Retraction and Correction

Commitment to Scholarly Integrity

We recognize the diligence of authors in preparing manuscripts and the rigor of our peer-review process. However, there may be instances where published articles need to be corrected, retracted, or removed for scientific or legal reasons. Such actions are taken with the utmost care and only under exceptional circumstances. Our commitment is to uphold strict standards to ensure confidence in the integrity and completeness of our electronic archives, maintaining their value for researchers and librarians.

Article Retraction

The journal is dedicated to preserving the integrity of the scholarly record. Articles may be retracted under the following conditions:

• Major Scientific Error: The article contains significant errors that invalidate its conclusions, such as unreliable findings due to misconduct (e.g., data fabrication) or honest mistakes (e.g., miscalculation or experimental error).

• Redundant Publication: The findings have been published elsewhere without proper cross-referencing, permission, or justification.

• Ethical Violations: Issues such as plagiarism (appropriation of another person’s ideas, processes, results, or words without proper credit, including those obtained through confidential review) or inappropriate authorship.

To align with best practices and the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) retraction guidelines, the journal follows this retraction process:

1. An article flagged for potential retraction is brought to the attention of the journal editor.

2. The editor evaluates the case using COPE flowcharts, including reviewing any response from the article’s author.

3. The editor’s findings are forwarded to the Ethics Advisory Board to ensure consistency with industry standards.

4. The final decision on retraction is communicated to the author and, if necessary, relevant bodies such as the author’s institution.

5. A retraction statement is published online and included in the next available journal issue.

Note: Even if authors retain copyright, they do not have an automatic right to retract an article post-publication. The integrity of the published scientific record remains paramount, and COPE’s Retraction Guidelines apply.

Article Correction

The journal may issue a correction in the following cases:

• A small portion of an otherwise reliable publication contains flawed or misleading data, particularly due to honest error.

• The author or contributor list is incorrect (e.g., omission of a deserving author or inclusion of someone who does not meet authorship criteria).

Corrections to peer-reviewed content are classified as follows:

• Publisher Correction (Erratum): Addresses critical errors made by journal staff (e.g., production errors) that negatively impact the publication record, scientific integrity, or the reputation of the authors or journal.

• Author Correction (Corrigendum): Addresses significant errors made by authors that affect the publication record, scientific integrity, or the reputation of the authors or journal.

• Addendum: An addition by authors to clarify inconsistencies, expand the work, or update information in the original article.

The decision to issue a correction is made by the journal’s editor(s), potentially with input from reviewers or editorial board members. Handling editors will contact authors for clarification, but the final decision on the need and type of correction rests with the editors.

Article Removal

In rare cases, an article may be removed from the journal’s online platform. This occurs only if:

• The article is defamatory or infringes on others’ legal rights.

• The article is, or is expected to be, subject to a court order.

• The article, if acted upon, poses a serious health risk.

In such cases, the article’s metadata (title and author information) will be retained, but the text will be replaced with a notice indicating removal for legal reasons.

Article Replacement

If an article poses a serious health risk when acted upon, authors may retract the flawed article and replace it with a corrected version. In such cases, the retraction process outlined above is followed, with the retraction notice linking to the corrected, republished article and including a document history.