Article Retraction & Withdrawal Policy

Article Retraction

Journal editors should retract articles if:

Journal Editors must investigate whether a retraction is warranted and, if so, must act in accordance with COPE's Retraction Guidelines.

It is important to note that just because an author retains copyright for an article does not mean they automatically have the right to retract it after publication. The integrity of the published scientific record is critical, and COPE's Retraction Guidelines continue to apply in such circumstances.

Article Correction

Journal editors should consider publishing a correction if any of the following conditions exist:

Corrections to peer-reviewed literature are classified into four types:

Article Withdrawal                            

Article withdrawal is only used in unusual situations for early versions of accepted articles that have not yet been formally published (“articles in press”) but may already be online. These versions may contain errors, be submitted twice, or violate a journal's publishing ethical requirements (e.g. multiple submission, bogus claims of authorship, plagiarism, fraudulent use of data, etc.). In such cases, especially when there are legal/ethical violations or incorrect facts that could cause harm, we may decide to remove the content from our electronic platform. Withdrawal involves removing the article content (HTML and PDF) and replacing it with an HTML page and PDF explaining why it was withdrawn.

Keep in mind that retaining copyright for an article does not entitle the author to withdraw it after publication. The integrity of the published scientific record is crucial, and these policies still apply.

Article Removal

In rare situations, we may need to remove an article from our online platform. This will only happen if an article is plainly libellous, violates others' legal rights, is the subject of a court order, or poses a major health risk if acted upon. In this case, the article's metadata (title and author) will remain, but the text will be replaced by a screen notifying that the article has been removed for legal reasons.

Article Replacement

In a very small percentage of circumstances, we may need to withdraw a published content from our web platform. This will only occur if an item is plainly defamatory or infringes on the legal rights of others, or if the piece is, or we have reason to believe it will be, the subject of a court order, or if the article, if acted upon, may pose a major health risk. In such cases, the article's metadata (title and author information) will be kept, but the text will be replaced with a screen explaining that the article has been removed for legal reasons.