Article Correction, Retraction, Withdrawal, and Removal Policy

Policy Overview

Our journal values the accuracy, transparency, and trustworthiness of the published scholarly record. Once an article is published, it remains part of the permanent record as accurately as possible. However, in some cases, an article may need to be corrected, retracted, withdrawn, or removed.

All editorial decisions are made independently by the Editor based on journal policies and applicable legal requirements (e.g., libel, copyright, or privacy laws). If any change to the published record is required, we will provide a clear and permanent notice to ensure transparency.

Author Responsibility

If authors discover an error in their published article, they must contact the editorial office as soon as possible.

The Editor (or a designated editorial team member) will review the issue and determine the most appropriate action. This may involve consulting with the editorial board or relevant ethics committees.

Article Correction (Corrigendum / Erratum)

• Corrigendum: Issued when authors need to correct a minor error that does not affect the main results or conclusions of the article. All authors must approve the correction.
• Erratum: Issued when the error was introduced by the journal during the publication process.

Corrections will be published as separate notices and linked to the original article.

Editor’s Notes

An Editor’s Note may be published when editors want to inform readers about issues that do not affect the article’s scientific integrity but are important for transparency.

Examples include:

• Unethical behavior during peer review that did not affect findings,
• Outcomes of concerns that do not require further action,
• Authorship disputes that do not compromise the validity of the study.

Expression of Concern

An Expression of Concern may be issued when:

• There is uncertainty about the reliability of the article but no final investigation result,
• An investigation is ongoing but will take time,
• Evidence is inconclusive but significant enough to alert readers.
• This notice may be temporary or permanent, depending on the outcome of the investigation.

Article Withdrawal (Before Final Publication)

Articles that are accepted but not yet officially published (Articles-in-Press) may be withdrawn when:

• They were published prematurely due to editorial or production errors,
• They duplicate another published article.
• The article will be replaced with a notice stating that it has been withdrawn in accordance with the journal’s policy.

Article Retraction

A retraction may occur if:

• The findings are proven unreliable due to error, fabrication, or falsification,
• Plagiarism or redundant publication has occurred,
• Authors were not authorized to use certain data or materials,
• There are serious ethical, legal, or research misconduct concerns.

Retraction notice procedures:

• A retraction statement will be published and linked to the original article.
• The original PDF will be watermarked with “Retracted.”
• The HTML version will be removed.
• Metadata will remain to preserve the publication record.

Article Removal (Legal Reasons)

Article removal is rare and only occurs when:

• The article is defamatory or infringes legal rights and retraction is insufficient,
• There is a court order,
• The article poses a serious health or safety risk.

When an article is removed, the title and author information will remain, but the text will be replaced with a notice explaining the removal.

Article Replacement

If an article poses a serious health risk, the authors may retract and publish a corrected version. The retraction notice will link to the new article to maintain transparency and traceability.

Archiving Policy

All versions of articles, including corrected, retracted, or removed versions, will be permanently stored in the journal’s official archive to maintain the integrity of the scholarly record.