Correction and retraction policy

The Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) has produced a document entitled "Retraction Guidelines" (COPE Council, 2019) which provides us with the following concepts:

"The purpose of retraction 

Retraction is a mechanism for correcting the literature and alerting readers to articles whose content or data are so seriously flawed or erroneous that their results and conclusions cannot be relied upon. Unreliable content or data may be due to honest error, naive mistakes, or research misconduct. The primary purpose of retraction is to correct the literature and ensure its integrity, rather than to punish authors. Retractions can be used to alert readers to cases of redundant publication, plagiarism, manipulation of peer review, unauthorised reuse of material or data, copyright infringement or other legal issues, unethical research, and/or failure to disclose a significant competing interest that may have unduly influenced interpretations or recommendations. 

Which publications should be retracted? 

If only a small part of an article contains flawed data or content, it is best to rectify it. Partial retractions are not useful because they make it difficult to determine the status of the article and which parts can be relied upon. Similarly, if only a small part of an article is plagiarised (e.g., a few sentences in the discussion), editors should consider a correction (which could note that the text was used without proper acknowledgement and cite the source) rather than retracting the entire article, which may contain sound and original data. 

What form should a retraction take? 

In general, a retraction notice should refer to a single retracted article. Retraction notices should state the reasons and grounds for the retraction so that readers understand why the article is unreliable, and should also specify who is retracting the article and, possibly, how the matter came to the attention of the journal (complainants may only be named when they have given their permission). 

References COPE Council. (2019). Guidelines: Retraction Guidelines. 16(1), 127-141. https://doi.org/10.24318/cope.2019.1.4