Corrections and Retractions

Description

Jurnal Fisika Unand (JFU) is committed to maintaining an accurate, transparent, accessible, and reliable scholarly record.

This policy explains how JFU handles errors, omissions, ethical concerns, and questions concerning published content. It applies to articles, supplementary materials, metadata, and formal post-publication notices.

Depending on the nature and seriousness of a concern, JFU may publish:

• a minor change note;
• a correction;
• an author correction or corrigendum;
• a publisher correction or erratum;
• an addendum;
• an expression of concern;
• a retraction;
• a retraction with republication; or
• an exceptional removal notice.

JFU also supports evidence-based post-publication discussion through comments, letters, replies, or new scholarly contributions.

The purpose of correction and retraction is to protect readers and maintain the integrity of the scholarly record, not to punish authors. This policy is informed by guidance from the Committee on Publication Ethics, which recommends permanent, clearly linked, factual, and freely accessible notices when the scholarly record requires correction or retraction. [publicatio...ethics.org], [publicatio...ethics.org]

For relevant medical-physics, medical-imaging, clinical, and health-related articles, JFU also refers, where applicable, to the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors on corrections and version control. [icmje.org]

Policy

1. General Principles

JFU will:

1. assess concerns based on their substance and supporting evidence;
2. distinguish honest error from research or publication misconduct;
3. assign each matter to an editor without a relevant competing interest;
4. give affected authors a reasonable opportunity to respond;
5. seek scientific, ethical, technical, institutional, or legal advice where necessary;
6. select a publication action proportionate to the concern;
7. preserve the history of material changes;
8. link formal notices permanently to the affected article;
9. keep formal notices freely accessible; and
10. avoid silently replacing the version of record.

Author agreement is desirable but is not required when JFU must act to protect readers or correct the scholarly record.

2. Reporting a Concern

Concerns about published content may be submitted by authors, reviewers, readers, editors, institutions, ethics committees, funders, other journals, or affected parties.

A report should include:

• the article title;
• the DOI or article URL;
• a clear description of the concern;
• identification of the affected material;
• supporting evidence where available; and
• any relevant competing interest of the person reporting the concern.

Anonymous reports may be considered when they contain specific and verifiable information.

3. Minor Changes

Minor typographical, grammatical, formatting, or technical errors that do not affect scientific meaning, attribution, indexing, or reliability may be corrected without a separate formal notice.

JFU may record such a change through a dated note.

A minor change must not be used to alter:

• methods;
• numerical results;
• data;
• figures or tables;
• authorship;
• declarations;
• ethics information; or
• conclusions.

Changes affecting these matters normally require a formal correction.

4. Corrections

A formal correction is appropriate when an article contains a material error or omission, but its principal findings and conclusions remain reliable.

A correction may address errors involving:

• facts, values, calculations, equations, or units;
• methods or software descriptions;
• tables, figures, labels, or legends;
• citations or references;
• author names, affiliations, or contributions;
• funding or competing-interest disclosures;
• ethics, consent, permit, or safety statements;
• data-availability information; or
• copyright and licensing information.

A correction notice must identify the affected article, explain the error and correction, state whether the conclusions are affected, and link permanently to the article.

5. Corrigendum and Erratum

A corrigendum is a correction of an error originating from the authors.

An erratum is a correction of an error introduced during editorial handling, copyediting, layout, metadata preparation, or production.

For clarity and consistent indexing, JFU may publish either type under the general title Correction, while explaining the source of the error where relevant.

6. Addendum

An addendum provides important additional information that clarifies or supplements an article without correcting an error that makes the article misleading or unreliable.

An addendum must not be used to:

• add substantial new research;
• avoid publishing a correction;
• conceal an error; or
• replace a retraction when findings are unreliable.

An addendum is published as a separate notice linked to the original article.

7. Authorship Corrections

A post-publication change to authorship, author order, corresponding author, or contribution information requires formal editorial assessment.

JFU will normally request:

• a written explanation;
• agreement from all affected authors;
• updated contribution information;
• updated competing-interest information; and
• institutional clarification where a factual dispute remains unresolved.

An approved authorship change is published as a formal correction.

Detailed requirements are provided in the Authorship and Contributorship Policy.

8. Expression of Concern

JFU may publish an expression of concern when a serious issue remains unresolved and the available evidence is insufficient for correction or retraction.

An expression of concern may be appropriate when:

• the reliability or integrity of an article is in substantial doubt;
• an institutional investigation is underway or delayed;
• essential underlying records are unavailable;
• evidence is incomplete or inconclusive;
• there is a serious ethical, data, image, authorship, or review concern; or
• readers may be seriously misled while the matter remains unresolved.

An expression of concern is not a finding of misconduct. It will be updated or replaced when the matter is resolved.

9. Retraction

JFU may retract an article when its findings, conclusions, attribution, or publication process can no longer be relied upon.

Retraction may be appropriate when:

• findings are unreliable because of major error;
• data, images, or results were fabricated or falsified;
• the article contains substantial plagiarism;
• duplicate or redundant publication occurred;
• data or material were used without authorization;
• the research was conducted or reported unethically;
• peer review was compromised or manipulated;
• authorship or identity was materially falsified;
• an undisclosed competing interest materially affected interpretation or review;
• a serious copyright, privacy, confidentiality, or legal issue exists; or
• systematic publication manipulation is established.

Retraction may result from honest error or misconduct. The notice will distinguish between these causes where evidence permits.

10. Retraction Notice

A retraction notice must:

• be clearly identified as a retraction;
• identify and cite the retracted article;
• state who is retracting the article;
• explain the reason;
• identify which findings or parts are unreliable;
• distinguish honest error from misconduct where known;
• state whether the authors agree, where known;
• use objective and non-inflammatory language;
• remain freely accessible; and
• be linked permanently to the article.

A retraction notice will not be removed solely because an author disagrees with the decision.

11. Treatment of Retracted Articles

A retracted article normally remains accessible to preserve the scholarly record.

JFU will normally:

• retain the article landing page;
• retain the PDF and HTML;
• clearly label the article as retracted;
• apply a retraction watermark where technically possible;
• link the article and retraction notice in both directions;
• update the issue table of contents; and
• update DOI and indexing metadata where possible.

12. Retraction with Republication

Retraction with republication may be considered in exceptional cases involving a major honest error when:

• the underlying research remains valid;
• a corrected article can be prepared transparently;
• the error did not result from fabrication or deception;
• the replacement undergoes appropriate editorial assessment and peer review; and
• the original article, retraction, and replacement are clearly linked.

The corrected article must not silently replace the original version.

13. Exceptional Article Removal

Article removal is reserved for exceptional circumstances where continued access creates a serious legal, privacy, security, or safety problem that cannot be addressed through correction or retraction.

Where removal is necessary:

• the article landing page should remain available where lawful;
• a removal notice should explain the reason in general terms;
• the DOI and citation should be retained where possible; and
• JFU should preserve a confidential archival record.

Removal will not be used merely to protect reputation, avoid criticism, or conceal an editorial error.

14. Withdrawal Before Publication

Authors may request withdrawal before publication by submitting:

• a written request from the corresponding author;
• the reason for withdrawal; and
• confirmation that all listed authors agree.

JFU may continue to investigate an integrity concern after a withdrawal request.

Once an article has been published online as the version of record, it cannot be withdrawn as an unpublished manuscript. Any necessary action must follow the correction, retraction, or removal provisions of this policy.

15. Post-Publication Discussion

JFU welcomes evidence-based scholarly discussion of published work.

Discussion may take the form of:

• a Letter to the Editor;
• a Comment;
• an Author Reply;
• an editorial note;
• an addendum;
• a new scholarly article; or
• a confidential concern submitted to the Journal Office.

A post-publication contribution must:

• identify the relevant article;
• address a substantive scientific, methodological, ethical, or interpretive matter;
• be supported by evidence or reasoned analysis;
• use professional language; and
• disclose relevant competing interests.

JFU may decline content that is unsupported, abusive, defamatory, promotional, irrelevant, or improperly discloses confidential or personal information.

16. Scientific Disagreement

A difference in scientific interpretation, theory, replication outcome, or judgment does not by itself establish that an article contains an error or that misconduct occurred.

Scientific disagreement is normally addressed through comments, replies, replication studies, new analyses, or other scholarly publications.

JFU will distinguish legitimate scholarly disagreement from demonstrable factual, analytical, ethical, or integrity problems.

17. Author Notification

Before publishing a material correction, expression of concern, or retraction, JFU will normally:

1. notify the corresponding author;
2. copy all listed authors in material or serious cases;
3. describe the concern neutrally;
4. request relevant information or records;
5. provide a reasonable opportunity to respond; and
6. consider the response before deciding.

JFU may act without waiting for a response when urgent action is required, authors cannot be contacted, authors fail to respond, or delay would materially harm readers or the scholarly record.

18. Independent Handling

An editor with an actual, potential, or perceived competing interest must not handle the case.

If the matter involves the Editor-in-Chief, it will be referred to an independent senior editor or a publisher-appointed officer who was not involved in the case.

JFU may obtain independent scientific, ethical, statistical, image-integrity, data, technical, privacy, or legal advice.

19. Institutional Investigations

JFU may contact an institution, employer, ethics committee, funder, repository, another journal, or competent authority when formal investigation or verification is required.

Institutions are responsible for investigating researcher conduct within their authority.

JFU remains responsible for:

• editorial decisions;
• reader notification;
• correction of the published record; and
• preservation of its editorial records.

JFU may issue an expression of concern or another notice before an institutional investigation is completed when necessary to protect readers.

20. Appeals

A directly affected party may appeal a publication action by identifying:

• a material factual error;
• a material procedural error;
• relevant evidence that was not considered;
• an unmanaged competing interest; or
• evidence that the action was materially disproportionate.

Disagreement with editorial judgment alone is not sufficient.

Appeals are handled under the JFU Complaints and Appeals Policy by a person who was not the sole decision-maker in the original matter.

21. Notice and Version Control

A formal correction, expression-of-concern, retraction, or removal notice should:

• have a distinct title;
• identify and cite the affected article;
• include the article DOI;
• receive a separate DOI or persistent identifier where supported;
• appear in an issue table of contents or equivalent publication list;
• remain freely accessible; and
• be linked in both directions with the affected article.

JFU will preserve the history of material changes and will not silently overwrite the version of record.

Where technically possible, relevant DOI, indexing, repository, and preservation metadata will be updated.

22. Confidentiality and No Retaliation

Post-publication concerns are handled with appropriate confidentiality.

Information is disclosed only where reasonably necessary for assessment, investigation, legal compliance, protection of readers, or correction of the scholarly record.

JFU prohibits retaliation through its editorial processes against good-faith complainants, respondents, authors, reviewers, editors, witnesses, or institutional officers.

Personal information is processed under the JFU Privacy Statement and Personal Data Protection Policy.

23. Related Policies

This policy should be read together with:

• Publication Ethics;
• Allegations of Research and Publication Misconduct;
• Authorship and Contributorship;
• Complaints and Appeals;
• Conflicts of Interest and Competing Interests;
• Research Data, Code, Materials and Reproducibility;
• Ethical Oversight of Research;
• Peer Review Policy;
• Plagiarism and Text Recycling Policy;
• Generative AI Policy;
• Copyright, Licensing and Third-Party Material;
• Open Access Policy;
• Digital Preservation and Archiving Policy;
• Privacy Statement and Personal Data Protection; and
• Editorial Governance and Independence.

Technical Operational Steps

1. The Journal Office records the concern, article DOI, evidence, complainant information where available, and any immediate risk.
2. A designated non-conflicted editor conducts an initial assessment.
3. Relevant article files, metadata, editorial records, correspondence, data, images, supplementary files, and system records are preserved.
4. The corresponding author receives a neutral description of a credible concern. All listed authors are normally copied in material or serious cases.
5. JFU may request original data, images, calculations, code, ethics approvals, consent records, authorship information, permissions, or related publications.
6. The editor may obtain independent scientific, ethical, technical, institutional, or legal advice.
7. JFU may contact an institution, ethics committee, funder, repository, publisher, another journal, or competent authority where verification or formal investigation is required.
8. JFU may issue an interim expression of concern when serious doubt remains unresolved and delay could mislead readers.
9. The designated non-conflicted editor recommends no action, a change note, correction, addendum, comment and reply, expression of concern, retraction, retraction with republication, removal, or another proportionate action.
10. The Editor-in-Chief makes the final decision unless recused. When recused, an independent senior editor or publisher-appointed officer makes the decision.
11. Authors may comment on the factual accuracy of a proposed notice but cannot prevent publication of a notice necessary to protect the scholarly record.
12. The notice is published promptly, remains freely accessible, and is linked permanently to the affected article.
13. The article landing page, PDF, HTML, issue contents, DOI metadata, and relevant indexing records are updated where technically possible.
14. Previous versions and the history of material changes are preserved.
15. An eligible appeal is assigned to a person who was not the sole decision-maker in the original matter.
16. Case records are retained securely for at least five years after closure, subject to any longer institutional, legal, contractual, or research-integrity requirement.
17. Open expressions of concern and unresolved institutional referrals are reviewed periodically.
18. This policy is reviewed at least once every two years and earlier whenever relevant guidance, journal procedures, technical systems, or applicable requirements materially change.