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Disagree with a published paper? Don't like its conclusions, politically inimical to you? Find the methods imperfect? Do your own research to rebut it. Publish your critiques. But do not call for retraction of papers because of 'potential to inflict serious harm.' @NatureComms https://twitter.com/pollyp1/status/1329455882481131524
Here is a prior paper by @waterbarnes shedding more light on this topic. To me, this is how science proceeds: people publish work, seeking the truth. And even papers with limitations can help us see the truth. https://twitter.com/waterbarnes/status/1329085950857605130
Another request that editors retract this paper on grounds that letter-writers do not like how the authors 1) operationalized/measured key variables; 2) discuss their results. None of this satisfies COPE standards for retraction. https://twitter.com/network_alba/status/1330933256624230404?s=20 @NatureComms should resist
To my eye, this is the ideal way to handle scientific disagreements about a published paper: publish your own critique! Don't call for retraction. Kudos to @ka_lindquist, @junegruber, @JSchleiderPhD, @jbintheATX, @LMWeinstockPhD, and @eblissmoreau https://psyarxiv.com/qn3ae/
Another example of how it's done, well: analyze the paper & craft a response. Do not call for retraction of scientific papers on the grounds originally offered.
Retracting a Controversial Paper Won’t Help Female Scientists. https://quillette.com/2020/11/23/retracting-a-controversial-paper-wont-help-female-scientists/ via @TaniaArline @Quillette
Retracting a Controversial Paper Won’t Help Female Scientists. https://quillette.com/2020/11/23/retracting-a-controversial-paper-wont-help-female-scientists/ via @TaniaArline @Quillette
I hope @NatureComms, a journal I respect, will resist these unscientific and illiberal calls to retract this paper. And I hope they will remove their notation of 'investigating the author's interpretation of their data.' Instead, they should publish critiques or more papers.
I've now been told that this superb author group, incl @alshebli, wrote a prior paper in @NatureComms with similar data/methods and found that ethnic diversity enhanced scientific impact. There was no call to retract that paper.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-07634-8 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-19723-8
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-07634-8 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-19723-8
