R-W-C-R-R Policies

Retraction, Withdrawal, Correction, Removal, and Replacement Policies

Pena Dimas is committed to maintaining the accuracy and integrity of the scholarly record. When necessary, the journal may issue a correction, expression of concern, retraction, removal, or replacement of an article. These actions are handled transparently in accordance with the guidance of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

(R) Article Retraction

Pena Dimas is committed to preserving the integrity of scholarly records. An article may be retracted when its findings, conclusions, or publication record are no longer considered reliable. Retraction may be considered for reasons including:

  • Significant scientific errors that invalidate the article’s findings or conclusions, whether caused by honest error or research misconduct.
  • Evidence of data fabrication, data falsification, image manipulation, or other serious research misconduct that makes the findings or conclusions unreliable.
  • Prior publication of substantially the same findings elsewhere without appropriate citation, permission, or justification (redundant or duplicate publication).
  • Plagiarism or substantial unattributed use of another person’s work.
  • Serious authorship violations, including false authorship claims or other authorship practices that materially affect the integrity of the article.
  • Undisclosed major conflicts of interest or other serious ethical breaches that substantially affect the reliability or interpretation of the article.
  • Unethical research or publication practices that materially compromise the integrity of the published work.

Retraction is intended to correct the scholarly record rather than to punish authors. Where only a limited part of an otherwise reliable article requires amendment and the main findings remain valid, a correction may be issued instead of retracting the entire article.

To ensure that retractions follow best practices and comply with COPE guidance, Pena Dimas applies the following procedure:

  1. The journal editor receives or identifies a concern that may warrant retraction.
  2. The editor conducts an initial assessment and follows the relevant COPE guidance, including requesting clarification or a response from the author(s) when appropriate.
  3. Where necessary, the editor may seek additional information from reviewers, the editorial board, the author’s institution, research-integrity office, ethics committee, funder, or other relevant body.
  4. Before a final decision is taken, the handling editor submits the findings and recommendation to the Editor-in-Chief and/or Advisory Editor-in-Chief in accordance with the journal’s editorial structure.
  5. The final decision is communicated to the author(s) and, when necessary, to relevant institutions or other responsible bodies.
  6. A retraction notice is published promptly on the journal website and, where applicable, in the relevant or next available issue.

The retraction notice must clearly identify the retracted article by title, author(s), publication details, and DOI or other permanent identifier; state the reason for the retraction; identify who initiated or issued the retraction; and be electronically linked to the original article. The original article will normally remain part of the scholarly record and will be clearly marked as Retracted on the article page and PDF where technically possible. Removal of the full text will only occur in exceptional circumstances as described under the Article Removal policy.

Expression of Concern

The editor may publish an Expression of Concern when there is a serious concern about a published article but the available evidence is not yet sufficient for a final decision.

The notice will be linked to the article concerned. Once the investigation is completed, the journal may issue a correction, retraction, or other appropriate editorial action.

(W) Article Withdrawal

Authors may request manuscript withdrawal before acceptance by submitting a formal written request to the editor stating the reason for withdrawal. The request should normally be submitted by the corresponding author on behalf of all authors.

After acceptance, withdrawal is permitted only in exceptional and justified circumstances and requires editorial approval. Withdrawal after publication is not treated as ordinary manuscript withdrawal and will instead be handled under the journal’s Correction, Retraction, Removal, or Replacement policy, as appropriate.

Pena Dimas does not impose punitive withdrawal charges. Any publication fee that has already been paid is governed by the journal’s publicly stated Publication Fees and Refund Policy.

For Articles-in-Press or early versions of accepted articles that have not yet reached their final published form, withdrawal before final publication may be considered when:

  • The article contains serious errors that make publication inappropriate in its current form.
  • The article is identified as an accidental duplicate of another published or accepted article.
  • The article violates the journal’s publication policies, including multiple submission, false authorship claims, plagiarism, fabricated or falsified data, or other serious misconduct.
  • The article was made available prematurely because of an editorial or production error.

When an Article-in-Press is withdrawn, the journal may retain its metadata and replace the text with an appropriate withdrawal notice when necessary to maintain the transparency of the publication record.

(C) Article Correction

Pena Dimas may issue a correction when an error affects part of an otherwise reliable article but does not invalidate the article’s main findings or conclusions. A correction may be considered when:

  • A small but significant error affects part of an otherwise reliable article, including an honest error in data, calculations, text, tables, figures, references, affiliations, or other published information.
  • The author or contributor list is incorrect, such as when an eligible author has been omitted or a listed individual does not meet the authorship criteria, provided that the requested change is appropriately verified.
  • Other published information requires correction to ensure that the scholarly record remains accurate and transparent.

Corrections may be issued in the following forms:

  1. Publisher Correction (Erratum): a correction of an important error introduced by the journal, publisher, or production process.
  2. Author Correction (Corrigendum): a correction of an important error originating from the author(s) that does not invalidate the article’s main findings or conclusions.
  3. Addendum: additional information that is necessary to clarify or complement the original article without altering its main findings or conclusions. An addendum is published only when the editor determines that the additional information is necessary for the integrity or proper understanding of the scholarly record.

The decision to issue a correction is made by the journal editor(s), with input from reviewers, editorial-board members, or other experts when necessary. The handling editor may request clarification or supporting evidence from the author(s), but the final decision regarding whether a correction is required and which form should be used rests with the journal editor(s).

All published corrections must be clearly identified as a Correction, Erratum, Corrigendum, or Addendum, as appropriate. The notice must identify the original article, explain what has been corrected, provide the DOI or other permanent identifier of the original article, and be electronically linked to the original publication. The original article should also contain a clear link to the correction notice where technically possible. The date and nature of the correction must be transparent to readers.

(R) Article Removal

Removal of a published article will only be considered in exceptional circumstances, such as serious legal issues, privacy violations, court orders, defamatory content, or significant risks to public health or safety.

When an article is removed, its bibliographic information will normally remain available, while the full text will be replaced by a notice explaining the removal as far as legally and ethically possible.

(R) Article Replacement

In exceptional cases, an article containing serious errors may be replaced by a corrected version when replacement is more appropriate than simple correction.

The original publication record will remain transparent. The replacement article, retraction or replacement notice, and original record will be linked where technically possible so that readers can clearly follow the publication history.

Editorial Responsibility

The Editor-in-Chief has final responsibility for decisions concerning corrections, expressions of concern, retractions, removals, and replacements. Decisions may involve consultation with editors, reviewers, institutions, ethics committees, or other relevant parties.

All actions will be handled objectively and transparently to protect the integrity of the scholarly record.

This policy should be read together with the journal’s Publication and Research Ethics, Plagiarism Policy, and Editorial Policies.