Policy on Retraction or Correction of Articles

Editors should consider retraction of a publication if:

• They have clear evidence that the findings are unreliable, either as a result of a major error (e.g., miscalculation or experimental mistake) or as a result of fabrication (e.g., of data) or falsification (e.g., image manipulation);
• The article constitutes plagiarism of a previously published work;
• The results were previously published elsewhere without proper attribution, disclosure to the editor, permission for re-publication, or justification;
• The article contains material or data without permission for use;
• Copyright has been infringed or there is another serious legal issue (e.g., violation of privacy);
• The article was published solely based on a compromised or manipulated peer-review process;
• The author(s) failed to disclose a significant conflict of interest that, in the editor’s view, could have unduly influenced the interpretation of the work or the recommendations of editors or reviewers.

Retraction notices should:

• Be linked to the retracted article wherever possible (i.e., in all online versions);
• Clearly identify the retracted article (e.g., by including the title and authors in the retraction heading or by citing the retracted article);
• Be clearly labeled as a retraction (i.e., distinct from other types of corrections or comments);
• Be published promptly to minimize harmful effects;
• Be freely available to all readers (i.e., not behind paywalls or restricted to subscribers);
• State who is retracting the article;
• State the reason(s) for retraction;
• Be objective, based on facts, and avoid inflammatory language.

Retraction is generally not appropriate if:

• Authorship is disputed, but there is no reason to doubt the validity of the findings;
• The main findings of the work remain reliable, and an error or concern can be adequately addressed with a correction;
• The editor lacks sufficient evidence to support retraction or is awaiting additional information (e.g., from an institutional investigation). For information on Expressions of Concern, see: https://publicationethics.org/expressions-of-concern-forum-discussion;
• Post-publication, a conflict of interest is reported but, in the editor’s view, it is unlikely to have influenced the article’s interpretations, recommendations, or conclusions.