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Contributing to retraction

Source: .github/CONTRIBUTING.md

Thank you for helping improve retraction. The package scans documents and bibliographies for citations to retracted publications, so changes should preserve accuracy, reproducibility, and safe handling of user documents.

Ways to contribute

Useful contributions include:

  • Bug reports with a minimal reproducible example.
  • Parser fixes or new format support, with a small sample file that shows the problem.
  • Matching or source corrections with links to the relevant Retraction Watch, Crossref, or OpenAlex record.
  • Tests for parsers, identifier normalization, matching, source backends, and report rendering.
  • Documentation improvements for package users and contributors.
  • Small, focused pull requests that are easy to review.

Before opening an issue

Please search existing issues first. When reporting a bug, include:

  • The file format or reference being checked, with a minimal sample if possible.
  • The sources used, for example "xera", "crossref", or "openalex".
  • Whether the problem occurs offline (after retraction_sync()) or only against the live API.
  • A short reproducible R example.
  • Your sessionInfo() output.

Do not include private data, access tokens, or unpublished manuscripts in public issues. If you must show a failing reference, reduce it to the smallest example.

Development setup

From a local checkout:

install.packages(c("devtools", "testthat"))
devtools::install_deps(dependencies = TRUE)
devtools::load_all()

Run the package test suite with:

testthat::test_local()

For a CRAN-style local check, build a clean source tarball and run:

R CMD build .
R CMD check --as-cran retraction_*.tar.gz

Optional features use packages in Suggests, including pdftools (PDF text extraction), RefManageR (bibliography parsing), and knitr / rmarkdown (vignettes and reports). If you change optional behavior, verify both the installed-dependency path and the graceful-degradation path where practical.

Code and data expectations

  • Keep changes focused. Avoid mixing unrelated refactors with behavioral fixes.
  • Add or update tests for parsing, normalization, matching, source, or report behavior that changes.
  • Keep examples CRAN-safe. Network-dependent examples should use \donttest{} or \dontrun{}, and prefer the bundled retraction_example data or an offline snapshot where possible.
  • Preserve provenance and credit for retraction data sources. Update LICENSE.note when data-source handling changes.
  • Do not commit generated check directories, source tarballs, local caches, or credentials.
  • Use clear branch names that describe the work.

Pull requests

Open pull requests against main. A good pull request should include:

  • A concise summary of the change.
  • The reason the change is needed.
  • Tests or checks that were run.
  • Links to relevant issues, data-source records, or format specifications.

By contributing, you agree that your contribution will be distributed under the project license.