Retractions,Errata, Corrigendum and Expression of Concern policy

As suggested by ICMJE, corrections are needed for errors of fact. In case, any error or misconduct is reported after publication, Chief Editor of Medical Forum Monthly will constitute a Publication & Research Integrity Committee comprising of neutral referees for complete and fair investigation of the matter and recommendation to update, correct, or retract the contents, if such actions are deemed appropriate.  

Retractions

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, Medical Forum Monthly will consider retracting a publication if:

  • There is a clear evidence that the findings are unreliable, either as a result of major error (eg, miscalculation or experimental error), or as a result of fabrication (eg, of data) or falsification (eg, 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 (ie, cases of redundant publication)
  • It contains material or data without authorization for use
  • Copyright has been infringed or there is some other serious legal issue
  • It reports 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 (conflict of 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
Medical Forum Monthly adopts the following retraction process to ensure best practice of retraction:

  1. An article requiring potential retraction is brought to the attention of Medical Forum Monthly editor.
  2. Medical Forum Monthly editor should 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. Medical Forum Monthly Publication & Research Integrity Committee will evaluate the evidence of the 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, such as the author's institution as deemed appropriate.
  5. The retraction-note titled “Retraction: [article title]” will be published with its own DOI, 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.

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.

Erratum

An erratum refers to a correction of errors introduced to the article by the journal in editing or production, 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 stage, Medical Forum Monthly sends the final PDF copy to the corresponding author to identify any errors to be corrected by the journal and approval of the final version by the author before final 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 identified after publication, but are published when an apparently simple error is significant.

 

Corrigendum

A corrigendum refers to a change to their article that the author wishes to publish at any time after acceptance. Corrigenda submitted by the original authors are published if the scientific accuracy or reproducibility of the original paper is compromised. Medical Forum Monthly will publish corrigenda if there is an error in the published author list, but not usually for overlooked acknowledgements. Authors should contact the editor Medical Forum Monthly, who will determine the impact of the change and decide on the appropriate course of action.

Expressions of concern

Medical Forum Monthly will consider an expression of concern if:

  • they receive inconclusive evidence of research or publication misconduct by the authors
  • there is evidence that the findings are unreliable, but the authors’ institution will not investigate the case they believe that an investigation into alleged misconduct related to the publication either has not been, or would not be, fair and impartial or conclusive
  • an investigation is underway, but a judgment will not be available for a considerable time