ARTICLE WITHDRAWAL, CORRECTIONS, RETRACTION, REMOVAL
ARTICLE WITHDRAWAL
Manuscripts may be withdrawn by the author until the point when the article has not yet been included in the galley of the full issue and only upon the formal written request of the author stating the reason for the withdrawal. For example, when authors find an error in their published article, they should contact the journal as soon as possible using the contact details on the journal’s home page. Usually, the corresponding author shares the details of the error with the journal. The journal editor or another qualified member of the editorial team will review the correction and any related information. If needed, they may send the correction for further review. Finally, the editor will decide how to correct the article.
In regard to Articles-in-Press (early versions of articles that have been accepted for publication but are not yet in their final form), these articles can be withdrawn before their final publication for the following reasons:
They contain errors.
They are found to be accidental duplicates of another published article.
They breach journal publishing policies according to the editor, such as multiple submissions, false authorship claims, plagiarism, or fraudulent data use.
They were published early due to an editorial or production error.
If Articles-in-Press are withdrawn, the HTML and PDF content of the article will be removed and replaced with a notice stating that the article has been withdrawn.
ARTICLE CORRECTION
All published research is effectively a ‘snapshot’ of a moment in time, and the Version of Record cannot be updated to reflect changes, such as a change in author affiliation information post-submission or new data or findings. However, we understand that errors are sometimes made during the research, writing, and publishing stages. When these issues arise, we have the option of introducing one of the following correction notices.
Erratum
This generally refers to a production error, which has been introduced during the publication process. If an erratum is issued, it will appear on the online version of the article, to ensure full transparency and visibility, and in the hard copy of the next volume or issue of the publication.
Corrigendum
This generally refers to an author error or oversight that significantly affects the content of the article or the reader’s understanding of it. If a corrigendum is issued, it will appear on the online version of the article, to ensure full transparency and visibility, and in the hard copy of the next volume or issue of the publication.
Note of Clarification
A note of clarification will be used when a point needs to be emphasised or clarified in the text, but it does not constitute a correction. Please note that any correction has to be highlighted as a stated erratum, corrigendum or note of clarification, and the text cannot be amended. This is designed to make it clear to the reader that there have been changes to the text, which they might have cited or referred to in their subsequent research or practice.
Correction in Action
A correction notice/erratum signed by all authors shall be published as the cover page of the corrected PDF version.
The corrected article version shall include details of the changes from the original version and the dates on which the changes were made.
All prior versions of the article shall be archived by the JEMA and made available upon request approved by the Editor-in-Chief.
Previous versions archived by the JEMA shall indicate that there is a corrected version.
Citations shall be ascribed to the corrected version.
ARTICLE RETRACTION
Retracting an article by its authors or the journal editor, with advice from the scholarly community, has been a part of academic practice for a long time. Articles may be retracted to correct significant errors that impact the reported findings, or if they breach journal publishing policies.
Journal editors or designated representatives (such as members of a journal’s Ethics Committee) will consider retracting an article if:
There is clear evidence that the findings are unreliable due to a major error (e.g., miscalculation or experimental mistake) or due to fabrication (e.g., of data) or falsification (e.g., image manipulation).
The article constitutes plagiarism.
The findings have been previously published elsewhere without proper attribution to the original sources, disclosure to the editor, permission to republish, or justification (i.e., redundant publication).
The article contains material or data that the authors were not authorized to publish.
Copyright has been infringed or there is another serious legal issue (e.g., libel, breach of privacy).
The research reported is unethical or breaches publishing ethics policies regarding research involving human participants or animals.
There is evidence of compromised peer review or systematic manipulation of the editorial process.
There is evidence or material concerns that authorship has been sold.
There is evidence of citation manipulation.
The authors failed to disclose a major conflict of interest that would have significantly affected interpretations of the work or recommendations by editors and/or peer reviewers.
There is any other breach of the journal's publishing policies, leading the editor to lose confidence in the validity or integrity of the article.
Retraction Notice
Retraction is indicated when there are violations of responsible and ethical scholarly publication guidelines, such as multiple submissions, plagiarism, false or fraudulent data, OR when there is a need to correct serious or major errors in the original published article. “Serious or major errors” refer to those which invalidate the article’s results and conclusions.
Retraction in Action
A retraction notice signed by all authors shall be published as the cover page of the PDF version.
The article shall remain in the database and published issue but a notation shall be placed in the table of contents indicating that the article has been retracted, following the convention: “RETRACTION: [Title].”
The HTML version shall be removed and the link button to the HTML version disabled.
A watermark indicating that the work is retracted shall be placed on each page of the original article published and shall be uploaded to replace the PDF version.
ARTICLE REMOVAL
In very rare cases, it may be necessary to remove an article from the online archive of the journal where it was published. Given the importance of maintaining the scholarly record as permanent and unaltered as possible, article removal is rare and will only happen if:
The article is defamatory or infringes on others’ legal rights, and retraction is not enough to resolve the issue.
The article is, or publisher has good reason to believe it will be, the subject of a court order.
The article, if followed, might pose a serious health risk.
In these situations, while the metadata (Title and Authors) will be kept, the text of the article will be replaced with a notice indicating that the article has been removed for legal reasons.
