Correction, Retraction, and Post-Publication Policy
The Journal of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (JMID) is committed to maintaining the accuracy, integrity, and reliability of the published scholarly record.
JMID recognizes that errors, ethical concerns, or other issues may occasionally be identified after a manuscript has been accepted or published. The journal therefore provides mechanisms for correcting the scholarly record when necessary.
JMID follows recognized publication-ethics principles, including the relevant guidelines and recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), when handling corrections, expressions of concern, and retractions.
1. Post-Publication Concerns
Concerns about a published article may be raised by authors, readers, reviewers, editors, institutions, or other interested parties.
Concerns may relate to:
errors in data, analyses, methods, figures, tables, or conclusions;
plagiarism or inappropriate text reuse;
fabrication or falsification of data;
inappropriate image manipulation;
duplicate or redundant publication;
authorship or contributorship issues;
undisclosed conflicts of interest;
ethical approval or informed-consent concerns;
copyright or permissions issues;
manipulated or compromised peer review;
serious errors affecting the reliability of the published findings; or
other circumstances that may affect the integrity of the published record.
JMID takes credible post-publication concerns seriously and evaluates them in a fair, objective, and confidential manner.
2. Investigation of Post-Publication Concerns
When a credible concern is identified, JMID may:
contact the corresponding author and, where appropriate, other authors;
request clarification or supporting documentation;
request original or underlying data where necessary;
consult independent subject experts or statistical experts;
contact the relevant institution, ethics committee, funding organization, or other appropriate authority where necessary; and
undertake additional editorial or ethical assessment.
Authors will normally be given a reasonable opportunity to respond to concerns and provide relevant evidence.
However, the journal's responsibility to maintain the integrity of the scholarly record does not depend on the authors' agreement or cooperation.
3. Possible Outcomes
Depending on the nature and seriousness of the issue, JMID may:
take no further action where the concern is not substantiated;
request clarification from the authors;
publish a Correction;
publish an Addendum;
publish an Editor's Note;
publish an Expression of Concern;
issue a Retraction; or
take another appropriate editorial or ethical action.
The action taken will be proportionate to the nature and significance of the issue.
4. Corrections
A correction may be published when an error affects the accuracy or understanding of the published article but does not invalidate the principal findings or conclusions.
Corrections may include, where appropriate:
factual errors;
typographical or production errors;
errors in figures or tables;
incorrect author affiliations;
errors in funding information;
errors in conflict-of-interest declarations;
errors in references or bibliographic information; and
other substantive errors that can be corrected without invalidating the article.
The correction notice will clearly identify the article being corrected and describe the nature of the correction.
Where appropriate, the online article may be updated to incorporate the correction, with the changes clearly documented and linked to the correction notice.
5. Authorship and Metadata Corrections
JMID may publish a correction when legitimate errors are identified in:
author names;
author order;
institutional affiliations;
corresponding-author information;
funding information;
acknowledgments; or
other publication metadata.
Requests for changes to authorship after submission or publication may require written agreement from all affected authors and appropriate supporting documentation.
Where authorship disputes cannot be resolved by the journal, JMID may refer the matter to the relevant institution or authority.
An authorship dispute alone does not necessarily require retraction if the validity and reliability of the published research are not affected.
6. Addenda
An Addendum may be published when important additional information becomes available after publication and is necessary for the reader's understanding of the article.
Addenda are not intended to correct errors that should instead be addressed through a correction.
An addendum will be linked to the original article and clearly identified as an addition to the published record.
7. Editor's Note
An Editor's Note may be used to provide relevant information about an article or to clarify an editorial matter.
An Editor's Note may be appropriate where the journal needs to communicate information to readers without changing the scientific status of the article.
8. Expression of Concern
An Expression of Concern may be published when substantial concerns exist regarding a published article but the available evidence is insufficient to justify immediate retraction, or when an investigation is ongoing and may take considerable time to resolve.
An Expression of Concern does not itself constitute a finding of misconduct.
Where the investigation is subsequently resolved, JMID may publish an additional notice explaining the outcome and, where appropriate, issue a correction or retraction.
9. Retraction
JMID may retract a published article when there is clear evidence that the article is sufficiently unreliable or that serious ethical or publication misconduct has occurred.
Retraction may be considered in circumstances including, but not limited to:
major errors that render the findings unreliable;
fabrication or falsification of data;
serious or inappropriate manipulation of images;
plagiarism;
substantial redundant or duplicate publication;
unethical research involving humans or animals;
publication without required ethical approval or consent where this materially affects the validity or ethics of the work;
serious copyright or permissions violations;
publication based on a compromised or manipulated peer-review process;
serious undisclosed conflicts of interest that materially affect the interpretation of the research;
unauthorized use of data, materials, or other protected information;
serious methodological or analytical problems that invalidate the principal findings; or
other circumstances that substantially undermine the reliability or integrity of the published article.
Retraction may be considered even when the authors disagree with the decision, provided that the journal has sufficient evidence to justify the action.
10. Retraction Does Not Erase the Scholarly Record
A retracted article will normally remain accessible as part of the scholarly record, but its retracted status must be clearly and prominently identified.
The original article will normally:
remain available online;
be clearly marked "RETRACTED";
contain a prominent link to the retraction notice; and
be accompanied by a retraction notice explaining the reason for the retraction.
The PDF or other full-text version may be watermarked "RETRACTED".
The article should not be altered in a way that obscures the original published content, except where removal is required for legal, privacy, security, or other exceptional reasons.
Where content must be removed for legal reasons, JMID will retain the available bibliographic metadata and provide an appropriate explanation of the action where possible.
11. Retraction Notice
A retraction notice will:
clearly identify the retracted article;
identify the authors and publication details;
state that the article has been retracted;
provide the reason or reasons for retraction;
distinguish whether the retraction is related to research findings, publication misconduct, ethical concerns, or another issue;
be linked to the original article; and
be permanently accessible as part of the scholarly record.
Retraction notices will normally be published online as soon as reasonably practicable after the decision has been made and will be included in a subsequent issue where appropriate.
The retraction notice will be indexed and discoverable wherever the journal's article metadata are distributed.
12. Retraction and Author Cooperation
JMID may consult with the authors during the investigation and, where appropriate, invite authors to participate in preparing or commenting on a retraction notice.
However, author agreement is not required for a retraction when the evidence supports retraction.
Where appropriate, JMID may notify the authors' institution, employer, funding organization, ethics committee, or other relevant authority.
13. Circumstances Where Retraction May Not Be Appropriate
Retraction will not normally be used when:
the issue is minor and can be adequately corrected;
the principal findings remain reliable and the problem can be transparently corrected;
evidence of misconduct is inconclusive and does not justify retraction;
an authorship dispute does not affect the validity or reliability of the research; or
a conflict of interest exists but does not materially affect the interpretation or reliability of the published work and can be adequately disclosed or corrected.
In such cases, JMID may use a correction, clarification, expression of concern, or other appropriate action.
14. Post-Publication Versions
Where an article requires correction, JMID may update the online version when appropriate.
Any substantive change to the published article should be accompanied by a clear correction notice or other appropriate post-publication notice.
The journal will maintain appropriate links between the original article, revised version, and correction notice to preserve transparency and the history of the publication.
15. Appeals and Disputes
Authors may raise concerns or appeal a post-publication decision by contacting the journal.
Appeals will be considered fairly and objectively. Where necessary, JMID may seek advice from independent experts or appropriate publication-ethics authorities.
The existence of an appeal does not automatically suspend a correction, expression of concern, or retraction where immediate action is necessary to protect the integrity of the scholarly record.
16. No Fees
JMID does not charge authors fees for publishing corrections, addenda, expressions of concern, or retraction notices.
17. Commitment to the Scholarly Record
JMID is committed to ensuring that published research remains as accurate, transparent, and reliable as possible.
Corrections, expressions of concern, and retractions are considered part of the permanent scholarly record and will be handled in a manner designed to preserve transparency, traceability, and the integrity of published research.
