Article Correction, Retraction and Removal Policy

Policy Overview

Research Rise acknowledges the critical role of maintaining the integrity and completeness of the scholarly record for the scientific community. Upholding the trust placed in the authority of its published articles is of paramount importance to Research Rise. As such, articles that have been published are intended to remain intact, accurate, and unaltered to the greatest extent possible. Nonetheless, certain situations may arise that necessitate corrections, retractions, or, in exceptional cases, removal of an article.

A cornerstone of scholarly communication is the principle that the editor of an academic journal is solely and independently responsible for determining which articles submitted to the journal are suitable for publication. This decision-making process is guided by the journal’s editorial policies and must adhere to applicable legal requirements, such as those concerning libel, copyright infringement, and privacy. This principle underscores the importance of the scholarly record as a lasting and historical account of academic contributions. Consequently, any required corrections to the scientific record will be documented through a notice that is permanently linked to the original article, ensuring transparency and accountability within the scientific community.

This policy outlines Research Rise commitment to preserving the integrity of the scientific record by addressing necessary corrections in a clear and responsible manner. It is periodically reviewed and updated to reflect evolving standards and best practices in scholarly publishing.

Reporting Errors in Published Articles

Authors who discover errors in their published work should contact the journal promptly using the contact information provided on the journal’s home page.

  • The corresponding author is typically responsible for communicating details of the error to the journal.
  • The journal editor or an appointed representative (e.g., a member of the editorial team with relevant expertise) will review the correction request, along with any supporting data. This may include additional peer review.
  • The editor, in consultation with the editorial team and Research Rise Research Integrity & Publishing Ethics Center, will determine the appropriate correction mechanism.

Article Corrections

Corrigenda: Published to address errors or omissions that do not affect the article’s integrity or findings.

  • Drafted by the authors and agreed upon by all co-authors.
  • Permanently linked to the original article.

Errata: Issued by the publisher to correct errors introduced during publication.

  • Linked to the original article.

Expressions of Concern

Journal editors, or their designated representatives (such as members of a journal’s Ethics Committee), in collaboration with Research Rise Research Integrity & Publishing Ethics Center of Expertise, will assess whether an Expression of Concern should be issued if any of the following conditions are met:

  1. Inconclusive Evidence of Misconduct: The editors have received evidence suggesting potential research or publication misconduct. However, this evidence is inconclusive and has not been fully resolved through an investigation. Despite the lack of resolution, the situation is deemed significant enough to warrant alerting readers.
  2. Concerns About the Investigation’s Fairness or Impartiality: The editors have reason to believe that any investigation into the alleged misconduct associated with the publication has either not been conducted or may lack fairness, impartiality, or conclusive findings.
  3. Ongoing Investigation Without Timely Resolution: The editors are aware of an investigation into the matter, but the process is expected to take a substantial amount of time before any definitive judgment is available.

An Expression of Concern serves as a precautionary notice to inform readers about the uncertainty surrounding the integrity of the publication. Such a notice can either be temporary or permanent.

In cases where a temporary Expression of Concern is issued, it will typically be replaced with a subsequent notice once the investigation concludes. This follow-up notice will detail the outcome and provide clarity regarding the situation. Depending on the findings, the replacement notice may take one of several forms:

  • A permanent Expression of Concern, if unresolved issues persist that warrant ongoing caution.
  • A retraction or removal notice, if the investigation confirms significant flaws or ethical breaches in the publication.
  • A notice of exoneration, presented as an Editor’s Note, if the investigation clears the authors and validates the integrity of the research.

This process ensures transparency and upholds the integrity of the scientific record while balancing the need for fairness to all parties involved.

Article Withdrawal

Articles-in-Press, which are preliminary versions of articles that have been accepted for publication but are not yet finalized, may be withdrawn under specific circumstances before their final publication. This ensures the integrity and accuracy of the scientific record. Withdrawal may occur in the following situations:

  1. Errors Identified: The article is found to contain significant errors that undermine its validity or reliability.
  2. Duplicate Publication: It is discovered that the article is an unintended duplicate of another already published work.
  3. Violation of Publishing Policies: The editor determines that the article breaches Research Rise journal publishing policies. Examples include but are not limited to:
    • Submission of the same manuscript to multiple journals simultaneously.
    • False claims of authorship or improper attribution.
    • Instances of plagiarism or fraudulent use of data.
  4. Editorial or Production Errors: The article represents an early version that was published inadvertently due to an error during the editorial or production process.

When an Article-in-Press is withdrawn, all associated content in HTML and PDF formats will be removed. In its place, a replacement HTML page and PDF will be provided, explicitly stating that the article has been withdrawn in accordance with Research Rise Policy on Article in Press Withdrawal. A link to this policy will also be included for further reference.

This process helps ensure transparency while maintaining the standards and trust associated with Research Rise publications.

Article Retraction Policy 

The retraction of an article, whether initiated by its authors or the journal’s Editor, following consultation with members of the scholarly community, has long been recognized as an essential mechanism for maintaining the integrity of the scientific record. Retraction serves as a corrective measure to address situations where errors or ethical violations compromise the reliability or validity of the work. This process upholds the credibility of scholarly communication by transparently addressing issues that render an article unsuitable for inclusion in the permanent record of academic literature.

Retractions may occur for several reasons, including:

  • Significant Errors: Errors that affect the core findings or conclusions of the article to such an extent that a correction alone would not suffice. This may include miscalculations, experimental errors, or other substantial inaccuracies.
  • Policy Violations: Breaches of Research Rise journal publishing policies, such as:
    • Multiple submissions of the same work.
    • False claims of authorship.
    • Plagiarism, including the improper use of text, data, or images.
    • Fraudulent manipulation of data.

Circumstances Warranting Retraction

Journal editors or their designated representatives (e.g., members of a journal’s Ethics Committee) may determine that retraction is necessary after consulting with Research Rise Research Integrity & Publishing Ethics Center of Expertise. The following circumstances are considered grounds for retraction:

  1. Unreliable Findings:
    • The article contains findings that are demonstrably unreliable due to significant errors (e.g., calculation or experimental mistakes).
    • The article includes fabricated or falsified data, such as manipulated images or data sets.
  2. Plagiarism:
    • The work incorporates uncredited content from other sources, including text, figures, or data, without proper attribution or acknowledgment.
  3. Redundant Publication:
    • The findings have already been published elsewhere, and the authors have failed to provide the necessary permissions, disclosures, or justifications for the overlap.
  4. Unauthorized Material:
    • The article includes material or data that the authors lacked the proper authorization to publish.
  5. Legal Issues:
    • The article infringes copyright or contains defamatory content, breaches privacy laws, or otherwise violates legal rights.
  6. Unethical Research Practices:
    • The work contravenes ethical standards related to research involving human or animal subjects, as outlined in Research Rise publishing ethics policies.
  7. Compromised Peer Review:
    • Evidence suggests manipulation or subversion of the editorial or peer-review process.
  8. Improper Authorship or Citations:
    • Authorship has been improperly assigned or sold.
    • The work exhibits evidence of citation manipulation to artificially inflate impact metrics.
  9. Undisclosed Conflicts of Interest:
    • Authors failed to disclose significant competing interests that could influence the interpretation or review of their work.
  10. Other Violations:
    • Any additional breaches of the journal’s publishing policies that undermine the editor’s confidence in the article’s integrity or validity.

Retraction Process

To ensure transparency and accountability, Research Rise adheres to established best practices for article retraction. These practices include:

  1. Retraction Notice:
    • A notice titled “Retraction: [article title]” is published in a subsequent issue of the journal.
    • The notice is signed by the editor and, if applicable, the authors.
    • It is paginated and listed in the journal’s table of contents.
  2. Electronic Linking:
    • In digital formats, the retraction notice is directly linked to the original article.
    • Readers accessing the article online will first encounter a screen containing the retraction note, which they can proceed past to view the article.
  3. Article Marking and Retention:
    • The original article is preserved in its entirety, but the PDF version is marked with a visible watermark on every page, indicating that the article has been “retracted.”
    • The HTML version of the article is removed from the journal’s website.

These steps ensure that the scholarly record is maintained with clarity and transparency, providing the scientific community with clear evidence of retractions while preserving access to the original material for archival purposes.

Research Rise recognizes the importance of consistent and clear retraction practices as part of its commitment to the integrity of academic publishing. By following these procedures, Research Rise seeks to maintain the trust of researchers, authors, and readers in the reliability of the scientific record.

Article Removal

The removal of an article from the online archive of a journal is an extraordinary and highly uncommon measure. Research Rise is committed to preserving the scholarly record as a permanent and reliable archive of academic transactions. Alterations to this record are made only in exceptional circumstances and are guided by stringent criteria to ensure transparency and accountability. Article removal is undertaken only when necessary and in situations where other remedies, such as retraction, are deemed insufficient or inappropriate.

Circumstances Necessitating Article Removal

Article removal is considered only under the following specific and exceptional conditions:

  1. Defamatory Content or Legal Infringements:
    • The article contains content that is deemed defamatory or infringes upon the legal rights of others. In such cases, retraction alone may not adequately address the issue, necessitating complete removal.
  2. Court Orders:
    • The article is, or Research Rise has substantial grounds to anticipate that it will become, the subject of a legal order mandating its removal. Such situations typically arise from litigation or judicial rulings concerning the content of the article.
  3. Serious Health Risks:
    • The article includes information that, if acted upon, could pose significant risks to public health or safety. In these rare instances, removal is deemed necessary to prevent potential harm.

Removal Procedure

When an article is removed, Research Rise ensures that the process is conducted transparently and in alignment with established ethical and legal standards. The following steps are taken:

  1. Retention of Metadata:
    • The article’s metadata, including its title and authorship information, is preserved in the journal’s archive. This ensures that the record of the article’s existence remains intact, even if its content is no longer accessible.
  2. Replacement with a Removal Notice:
    • The content of the article is replaced with a screen clearly stating that the article has been removed.
    • The notice will indicate the reason for removal, typically citing legal considerations or public health concerns. This ensures that readers understand the rationale behind the decision and maintains transparency within the scholarly community.
  3. Adherence to Legal and Ethical Standards:
    • Research Rise consults with legal experts, journal editors, and ethical oversight bodies to ensure that the decision to remove an article is justified and compliant with all applicable standards.

Guiding Principles

Article removal is undertaken only after careful consideration of the circumstances and potential consequences. The decision reflects Research Rise dual commitment to maintaining the integrity of the scholarly record and protecting the rights, safety, and well-being of all stakeholders.

By preserving metadata and providing a transparent notice in place of the removed content, Research Rise seeks to balance the necessity of removal with the scholarly community’s need for a reliable and comprehensive record of research. Such measures ensure that the process remains accountable while addressing the exceptional situations that require the removal of academic content.

Article Replacement

In situations where health risks are identified, authors may replace a retracted article with a corrected version. Retraction procedures will apply, and the corrected version will be linked to the retraction notice.

Official Archives

Research Rise official archives will retain all article versions, including retracted or removed articles, ensuring transparency and accountability in the scholarly record.

For inquiries, please write to us at send@researchrise.org