ERRATA, RETRACTIONS, AND EXPRESSIONS OF CONCERN

The Journal of Islamic International Medical College (JIIMC) is committed to achieve and uphold ethical values at every step of publication process. Every effort is made to avoid mistakes/errors in the publication of JIIMC. However, at time mistakes may take place. Readers are welcome to submit their comments, questions, or criticisms about any manuscript published in JIIMC, issues related to inappropriate authorship, undeclared conflicts of interests, plagiarism, unethical research; manipulation/falsification of results, research standards violations, reviewer bias or any contribution to JIIMC that infringes copyright or other intellectual property rights.  They can submit their complaints to the managing editor through following email: [email protected], [email protected]. The matter will be investigated thoroughly and cautiously, and the explanation/decision will be communicated to the complainant  as soon as possible. The management of journal will publish all corrections, clarifications, retractions and apologies when needed.

ERRATUM

An erratum is referred  to as a correction of errors in the article by the journal during editing, including errors of omission such as failure to make factual proof corrections requested by authors within the deadline provided by the journal and within journal policy. During proof reading stage, final copy of the manuscript is sent to the corresponding author for the approval before its publication.

Errors identified after publication by authors or readers are corrected in PDF copy of the online version. Errata are generally not published for simple obvious typing errors, but are published when an apparently simple error is significant (for example, a Greek m for an 'm' in a unit, or a typing error in the corresponding author's email address). In case of a significant error in the figure or table,  a corrected figure or table is published as an erratum.

CORRIGENDUM

A corrigendum refers to a change the author's wish/want to make to their article at any time after its acceptance by the journal. Corrigenda submitted by the authors are published if scientific accuracy or reproducibility of the original paper is compromised. In case of an error in the published author list, JIIMC will publish a Corrigendum but not usually for overlooked acknowledgements. Authors should contact the editor JIIMC, who will determine the impact of the change and decide on an appropriate course of action.

Readers wishing to draw the journal's attention to a significant published error should submit their comments as a "Letter to the Editor". Such "Letters to the Editor" will be reviewed by unrelated and neutral referees. On editorial acceptance, the paper will be sent to the authors of the original paper for their early response.

ADDENDUM

An addendum is decided on the significance of the addition to the interpretation of the original publication. Addenda do not contradict the original publication, but if the authors inadvertently omitted significant information available to them at the time of submission. This material will be published as an addendum after peer review.

EXPRESSIONS OF CONCERN

JIIMC can consider issuing an Expression of Concern (EOC) if editors have well-founded concerns and feel that readers should be made aware of potentially misleading information contained in an article. JIIMC will consider an expression of concern if they receive inconclusive evidence of research or publication misconduct by the authors, there is evidence of unreliable findings or an investigation is underway, but a judgement will not be available for a considerable time.

RETRACTIONS

Research papers having serious errors to invalidate a paper's results and conclusions, or publication misconduct may require retraction. Retractions may be requested by an article’s author(s), by an institution, by readers, or by the editor.

As per COPE retraction guidelines, JIIMC can consider for the retraction of a publication if:

  • There is a clear evidence that the findings are unreliable, either as a result of major error (e.g., miscalculation or experimental error), or as a result of fabrication (e.g., of data) or falsification (e.g., image manipulation)
  • It constitutes plagiarism.
  • The findings have previously been published elsewhere without proper attribution to previous sources or disclosure to the editor, permission to republish, or justification (i.e., cases of redundant publication).
  • It contains material or data without authorisation to use.
  • Copyright has been infringed or there is some other serious legal issue.
  • It reports an unethical research
  • It has been published solely on the basis of a compromised or manipulated peer review process.
  • The author(s) failed to disclose a major competing interest that, in the view of the editor, would have unduly affected interpretations of the work or recommendations by editors and peer reviewers.

 At times the article may occasionally be retracted for correction of errors in submission or publication and will be replaced with the corrected one.

 Retraction Process

JIIMC adopts the following retraction process to ensure best practice of retraction:

  1. An article requiring potential retraction will be brought to the attention of JIIMC editor.
  2. Managing Editor will follow the step-by-step guidelines according to the COPE flowcharts and will seek the response from the author of the article as well.
  3. JIIMC Publication & Research Integrity Committee will evaluate the evidence of misconduct and response of the authors. Based on the findings, committee will recommend a final decision whether to retract the publication or otherwise.
  4. The final decision is then communicated to the author and, if necessary, any other relevant bodies(PMC, HEC), or the author's institution as deemed appropriate.
  5. The retraction-note titled “Retraction: [article title]” will be published in the paginated part of a subsequent issue of the journal and listed in the contents list.
  6. The text of the retraction should explain why the article is being retracted.
  7. The statement of retraction and the original article must be clearly linked in the electronic database so that the retraction will always be apparent to anyone who comes across the original article.
  8. The relevant changes in the online version will be reflected through Crossmark icon.