For Whom the Bell Tolls: Downstream Effects of Retractions and the Bump-on Effects of Post-Publication Peer Review - Abstract
There is ample evidence to prove that traditional peer review has failed at several levels. Failure has also been witnessed in the lack of responsibility displayed by editors and publishers in seeking to correct the literature whenever necessary. A survey conducted in 2014 indicates that almost 85% of respondents expected publishers to refund clients of literature that was retracted. To correct this dysfunctional system that is gradually widening, post-publication peer review must serve as the tool of choice to call out those who are gaming the system, or being irresponsible within it. In essence,
the age of whistle-blowing has come to science, as a corrective measure. The literature needs correction. And those who have authored that literature, those who claim to have vetted it for quality, and those who are profiting from sales of corrupted literature must be held accountable.