Saudi Retraction Explorer

An interactive web application for exploring and analyzing retracted academic papers from Saudi Arabian universities. Built with Next.js, SQLite, Leaflet, and Recharts.

Features

• Dashboard — Key statistics on Saudi university retractions with charts
• Interactive Map — Leaflet-based map with clustered markers for all Saudi universities
• University Search — FTS5-powered autocomplete search across 48 Saudi universities
• University Detail Pages — Per-university breakdown with:
  • Retraction reasons (pie chart)
  • Timeline (area chart)
  • Subject distribution
  • Top journals
  • Full retraction table with author names, department affiliations, and reason badges
• Filtering — By reason category, date range, and sort order

Data Sources

• Retraction Watch Database (via Crossref) — ~69,000 retracted papers worldwide
• OpenAlex API — Institution geocoding and metadata enrichment
• Crossref API — Funding/grant verification
• University websites — Faculty position verification

Tech Stack

• Next.js 14 (App Router, TypeScript)
• SQLite via better-sqlite3 (self-contained, no external DB needed)
• Leaflet.js via react-leaflet + react-leaflet-cluster
• Recharts for charts
• Tailwind CSS for styling

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+
• The SQLite database file (data/retraction-explorer.db) — not included in the repo due to size

Setup

npm install

Database Setup

To build the database from scratch:

# 1. Initialize schema
npx tsx scripts/init-db.ts

# 2. Download Retraction Watch CSV
npx tsx scripts/download-csv.ts

# 3. Ingest CSV data
npx tsx scripts/ingest-csv.ts

# 4. Enrich with OpenAlex geocoding
npx tsx scripts/enrich-institutions.ts

# 5. Build university aggregation layer
node scripts/build-universities.js

# 6. Find and add any missing retractions
node scripts/add-missing-tabuk.js
node scripts/add-found-missing.js

Development

npm run dev

Open http://localhost:3000.

Project Structure

src/
  app/
    api/                    # API routes
      saudi/                # Dashboard stats
      search/               # University search
      map-data/             # Map markers
      universities/[id]/    # University detail + retractions
    search/                 # Search page
    map/                    # Map page
    university/[id]/        # University detail page
  components/
    Dashboard.tsx           # Main dashboard
    map/                    # Map components (RetractionMap, MapFilters, etc.)
    ui/                     # Shared UI (SearchBar, charts)
    university/             # UniversityRetractionTable
  lib/
    db.ts                   # SQLite connection
    queries/
      saudi.ts              # All Saudi-focused queries
      institutions.ts       # General institution queries
scripts/                    # Data ingestion and analysis scripts
data/                       # SQLite database (gitignored)

Saudi University Coverage

• 48 universities mapped with name pattern matching
• 2,200+ retractions linked to universities (81% coverage of Saudi retractions)
• Remaining ~500 are from hospitals, government agencies, and non-university research centers

License

MIT