How Do Retractions Influence the Citations of Retracted Articles?

Scientific retraction helps purge the continued use of flawed research. However, the practical influence of it needs to be identified and quantified. In this study, we analyzed the citations of 106 psychological articles from Web of Science to explore the influence of retraction using quantitative methods. Our results show that 1) retraction caused a significant decline (1.6–1.8 times) in the post-retraction citations; 2) retractions from open accessed or high-quality journals are effective; 3) retraction is incapable to eliminate the dissemination of flawed results thoroughly. Our findings may provide useful insights for scholars and practitioners to understand and integrate the retraction system.