Retraction and Correction Policy

IntechOpen’s Retraction and Correction Policy has been developed in accordance with the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) publication guidelines relating to scientific misconduct and research ethics:

1. RETRACTIONS

A Retraction of a Chapter/Journal Article will be issued by the Editor, either following an Author’s request to do so or when there is a third party report of scientific misconduct. Upon receipt of a report by a third party, the Editor will investigate any allegations of scientific misconduct, working in cooperation with the Author(s) and their institution(s).

A formal Retraction will be issued when there is clear and conclusive evidence of any of the following:

• Data fabrication
• Data recycling in a purportedly original research article
• Severe plagiarism - whether or not the plagiarism is to be deemed severe will be determined by the Editor and verified by plagiarism checking software
• Double publication
• Copyright infringement - for example, if a Chapter/Journal Article uses copyrighted figures without permission.
• Unreliable findings
• Unethical research practices
• Any other practice or act considered potentially harmful to the scientific community.

Publishing of a Retraction Notice will adhere to the following guidelines:

1. All relevant bibliographic information about a retracted Chapter/Journal Article will be given in the title.
2. A Retraction Notice will be published as a regular Chapter/Journal Article and will be given its own number.

•  Authors shall be required to approve a proposed retraction of their Chapter/Journal Article. If Authors maintain that their Chapter/Journal Article should not be retracted, the Editor may issue an Expression of Concern (see 2. below) or include the information about the disapproval in the text of the Retraction Notice.

1.2. REMOVALS AND CANCELLATIONS - BOOK CHAPTERS

Scholarly books, as opposed to journal articles, represent an integrated collection on particular topics and are generally used for a long-term reference. The Editors, Authors, and the Publisher of scholarly books are guided by the same ethical policies and standards set for the journals by the Committee on Publication Ethics, International Committee of Medical Journal Editors and other relevant bodies. However, due to the dynamics of the book publication, the Publishers coordinates the processes when ethical concerns arise in line with the COPE guidelines.

On rare occasions a formal removal or cancellation may be requested for a published Chapter. These actions are undertaken under exceptional circumstances only, as described below. 

• A Chapter retracted on grounds of copyright infringement (e.g. double publication) may be removed by the Publisher should the original copyright owner request such action.
• A Chapter is a subject of a court order 
• A Chapter displaying a fraudulent claim of authorship, fraudulent use or display of data, plagiarism, or any other infringement of professional code of ethics may be removed by the Publisher 
• A Chapter with a potential to harm the scientific community (for example, when a Chapter is defamatory in nature) or the potential to pose a serious health or security risk may also be a subject to removal
• A Chapter that infringes any third party’s legal rights, including the right to privacy, or is otherwise unlawful may be removed by the Publisher 

No formal Removal Notice will be published but a notice citing the reason for removal will be prominently displayed in place of a retracted and subsequently removed Chapter. The bibliographic metadata (author(s) name(s) and the title of the Chapter) will be retained. 

Chapters published due to inadvertent production mistakes shall be cancelled and the Cancellation Notice will be published.

Since the publication of the Online First chapters precedes the completion of the entire book, in the unlikely event of circumstances beyond publisher’s control that prevent the publication of the book, and should the Authors disagree with the suggested transfer to another title or the publisher can not allocate suitable title in the publishing portfolio, a Cancellation Notice will be issued. 

1.3 REMOVALS - JOURNAL ARTICLES

The Journal Article may, on exceptional circumstances, be removed based on the following criteria: 

• Article is a subject of court order
• Article presents an infringement of others’ legal rights or is defamatory in nature 
• Article might pose a serious health risk 

The bibliographic metadata (e.g. the title and the author(s) information) of the Journal Article shall remain while the Article itself will be replaced with a text explaining the reason for removal. 

2. EXPRESSION OF CONCERN

An Expression of Concern detailing alleged misconduct will be issued by the Editor or Publisher following a third party report of scientific misconduct when:

• There is inconclusive evidence of scientific misconduct
• Authors and their respective institutions fail or refuse to provide adequate assistance in an investigation
• The publication of an Expression of Concern will adhere to the Retraction Notice guidelines outlined above   
• An article PDF for which an Expression of Concern is published will remain available online without being edited or watermarked

On exceptional circumstances, if the Authors refuse to approve a retraction proposed by the Editor an Expression of Concern may be issued. 

IntechOpen believes that the number of occasions on which an Expression of Concern is issued will be very few in number. In all cases when such a decision has been taken by the Editor the decision will be reviewed by another editor to whom the author can make representations.

3. CORRECTIONS   

A Correction will be issued by the Editor when:

• Only a small portion of a Chapter/Journal Article is flawed in a way that does not severely affect any findings.
• It is determined that the scientific community would be better served by a Correction rather than a Retraction.
• Corrections will be issued in one of two distinct forms -- ERRATUM or CORRIGENDUM, depending on the origin of a mistake.

3.1. ERRATUM     

An Erratum will be issued by the Editor when it is determined that a mistake in a Chapter/Journal Article originates from the production process handled by the publisher.

A published Erratum will adhere to the Retraction Notice publishing guidelines outlined above.

3.2. CORRIGENDUM   

A Corrigendum will be issued by the Editor when it is determined that a mistake in a Chapter/Journal Articleis a result of an Author’s miscalculation or oversight. A published Corrigendum will adhere to the Retraction Notice publishing guidelines outlined above.

 4. FINAL REMARKS   

IntechOpen wishes to emphasize that the final decision on whether a Retraction, Expression of Concern, or a Correction will be issued rests with the Editor. The publisher is obliged to act upon any reports of scientific misconduct in its publications and to make a reasonable effort to facilitate any subsequent investigation of such claims.

In the case of Retraction or removal of the Work, the publisher will be under no obligation to refund the OAPF/APC.

The general principles set out above apply to Retractions and Corrections issued in all IntechOpen publications.

Any suggestions or comments on this Policy are welcome and may be sent to permissions@intechopen.com.    

Policy last updated: 07 June 2023