about such a state of affairs from developing countries in Latin AmericaCitation1.
Although not reported in the studyCitation1, cases of retraction due to misconduct and plagiarism occur in articles published from Latin American countriesCitation2–4. We have performed a literature search using the special queries function ‘Retracted Publications’ and ‘Retraction of Publication’ on MEDLINE (search filters: human and animal studies; English; from 1 January 1966 to 18 February 2008) and, additionally, looked for full original publication and retraction notice available, indicating that the publication had been retracted for reason of misconduct. Including not just human but animal studies as well, we found articles retracted from Brazil (duplication)Citation5 and Argentina (duplication)Citation6.
However we are aware that many more retractions have occurred. This could be explained for several reasons. In the search years studied there were few Latin American journals indexed in MEDLINE, so many scientific articles of Latin American origin were not included in the analysis. On the other hand much of the mainstream biomedical research taking place in Latin America is in collaboration with high-income countriesCitation7 for which a large number of researchers are signed as first-named authors, which means that although the retracted articles may include Latin America authors, these could not be found in an initial search at MEDLINE, which only retrieves the country of origin of the first-named author.
Research investigating ethical misconduct in Latin American countries is neededCitation2–4, and the article by Stretton et al.Citation1 could be the incentive for multiple regional studies. It would be a very helpful insight if measures could be developed which prevented and detected these ethical shortcomings, especially now that more Latin American journals are being indexed in Medline or the Science Citation IndexCitation7, which in the future could detect plagiarism in scientific journals more frequently if no measures are taken to prevent such misdoings. Indeed, a search in MEDLINE between February 18, 2008 and November 9, 2012, revealed that 13 more retracted articles from Brazil were found, as well as two from Mexico and two from Argentina.
In order to prevent instances of misconduct and plagiarism, some actions have been proposed, such as the inclusion of scientific writing, the publishing process and ethical issues in the education program of undergraduate medical studentsCitation8,Citation9. Another important way is to create a research culture which involves undergraduate students in research teamsCitation10. In Latin America, this approach is taking place following the emergence of undergraduate medical journals, where students can gain experience in editorial tasksCitation8,Citation9. As a scientific community, we need to raise awareness about the extent of plagiarism, not just in MEDLINE indexed journals, but also in all other regional scientific communities. We need to highlight the impact that plagiarism has on scientific publications, and promote good publishing practice in high- and also low-income countries, such as in Latin America.
Transparency
Declaration of funding
The authors received no payment in preparation of this manuscript.
Declaration of financial/other relationships
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
The peer reviewers on this manuscript have disclosed that they have no relevant financial relationships.
Acknowledgments
None
References
- Stretton S, Bramich NJ, Keys JR, et al. Publication misconduct and plagiarism retractions: a systematic, retrospective study. Curr Med Res Opin 2012;28:1575-83
- Saldana-Gastulo J, Quezada-Osoria C, Pena-Oscuvilca A, et al. Alta frecuencia de plagio en tesis de medicina de una universidad pública peruana. Rev Peru Med Exp Salud Publica 2010;27:63-7
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