Reducing Quotation Errors in Scientific Manuscripts: A Novel Approach from the Global Andrology Forum

Asli Metin Mahmutoglu; Ashok Agarwal; Bahadir Sahin; Tomer-Avidor Reiss; Pallav Sengupta; Germar-Michael Pinggera; Hiva Alipour; Rossella Cannarella; Christine Wyns; Mohamed Arafa; Aldo E Calogero; Taymour Mostafa; Eric Chung; Ala'a Farkouh; Ahmad Motawi; Amarnath Rambhatla; Ayad Palani; Giovanni M Colpi; Murat Gül; Selahittin Çayan; Israel Maldonado Rosas; Taha Abo-Almagd Abdel-Meguid Hamoda; Rupin Shah

doi:10.5534/wjmh.240255

Reducing Quotation Errors in Scientific Manuscripts: A Novel Approach from the Global Andrology Forum

World J Mens Health. 2025 Jan 2. doi: 10.5534/wjmh.240255. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Asli Metin Mahmutoglu^#^{1

2}, Ashok Agarwal^#^{2

3}, Bahadir Sahin^{2

4}, Tomer-Avidor Reiss^{2

5

6}, Pallav Sengupta^{2

7

8}, Germar-Michael Pinggera^{2

9}, Hiva Alipour^{2

10}, Rossella Cannarella^{2

11

12}, Christine Wyns^{2

13

14}, Mohamed Arafa^{2

15

16

17}, Aldo E Calogero^{2

11}, Taymour Mostafa^{2

17}, Eric Chung^{2

18}, Ala'a Farkouh^{2

19}, Ahmad Motawi^{2

17}, Amarnath Rambhatla^{2

20}, Ayad Palani^{2

21}, Giovanni M Colpi^{2

22}, Murat Gül^{2

23

24}, Selahittin Çayan^{2

25}, Israel Maldonado Rosas^{2

26}, Taha Abo-Almagd Abdel-Meguid Hamoda^{2

27

28}, Rupin Shah^{2

29}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medical Biology, Medical Faculty, Yozgat Bozok University, Yozgat, Türkiye.
² Global Andrology Forum, Moreland Hills, OH, USA.
³ Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA. [email protected].
⁴ Urology Department, Marmara University School of Medicine, Istanbul, Türkiye.
⁵ Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, USA.
⁶ Department of Urology, College of Medicine and Life Sciences, University of Toledo, Toledo, OH, USA.
⁷ Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, Gulf Medical University, Ajman, UAE.
⁸ Basic Medical Sciences Department, College of Medicine, Ajman University, Ajman, UAE.
⁹ Department of Urology, Innsbruck Medical University, Innsbruck, Austria.
¹⁰ Department of Health Science and Technology, Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark.
¹¹ Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Catania, Catania, Italy.
¹² Glickman Urological & Kidney Institute, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH, USA.
¹³ Laboratoire d'Andrologie, Pôle de Recherche en Physiologie de la Reproduction, Institut de Recherche Expérimentale et Clinique (IREC), Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium.
¹⁴ Department of Gynecology-Andrology, Cliniques Universitaires Saint-Luc, Brussels, Belgium.
¹⁵ Department of Urology, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.
¹⁶ Department of Urology, Weill Cornell Medical-Qatar, Doha, Qatar.
¹⁷ Department of Andrology, Sexology & STIs, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.
¹⁸ Department of Urology, Princess Alexandra Hospital, University of Queensland, Brisbane QLD, Australia.
¹⁹ Department of Urology, Loma Linda University Health, Loma Linda, CA, USA.
²⁰ Department of Urology, Henry Ford Health System, Vattikuti Urology Institute, Detroit, MI, USA.
²¹ Research Centre, University of Garmian, Kalar, Iraq.
²² Andrology and IVF Center, Next Fertility Procrea, Lugano, Switzerland.
²³ Department of Urology, Selcuk University School of Medicine, Konya, Türkiye.
²⁴ Department of Andrology, Selcuk University School of Medicine, Konya, Türkiye.
²⁵ Department of Urology, University of Mersin School of Medicine, Mersin, Türkiye.
²⁶ IVF Laboratory, CITMER Reproductive Medicine, Mexico City, Mexico.
²⁷ Department of Urology, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
²⁸ Department of Urology, Faculty of Medicine, Minia University, El-Minia, Egypt.
²⁹ Department of Urology, Lilavati Hospital and Research Centre, Mumbai, India.

^# Contributed equally.

PMID: 39843175
DOI: 10.5534/wjmh.240255

Abstract

Purpose: This study investigated 1) the frequency of quotation errors in multi-authored medical manuscripts in andrology, 2) analyzed common types of quotation errors and the methods used to rectify them, and 3) evaluated their impact on manuscript accuracy, credibility, and research conclusions.

Materials and methods: Twelve manuscripts written by the Global Andrology Forum (GAF) members between 2023 and 2024 were randomly selected for this study. The manuscripts and "Quotation Verification Sheets" were analyzed by senior GAF researchers to detect the number and types of quotation errors. The error rate was calculated by the total number of quotation errors and total number of all cited references in each manuscript. The impact on manuscript sections was assessed using a 0-4 grading scale. The Spearman correlation test was used to assess the correlation between scalar variables, and the Mann-Whitney U test was utilized to compare scalar variables between two groups.

Results: The median value of quotation errors was 10.3%. Factual inaccuracy was the most common type of error, and was observed in all twelve manuscripts at various rates. The number of errors was significantly associated with the number of references (ρ=0.706; p=0.010) and in-text citations (ρ=0.636; p=0.026). Factual inaccuracy (ρ=0.588; p=0.044) and factual interpretation (ρ=0.861; p=0.013) were also correlated with the total number of quotation errors. However, no significant associations were found between quotation errors and author numbers or their qualifications. The quotation errors adversely impacted the manuscript discussion, followed by the overall message.

Conclusions: Quotation errors are common in multi-authored medical manuscripts in andrology-related scientific articles. Journal editorial offices should incorporate quotation verification into the review process. Limiting references and in-text citations to only strictly necessary ones may help improve quotation accuracy. The quotation verification model proposed by GAF offers a practical and structured approach for detecting and correcting quotation errors.

Keywords: Andrology; Editorial policies; Health care; Medical writing; Quality assurance; Research design.