In the study by Noa Mascato Fontaíña, Cristina Candal-Pedreira, Guadalupe García, Joseph S. Ross, Alberto Ruano-Ravina та Lucía Martin-Gisbert Retraction Watch database was used to identify papers retracted due to originating from paper mills and journals, between January 2020 and December 2022. Data on the total number of articles and journal characteristics were obtained from Web of Science and Journal Citation Reports. Journals were classified based on the frequency of retracted paper mill papers (1, 2–9, ≥ 10 retractions). Logistic regressions were conducted to explore associations between retraction frequency and journal characteristics.

One hundred forty-two journals were identified that retracted 2,051 articles from paper mills. These journals, regardless of paper mill retraction number, were mainly in the second (35.2%) and third (29.6%) quartiles by impact factor. Medicine and health emerged as the predominant subject area, comprising 61.2% of all indexed journal categories.

This study suggests that paper mill retractions are concentrated in a small number of journals with common characteristics: high open access rates, intermediate impact factor quartiles, a high volume of citable items, and classification in medicine and health categories.

Source https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s41073-025-00177-9

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