Article Retraction & Withdrawal

Article Retraction & Withdrawal

Post-Publication Correction, Retraction, and Manuscript Withdrawal Policy of NADI: Journal of Health Sciences

NADI: Journal of Health Sciences is committed to maintaining the accuracy, reliability, transparency, and integrity of the scholarly record. The journal recognizes that manuscripts may occasionally require withdrawal before publication or that published articles may require correction, retraction, or another appropriate post-publication action.

Decisions concerning withdrawal, correction, expression of concern, and retraction are made according to the seriousness of the issue, available evidence, publication ethics principles, and the need to preserve an accurate and transparent scholarly record.

Core Principles
✓ Preservation of the scholarly record ✓ Transparent editorial action
✓ Evidence-based investigation ✓ Fair opportunity for clarification
✓ Appropriate correction or retraction ✓ Publication ethics and research integrity

1. Purpose of This Policy

This policy establishes the procedures used by NADI: Journal of Health Sciences when a manuscript or published article requires withdrawal, correction, expression of concern, retraction, or another appropriate editorial action.

The principal objective is to ensure that the scholarly record remains reliable and that any material problem affecting the integrity, validity, or ethical status of a publication is handled transparently and proportionately.

2. Manuscript Withdrawal Before Publication

Authors may request withdrawal of a manuscript before publication when there is a legitimate reason for doing so. A withdrawal request should be submitted by the corresponding author through the journal's official editorial communication channel.

A withdrawal request should normally include:

  • Manuscript title.
  • Submission or manuscript identification number.
  • Name of the corresponding author.
  • A clear reason for requesting withdrawal.
  • Confirmation that all authors are aware of and agree with the withdrawal request where appropriate.

3. Withdrawal During Editorial Screening

A manuscript may generally be withdrawn during the initial editorial stage when a legitimate request is received before substantial editorial or peer-review processing has been completed.

The withdrawal will be recorded in the journal's manuscript management system to preserve an appropriate editorial history.

4. Withdrawal During Peer Review

Authors requesting withdrawal after peer review has begun must provide an appropriate reason. The Editor will evaluate the request and may confirm the withdrawal after considering the manuscript's editorial status and the circumstances surrounding the request.

Authors should not submit the manuscript to another journal while it remains actively under consideration by NADI: Journal of Health Sciences. The manuscript should first be formally withdrawn or receive a final editorial decision.

5. Withdrawal After Acceptance

Withdrawal after formal acceptance should occur only for legitimate and justified reasons. Accepted manuscripts may already have completed peer review, editorial evaluation, copyediting, metadata preparation, DOI-related processing, or other production activities.

The Editor will evaluate requests for withdrawal after acceptance and determine the appropriate action based on the publication status and the reason provided by the authors.

6. Inappropriate Withdrawal

Withdrawal must not be used to conceal duplicate submission, research misconduct, authorship disputes, plagiarism, data problems, or other publication-integrity concerns.

If an ethical or research-integrity concern is identified before withdrawal is completed, the journal may investigate the matter before closing the submission record.

7. Correction of Published Articles

A correction may be issued when an error is identified in a published article but the error does not invalidate the central findings or overall integrity of the publication.

Post-Publication Action Purpose
Erratum Used where an error requiring correction originated during journal production or editorial processing.
Corrigendum Used where an author-originated error requires correction without invalidating the article as a whole.
Correction Notice Used to transparently describe and link a substantive correction to the original publication.

8. Expression of Concern

An Expression of Concern may be published when serious questions arise regarding the reliability, ethics, or integrity of an article but available evidence is not yet sufficient to determine whether correction or retraction is required.

An Expression of Concern may remain associated with the article while an investigation, institutional inquiry, or other evaluation is ongoing. It may later be replaced or supplemented by an appropriate correction, retraction, or other notice when the matter is resolved.

9. Grounds for Retraction

Retraction may be considered when there is reliable evidence that a published article contains a serious problem that substantially affects the validity, reliability, ethics, or integrity of the scholarly record.

Grounds for retraction may include:

  • Fabrication or falsification of data.
  • Serious plagiarism.
  • Duplicate or redundant publication.
  • Unethical research practices.
  • Absence of required ethical approval where the research required such approval.
  • Serious errors that invalidate the principal findings.
  • Unauthorized use of data or material.
  • Manipulation of the peer-review or publication process.
  • Invalid or seriously misleading authorship information.
  • Undisclosed conflicts of interest that materially affect the reliability of the publication.
  • Other serious violations of research or publication integrity.

10. Retraction Investigation

Retraction decisions are not made solely on the basis of an allegation. When a credible concern is received, the journal will evaluate the available information and may request clarification, documentation, raw data, ethical approval information, authorship information, or other relevant evidence.

Step Stage Action
1 Concern Received The journal receives or identifies a credible concern regarding a published article.
2 Preliminary Assessment The Editor evaluates whether the allegation requires further investigation.
3 Author Clarification Authors may be asked to provide explanations, documentation, or supporting evidence.
4 Further Evaluation Additional editorial, expert, institutional, or ethical evaluation may be requested where appropriate.
5 Editorial Action The journal determines whether no action, correction, Expression of Concern, retraction, or another appropriate measure is required.

11. Retraction Notice

When an article is retracted, the journal will publish a clear retraction notice explaining the reason for the retraction to the extent appropriate and supported by the available evidence.

A retraction notice should be:

  • Clearly identified as a retraction.
  • Linked to the affected article.
  • Published in an accessible location.
  • Transparent regarding the reason for the action.
  • Associated with the article metadata where technically possible.
  • Written in a factual and non-defamatory manner.

12. Preservation of Retracted Articles

A retracted article will normally remain part of the journal's scholarly archive rather than being silently deleted. Its status will be clearly identified so that readers understand that the article has been retracted.

Retraction does not normally mean deletion. Maintaining the bibliographic record and clearly marking the article as retracted helps preserve transparency and prevents confusion regarding the publication history.

13. Removal of Published Content

Complete removal of published content is considered an exceptional action and should not be used as a substitute for transparent correction or retraction.

Removal may only be considered when continued public availability creates serious legal, privacy, confidentiality, safety, or other exceptional concerns that cannot reasonably be addressed through normal post-publication notices.

14. Research Involving Human Participants

Because NADI: Journal of Health Sciences publishes health sciences research, particular attention is given to ethical issues involving human participants, patients, identifiable health information, informed consent, and ethical approval.

If a published article is found to involve a serious violation of participant protection, informed consent, confidentiality, privacy, or required ethical oversight, the journal may initiate appropriate post-publication action, including correction, Expression of Concern, or retraction depending on the seriousness of the issue.

15. Research Involving Animals

Serious concerns regarding animal research ethics, required approval, inappropriate treatment, or inaccurate ethical declarations may also require editorial investigation and appropriate post-publication action.

16. Authorship and Contributor Disputes

Authorship concerns identified after publication will be assessed according to the journal's publication ethics and authorship policies.

Where an authorship problem can be resolved without invalidating the article, an appropriate correction may be sufficient. Retraction may be considered when the authorship issue is connected to serious misconduct or materially undermines the integrity of the publication.

17. Duplicate Publication and Plagiarism

Articles found after publication to contain serious plagiarism, unauthorized reproduction, substantial duplicate publication, or other unacceptable overlap may be subject to retraction.

Minor citation or attribution errors that do not substantially affect the integrity of the publication may instead be addressed through an appropriate correction.

18. Data Fabrication and Falsification

Reliable evidence that research data, results, images, analyses, or other essential research information have been fabricated or falsified may constitute grounds for retraction when the integrity or reliability of the published findings is materially affected.

19. Editorial Independence

Decisions concerning corrections, Expressions of Concern, withdrawals, and retractions are made according to scholarly integrity and publication ethics considerations.

Financial relationships, publication charges, author status, institutional affiliation, professional position, or commercial interests must not prevent the journal from taking appropriate corrective action.

20. Responsibility of Authors

Authors are expected to cooperate with legitimate post-publication inquiries and provide appropriate explanations or supporting information when requested.

Authors should:

  • Inform the journal promptly when a significant error is discovered.
  • Cooperate with requests for clarification.
  • Provide relevant data or documentation where appropriate.
  • Assist in correcting the scholarly record when necessary.
  • Respect the journal's final decision following a fair publication-integrity review.

21. Responsibility of Editors

Editors are responsible for evaluating post-publication concerns fairly, confidentially, consistently, and without inappropriate influence.

Editorial action should be proportionate to the seriousness of the problem and should focus on protecting readers and maintaining the integrity of the scholarly record.

22. Correction, Concern, or Retraction Decision

Action Appropriate Circumstance
Correction An error requires correction but does not invalidate the principal findings or integrity of the article.
Expression of Concern Serious concerns exist but sufficient evidence for a final determination is not yet available.
Retraction Evidence demonstrates that serious errors, misconduct, ethical violations, or other problems substantially undermine the reliability or integrity of the publication.

23. Retraction Requested by Authors

Authors may inform the journal when they believe their published article contains an error or problem requiring retraction. Such a request will be evaluated by the Editor.

Author agreement with a retraction may be recorded in the retraction notice where appropriate, but the journal may also issue a retraction when justified by the evidence even if one or more authors disagree with the action.

24. Post-Publication Transparency

Corrections, Expressions of Concern, and retraction notices will be made publicly accessible so readers can understand changes affecting the status or interpretation of a published article.

Where technically possible, appropriate links will be maintained between the original article and the relevant post-publication notice.

Retraction & Withdrawal Policy Summary

Concern → Assessment → Investigation → Editorial Decision → Transparent Scholarly Record
Pre-Publication Manuscript withdrawal may be requested with legitimate justification.
Minor Published Error Correction, Erratum, or Corrigendum as appropriate.
Unresolved Serious Concern Expression of Concern may be issued.
Serious Integrity Problem Retraction may be issued.
Retracted Article Normally retained in the scholarly archive and clearly marked as retracted.
Guiding Principle Accuracy, transparency, research integrity, and preservation of the scholarly record.

NADI: Journal of Health Sciences is committed to maintaining an accurate, reliable, and transparent scholarly record. Manuscript withdrawal, article correction, Expression of Concern, and retraction will be handled according to the seriousness of the issue and the available evidence. Retracted articles will normally remain identifiable in the journal archive with clear notice of their status rather than being silently removed.

Publication Ethics Reference

Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)

https://publicationethics.org/