Open Science Speaker: Dr Ivan Oransky, Retraction Watch

Course description

Why are thousands of research papers being retracted every year—and why might that be a good thing?

Join us for a thought-provoking talk with Dr Ivan Oransky, co-founder of Retraction Watch, as he dives into the hidden world of research integrity, the rise of sleuths, and what these trends mean for the future of science. Expect surprising stories, eye-opening insights, and practical takeaways for anyone navigating academic publishing.

Retractions: On the Rise, But Not Enough

In 2000, there were about 40 retractions from the scholarly literature. In 2023, there were more than 10,000. That is a dramatic increase, even accounting for the growing number of papers published yearly.

In this talk Ivan will explore the reasons for the increase, why it is good news, and why the actual number should be even higher. Ivan will tell the stories of the sleuths who are finding problems in the literature, drawing on more than a decade of experience at Retraction Watch, and discuss the upstream reasons for behaviour that leads to retractions. Lastly, Ivan will talk about how everyone can avoid ending up in the Retraction Watch Database -- or end up there for a good reason.

About Ivan Oransky, MD

Ivan is the Co-Founder, Retraction Watch and Executive Director, The Center For Scientific Integrity.
Ivan is a medical journalist who earned his Bachelor's degree from Harvard, and his M.D. from the New York University School of Medicine. He is perhaps most well-known as a co-founder of Retraction Watch, the most comprehensive database of retracted articles in academic publishing. Ivan's work has been internationally recognised for its contribution to scientific integrity. In 2015, he was awarded the John P. McGovern Award for excellence in biomedical communication from the American Medical Writers Association. In 2017, he received an Honorary  Doctorate of civil laws from The University of the South (Sewanee). And in 2019, he was given a commendation by the judges of the prestigious John Maddox Prize. He has been featured in the New York Times and is often called upon for comments by major news media for his perspective on issues surrounding research publication integrity.

Type of course

Seminar