The Process for Handling Cases
Corrections, Retractions, and Editorial Expressions of Concern
The Process for Handling Cases Requiring Corrections, Retractions, and Editorial Expressions of Concern
The journal ensures that all of its published articles follow the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
We aim to safeguard the integrity of the academic record for all published and potential publications. Whenever a significant inaccuracy, misleading statement, or distorted report is identified, it must be corrected promptly and with due prominence. If, after an appropriate investigation, a publication is proven to be fraudulent, it should be retracted. Any retraction must be clearly identifiable to readers and indexing systems.
Errors in published papers may be addressed through a corrigendum or erratum when the Editor-in-Chief considers it appropriate to inform the journal readership of a previous error and issue a correction in the published article. The corrigendum or erratum will appear as a new article in the journal and will cite the original published article.
Retractions are considered and published when severe errors invalidate the conclusions of an article. Retractions are also issued in cases where there is evidence of publication malpractice, such as plagiarism, duplicate publication, or unethical research. In accordance with COPE guidelines and industry best practice, Journal of Wound Research and Technology applies the following procedure when a retraction is confirmed:
- A retraction note titled “Retraction: [article title]”, signed by the authors and/or the editor, is published in a subsequent issue of the journal and listed in the table of contents.
- In the electronic version, a link is provided to the original article.
- The online article is preceded by a screen containing the retraction note. The link resolves to this screen first, after which the reader may proceed to the article itself.
- The original article is retained unchanged except for a watermark on the HTML and PDF indicating on each page that it has been “retracted”.
Where substantial doubt arises regarding the honesty or integrity of a submitted or published article, the journal editors may consider issuing an editorial expression of concern. Such a notice will normally be issued only when an investigation into the concerns has proven inconclusive, but there remain strong indications that the concerns are valid.
In rare cases, an editorial expression of concern may also be issued while an investigation is still underway if a final judgment is not expected within a reasonable period of time. The expression of concern will be linked directly to the article to which it relates.
Updated on April 18, 2024