Fraud in scientific publications in the European Union. An analysis through their retractions

This study analyses scientific fraud in the European Union by examining retractions due to Falsification, Fabrication and Plagiarism (FFP) where at least one researcher is affiliated to an EU member country. The information on publications retracted due to FFP is based on the records in the Retraction Watch Database up to 31/05/2020 and they are also reviewed in Web of Science. A total of 662 retractions due to FFP were obtained, corresponding to 24.46% of all retractions in the EU. Germany is first in the European ranking for FFP, Holland in the ranking for FF, and Italy in that for Plagiarism. 60.83% of the articles retracted due to FFP are from the Life Science and Biomedicine field. More than 75% of the articles have been published in journals that form part of the JCR and have an impact factor. There is also extensive citation of the retracted documents. Misconduct due to FFP causes a significant loss of resources and reputation, with severe effects for the authors, publishers, and institutions. It is recommended that the EU continue to apply policies and guidelines to harmonise criteria in relation to FFP, as well as to prevent and avoid scientific misconduct.