Retractions Associated with Kazakhstani Institutes in 2024/2025: Lessons for Medical Researchers in Kazakhstan

Jaime A. Teixeira da Silva 1 *
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1 Independent researcher, Miki-cho, Japan
* Corresponding Author
J CLIN MED KAZ, Volume 22, Issue 3, pp. 4-7. https://doi.org/10.23950/jcmk/16405
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Author Contributions: Conceptualization, formal analysis, investigation, methodology, project administration, supervision; validation, visualization, roles/writing – original draft, writing – review and editing, J. A. T. S. The author has read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Data availability statement: The corresponding author can provide the data supporting the study's conclusions upon request. Due to ethical and privacy constraints, the data are not publicly accessible.

ABSTRACT

Medical researchers in Kazakhstan, empowered by a publication-based rewards system, may be tempted to engage in unethical behavior in order to achieve success. A recent (DOI: 10.1007/s10805-025-09624-0) assessment of 36 Scopus-indexed retractions from 2013–2023, peaking in 2016–2019, revealed that the most frequent cause of retractions was fake peer review, although some papers were also retracted due to engagement with paper mills. In a bid to offer some continuity to and expansion of that assessment, retractions of authors affiliated with Kazakhstani institutes were assessed using the Retraction Watch database for the 1 January 2024 to 3 April 2025 period. A total of 19 retractions were identified, nine each in Springer Nature and Wiley journals, and one in PLoS ONE, and with seven retractions having the affiliation “Al-Farabi Kazakh National University”. The most common reason (89%) was compromised or manipulated peer review, while authors in 26% of retraction notices expressed disagreement with the retractions. Finally, 73% of emails listed for the corresponding authors were not institutional emails. The take-home message of this short analysis for medical researchers in Kazakhstan is to appreciate that the risks of abuses of the publication process far outweigh any benefits that may have accrued as a result of deceptive practices.
Keywords: Central Asia, international collaboration, peer review, post-Soviet countries, retracted papers

CITATION

Teixeira da Silva JA. Retractions Associated with Kazakhstani Institutes in 2024/2025: Lessons for Medical Researchers in Kazakhstan. J CLIN MED KAZ. 2025;22(3):4-7. https://doi.org/10.23950/jcmk/16405

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