Correction and Retraction Policy
The National Journal of Physiology, Pharmacy and Pharmacology (NJPPP) is committed to maintaining the accuracy, integrity, and reliability of the scholarly record. Although manuscripts undergo editorial assessment and double-blind peer review, errors, omissions, ethical concerns, or other problems may occasionally be identified after publication.
This policy establishes the procedures NJPPP follows when concerns arise regarding published articles. The journal seeks to handle such matters fairly, proportionately, transparently, and in accordance with recognized publication-ethics principles, including relevant Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidance.
1. Post-Publication Concerns
Concerns about a published article may be raised by authors, readers, reviewers, editors, institutions, research organizations, or other appropriate parties.
Concerns may relate to:
factual or typographical errors;
errors in figures, tables, references, or author information;
incorrect or unreliable data;
fabrication or falsification;
image manipulation;
plagiarism or inappropriate text reuse;
duplicate or redundant publication;
authorship or contributorship problems;
undisclosed conflicts of interest;
unethical research involving human participants or animals;
copyright, privacy, or other legal concerns;
manipulated or compromised peer review; or
other circumstances that may affect the reliability or integrity of the published record.
NJPPP will assess credible concerns and determine the appropriate course of action based on the available evidence and the seriousness of the issue.
2. Reporting a Post-Publication Concern
Concerns should be submitted to the NJPPP editorial office with sufficient information to allow the matter to be assessed.
Where possible, a report should include:
the article title;
DOI or other identifying information;
a clear description of the concern;
relevant evidence or documentation; and
the identity and contact details of the person or organization raising the concern, where appropriate.
Anonymous concerns may also be considered when they contain sufficiently specific and credible information to permit an investigation.
3. Preliminary Assessment
Upon receiving a credible concern, the Editor-in-Chief or a designated editor will conduct an initial assessment to determine:
whether the concern falls within the journal's responsibility;
whether sufficient evidence exists to warrant further investigation;
whether an immediate correction, expression of concern, or other action may be appropriate; and
whether additional information should be requested from the authors, reviewers, editors, institution, or other relevant parties.
Where the concern involves the Editor-in-Chief or another editor personally, the matter will be handled by an appropriately independent editor or other qualified person to minimize conflicts of interest.
4. Investigation
Where further investigation is warranted, NJPPP may:
contact the authors for an explanation or supporting documentation;
request original or underlying data, laboratory records, images, protocols, or other relevant materials where appropriate;
seek clarification from reviewers or editors;
consult independent subject experts;
contact the authors' institution, employer, ethics committee, funder, or other relevant authority;
compare the article with other publications or sources; and
undertake additional checks for plagiarism, data integrity, image manipulation, duplicate publication, or other forms of research or publication misconduct.
Authors will normally be given a reasonable opportunity to respond to concerns concerning their work.
NJPPP may proceed with appropriate editorial action even if an author does not respond, cannot be contacted, or declines to cooperate, where sufficient evidence is available to support such action.
5. Editorial Outcomes
Depending on the nature and severity of the issue, NJPPP may:
make no change to the published article;
request or publish a correction;
publish an erratum or corrigendum;
publish an addendum or clarification;
publish an Editor's Note or Expression of Concern;
issue a retraction;
refer the matter to an appropriate institution or authority; or
take another appropriate action to protect the integrity of the scholarly record.
The editorial response will be proportionate to the seriousness of the identified problem.
6. Corrections
Corrections are appropriate when an error affects the accuracy, clarity, completeness, or integrity of the published article but does not invalidate the overall reliability of the work.
Corrections may include errors involving:
author names or affiliations;
figures or tables;
references;
units, labels, or numerical values;
methodological descriptions;
factual statements;
funding information;
conflict-of-interest disclosures; or
other substantive information that can be corrected without retracting the article.
6.1 Erratum
An erratum may be used for an error introduced during the publication or production process, such as a typesetting, formatting, layout, or production error.
6.2 Corrigendum
A corrigendum may be used for an error originating from the authors that is identified after publication and can be corrected without compromising the overall reliability of the article.
NJPPP may use the general term Correction Notice where this provides greater clarity and consistency for readers.
6.3 Correction Procedure
A correction notice should:
clearly identify the affected article;
provide the article title, authors, DOI, and publication details;
describe the error and the correction;
indicate the date of correction; and
be permanently linked to the original article.
Where technically feasible, the article itself will be updated to reflect the correction, with a clear indication that changes have been made. The original version may be retained in accordance with appropriate version-control and archival practices.
7. Addenda and Clarifications
An addendum may be published when additional information is necessary to understand or interpret the published article and the information cannot appropriately be incorporated through a conventional correction.
Addenda may be subject to editorial or peer review where appropriate.
An Editor's Note may be used to provide important information about a published article when clarification is necessary but a formal correction or retraction is not appropriate.
8. Expression of Concern
An Expression of Concern may be published when substantial concerns have been raised about a published article but the available evidence is insufficient to support immediate retraction or correction, or when an investigation is ongoing or cannot be completed within a reasonable period.
An Expression of Concern is not, by itself, a finding of misconduct.
The notice will explain the nature of the concern as far as can responsibly be disclosed and will remain linked to the affected article. When the matter is resolved, NJPPP may publish an appropriate follow-up notice, such as a correction, retraction, or statement explaining the outcome.
9. Retraction
Retraction is reserved for cases in which the published article is sufficiently unreliable or ethically compromised that the scientific record should no longer be regarded as reliable in its published form.
An article may be considered for retraction when, for example:
there is clear evidence that the findings are unreliable because of major error, miscalculation, or flawed methodology;
data have been fabricated or falsified;
images or other research materials have been manipulated in a manner that materially affects the findings;
substantial plagiarism or inappropriate appropriation of intellectual material is confirmed;
the article substantially duplicates or redundantly reports previously published work;
the study was conducted without required ethical approval or involved serious violations of research-participant or animal-welfare requirements;
necessary permissions or authorizations were absent and the problem materially affects the article;
the publication resulted from manipulated, fraudulent, or seriously compromised peer review;
a serious undisclosed conflict of interest has materially affected the reliability or interpretation of the work;
serious authorship or contributorship misconduct materially compromises the publication;
there is another fundamental problem that renders the article's findings or conclusions unreliable; or
other circumstances exist that, following investigation, justify removal of reliance on the article as part of the reliable scholarly record.
Retraction may be appropriate even when the misconduct or error was unintentional if the reliability of the published work has been materially compromised.
10. Retraction Does Not Necessarily Imply Author Misconduct
Retraction of an article does not necessarily mean that every author engaged in misconduct.
An article may be retracted because of an honest error, methodological problem, unreliable data, ethical issue, or other circumstance that compromises the published record.
Where misconduct is established, NJPPP may identify the nature of the misconduct in the retraction notice and may notify appropriate institutions or authorities where warranted.
11. Retraction Procedure
When retraction is considered, NJPPP will normally:
assess the available evidence;
provide the authors with an opportunity to respond where reasonably possible;
consult appropriate experts, editors, or institutions when necessary;
determine whether retraction or another corrective action is appropriate;
publish a clear and identifiable Retraction Notice when retraction is confirmed; and
maintain the retraction notice and relevant article metadata as part of the permanent scholarly record.
NJPPP may proceed with a retraction without obtaining the agreement of all authors when the available evidence supports retraction and the integrity of the scholarly record requires action.
12. Retraction Notice
A retraction notice will:
clearly identify the retracted article;
provide the article title, authors, DOI, and publication details;
state that the article has been retracted;
explain the principal reason or reasons for retraction;
identify the party or parties requesting or initiating the retraction where appropriate; and
be permanently linked to the retracted article.
Retraction notices should be freely accessible and clearly distinguishable from ordinary corrections.
13. Access to Retracted Articles
Retracted articles will normally remain available to preserve the integrity and traceability of the scholarly record, unless there are exceptional circumstances requiring removal or restricted access.
The article's bibliographic metadata and DOI should remain active where technically and legally possible.
The online article should be clearly identified as RETRACTED, and the retraction notice should be prominently linked to it.
The retracted article should not be presented as valid or reliable research.
Where an article must be removed or access restricted for exceptional legal, privacy, security, or other compelling reasons, NJPPP will retain sufficient metadata and information about the publication and action taken to preserve the integrity of the scholarly record to the extent permitted by law.
14. Authorship Disputes
Disputes concerning authorship or contributorship do not automatically require correction or retraction when the scientific content of the article remains reliable.
Where an authorship dispute cannot be resolved by the journal, NJPPP may refer the matter to the relevant institution or other appropriate authority. The journal may publish an authorship correction when reliable documentation supports a change.
NJPPP will not normally adjudicate institutional or contractual disputes concerning authorship.
15. Undisclosed Conflicts of Interest
Failure to disclose a conflict of interest does not automatically require retraction.
Depending on the nature and significance of the conflict, NJPPP may:
publish a correction or updated disclosure;
request additional disclosure;
investigate whether the conflict affected the article's interpretation or editorial process;
publish an Expression of Concern; or
retract the article where the conflict materially compromises the reliability or integrity of the publication.
16. Duplicate Publication and Plagiarism
Where duplicate publication, redundant publication, substantial plagiarism, or inappropriate text recycling is identified after publication, NJPPP will investigate the matter and take proportionate corrective action.
Depending on the circumstances, this may include a correction, editorial notice, Expression of Concern, retraction, or referral to an appropriate institution or authority.
17. Peer-Review Manipulation
If evidence emerges that an article was accepted or published as a result of fabricated reviewer identities, manipulated reviewer recommendations, undisclosed conflicts, reviewer identity fraud, or other forms of peer-review manipulation, NJPPP will investigate the matter.
Where the integrity of the editorial decision or published article has been materially compromised, retraction or other appropriate corrective action may be taken.
18. Corrections or Retractions Related to Ethical Approval
If an investigation establishes that research involving human participants, human biological materials, identifiable human data, or animals was conducted without required ethical approval or in violation of applicable ethical requirements, NJPPP may take corrective action proportionate to the seriousness of the violation.
This may include an Expression of Concern, correction, referral to an appropriate institution or authority, or retraction.
19. Post-Publication Changes and Version Control
NJPPP will seek to preserve a transparent record of significant post-publication changes.
Where an article is corrected, the correction should be clearly documented and linked to the original publication. Where technically feasible, readers should be able to distinguish the corrected version from the version originally published.
Changes should not be made in a manner that obscures the existence or nature of a substantive post-publication correction.
20. Appeals and Complaints
Authors may contact the editorial office if they believe that a correction or retraction decision was based on a significant factual or procedural error.
Appeals should provide specific reasons and relevant evidence. The Editor-in-Chief or an appropriately independent editor may review the matter.
Where the concern involves the Editor-in-Chief or another decision-maker, the appeal will be handled by an appropriately independent person.
An appeal does not automatically suspend a published correction, Expression of Concern, or retraction where the integrity of the scholarly record requires the notice to remain in place.
21. Communication with Institutions and Other Authorities
Where serious research or publication misconduct is suspected or established, NJPPP may contact the relevant institution, research organization, ethics committee, funder, publisher, indexing service, or other appropriate authority.
Such communication will be undertaken where reasonably necessary to protect the integrity of the scholarly record and in accordance with applicable legal and ethical requirements.
22. Corrections and Retractions in Indexing and Scholarly Databases
NJPPP will make reasonable efforts to ensure that correction, Expression of Concern, and retraction information is appropriately reflected in the journal's online publication record and, where applicable, communicated through relevant scholarly metadata and indexing channels.
The objective is to ensure that readers and downstream users of bibliographic databases can identify the current status of affected articles.
23. Cases Where Retraction May Not Be Appropriate
Retraction will not normally be used when:
the issue is a minor error that can be adequately corrected;
an authorship dispute does not affect the reliability of the article and is being addressed separately;
a conflict of interest can be transparently disclosed or corrected without compromising the article;
an isolated typographical or production error does not materially affect the scientific record; or
available evidence is insufficient to establish that the article is unreliable.
However, the absence of an immediate basis for retraction does not prevent NJPPP from issuing an Expression of Concern or taking other appropriate action while an investigation continues.
24. Permanent Scholarly Record
Corrections, Expressions of Concern, and retractions form part of the permanent scholarly record. NJPPP will not ordinarily remove evidence of a correction or retraction merely because the authors request that the notice be withdrawn.
Any exceptional removal or restriction of published content will be considered carefully and documented to the extent legally and ethically permissible.
25. Commitment to Research Integrity
NJPPP is committed to maintaining an accurate, trustworthy, and transparent scholarly record.
Post-publication decisions will be based on evidence and will be made independently of commercial considerations, including publication fees or other financial interests. The journal will seek to ensure that corrections and retractions are handled promptly and transparently while respecting confidentiality, due process, and the rights of all parties involved.
This policy should be read together with NJPPP's Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice Statement, Editorial Policies, Review Policy, Plagiarism Policy, Conflict of Interest Policy, and Protection of Research Participants and Animal Welfare Policy.
