Bibliometric Assessment of a Retracted Paper on a Psychometric Assessment Scale for Interpersonal Mindfulness

Abstract

In 2022, a group of 10 international researchers spanning nine countries published an article on the assessment of a Persian version of an interpersonal mindfulness scale (IMS). That article, published in Frontiers in Psychiatry, was retracted on 4 September 2023. The retraction notice cites, as its main factor, abusive authorship practices that have the hallmarks of paper mill engagement. This study aimed to appreciate the literature that has cited that retracted paper. Two years after its retraction, by 1 September 2025, that article has already accumulated 37 citations, according to Google Scholar, Scopus and Web of Science, clustered around two education journals, Hindawi’s (Wiley) Education Research International and Springer Nature’s Language Testing in Asia. These journals cited the retracted article 13 and 5 times, respectively. This paper, while recording the literature that has cited that retracted article, notes that IMS researchers need to be mindful of the literature they cite and rely upon.