The Process for Handling Cases Requiring Corrections, Retractions, and Editorial Expressions of Concern

The journal follows and adheres to the standards of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).  In alignment with the standards, the publication may take the required actions in case of a significant inaccuracy, misleading statement, or distorted report is found in the published manuscript. Such manuscripts are subjected to immediate and prompt corrections and if required can be retracted if found fraudulent after due investigation.

Procedure for corrections

In case of minor errors identified in the manuscript by the Editor-in-chief, the author can submit the revised version after corrections. If there are significant corrections, the revised manuscript is published.

Procedure for Retraction

When a significant error determines the conclusions of the research invalid, retractions are considered. The research malpractices that makes retraction necessary include plagiarism, duplicate publication, or unethical research.

According to the COPE guidelines, a retraction follows the below procedure;

1. A retraction note with the title, “Retraction: [article title]” duly signed by the authors/ editors is published in the following issue of the publication.
2. The original article is cited with the retraction of the manuscript by providing a link to the original article.
3. On clicking the link, the user is redirected first to the retraction note followed by the original article.
4. No changes are made to the original article except the addition of a watermark indicating the article has been retracted.

Expression of concern by the editor

Editors may consider raising an expression of concern if they notice that the authenticity of research or the integrity of the submitted/published article is compromised. The concern is issued only after an inquiry on the raised problems has undergone and no conclusion has been attained. But in some special cases, an expression of concern can also be issued when the inquiry is underway. This expression of concern must be linked to the original article.