Citation dynamics and altmetric trends of retracted publications in Indian-funded research: pre and post retraction analysis

Abstract Researchers have an obligation to ensure publicly funded research delivers value, and retractions in such work raise serious questions about integrity and accountability. This study examines 368 retracted papers indexed in Web of Science that acknowledge support from Indian funding agencies. We analyze the underlying reasons for these retractions and investigate their citation dynamics through multiple perspectives. Results showed that approximately 53% of all retractions were due to image misuse or misrepresentation. There were 13,114 total citations to 368 retracted papers, and a significant proportion of 30.32% (3977 citations) were received after the retraction. Among 13,114 total citations, 8.69% of them are self-citations. We identified 168 retracted citing papers among the total citations. Of them, 110 had self-citations (64.48%). Journal’s impact factor or quartile ranking appears to influence both the frequency of retractions and citation patterns. Citation context analysis revealed a clear lack of critical engagement in scholarly discourse, with the majority of citations being neutral mentions both before and after retraction. On examining the sectional citation patterns, we found that a large proportion of citations appear in the introduction section. By citing a paper despite retraction in the methods section, certain methodological approaches were considered valuable for subsequent research, reflecting the continued influence of technical aspects of retracted literature in scientific practice. Analysis of altmetrics scores indicated that social media mentions like X posts and blog mentions played a key role in bringing awareness about retractions with discussions and their critical reporting. A considerable number of patent mentions (118 citations) indicates the influence of retracted papers on innovation. There is an urgent need for post-funding evaluation mechanism in publicly funded Indian research.