- Manuscript Withdrawal (Withdrawal/Retraction)
Withdrawal of articles is done after publication if serious problems are found that make the content invalid or unethical.
Reason for Withdrawal:
Plagiarism:
1. Plagiarism without attribution.
2. Duplication: Multiple publications in more than one journal without permission.
3. Fatal error: Methodological/data errors that undermine conclusions.
4. Fraud: Data manipulation, undisclosed conflicts of interest, or sham research.
5. Ethical violations: For example, failure to obtain ethical approval for human/animal research.
Procedure:
The publisher/journal issues a retraction notice explaining the reason for retraction.
The article remains available with a “RETRACTED” watermark but is not considered a valid source.
Authors or editors can request a retraction, usually after an investigation by an ethics board.
- Manuscript Correction (Correction/Erratum)
Corrections are made if there are minor errors that do not affect the main conclusions.
Types of Corrections:
Erratum:
1. Technical errors (typos, wrong images, etc.) on the part of the publisher.
2. Corrigendum: Errors made by the authors (e.g., data analysis errors).
Procedure:
Authors/readers can report errors to the editor.
The publisher publishes a separate document (Erratum/Corrigendum) linked to the original article.
The online version of the article can be updated with a “Corrected” note