Retraction Policy

We are committed to acting decisively when errors or ethical concerns are identified, recognizing the importance of maintaining a transparent and reliable scholarly record.

This policy outlines a tiered system for addressing issues that arise with a published article, which can be subject to retraction and, in exceptional cases, removal, based the severity of the issues.

  1. Retraction

A retraction is the standard process for addressing a paper with a serious flaw. It serves as a permanent public notice that the article's findings are no longer considered reliable. While the original article remains published online, it is prominently watermarked as "Retracted." A separate Retraction Notice is also published, which provides a detailed explanation of the reason for the action.

The purpose of a retraction is to alert the scientific community to the issues while preserving the historical record of the publication.

A retraction is initiated when:

  • Major errors in data, methodology, or findings invalidate the article's conclusions.
  • Cases of research misconduct, such as plagiarism, data fabrication, or falsification.
  • Redundant or duplicate publication.
  • Ethical violations, including the manipulation of the peer review or publishing process.
  1. Removal

Removal, or withdrawal, is an extreme action reserved for rare and exceptional circumstances. Unlike a retraction, the article is completely deleted from our online platform. This action is only taken when leaving the article online, even with a retraction notice, would pose a significant risk or legal liability.

An article may be considered for removal when:

  • Legal Reasons: Required by a court order, or when there is clear evidence of defamation or severe copyright infringement.
  • Privacy & Safety: The article contains information that could compromise the privacy, anonymity, or safety of human subjects.
  • Public Health Risk: The article contains critical errors that, if followed, could pose a direct and serious threat to public health.

In these cases, a "Notice of Removal" will be published in the article's place, explaining that the content has been taken down. The metadata (e.g., article title, authors, DOI) will be preserved to maintain a record of the publication.