Corrections, expressions of concern, and retractions

Sometimes after an article has been published it may be necessary to make a change to the Version of Record (VoR). This will be done after careful consideration by the Editor who is also supported by staff to ensure any necessary changes are done in accordance with guidance from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Any necessary changes will be accompanied with a post-publication notice which will be permanently linked to the original article. This can be in the form of a Correction notice, an Expression of Concern, a Retraction and in rare circumstances a Removal. The purpose of this mechanism of making changes which are permanent and transparent is to ensure the integrity of the scholarly record.

Version of Record

Each article published by World Journal Of Case Reports, published by us on behalf of a scholarly society, either in the print issue or online, constitutes the Version of Record (VoR): the final, definitive, and citable version in the scholarly record.

The VoR includes:

The article revised and accepted following peer review, in its final form, including the abstract, text, references, bibliography, and all accompanying tables, illustrations, data.

Any supplemental material.

Recognizing a published article as the VoR helps to provide further assurance that it is accurate, complete, and citable. Wherever possible it is our policy to maintain the integrity of the VoR in accordance with STM Association guidelines.

Correction notice

A Correction notice will be issued when it is necessary to correct an error or omission, where the interpretation of the article may be impacted but the scholarly integrity or original findings remains intact.

A correction notice, where possible, should always be written and approved by all authors of the original article. On very rare occasions where there is a need to correct an error made in the publication process, the journal may be required to issue a correction without the authors’ direct input. However, should this occur, the journal will make best efforts to notify the authors.

Please note that correction requests may be subject to full review, and if queries are raised, you may be expected to supply further information before the correction is approved.

World Journal of Case Reports and Clinical Images distinguishes between major and minor errors. For correction notices, major errors or omissions are considered changes that impact the interpretation of the article, but the overall scholarly integrity remains intact. Minor errors are considered errors or omissions that do not impact the reliability of, or the readers’ understanding of, the interpretation of the article.

Retractions

A Retraction will be issued where a major error (e.g., in the methods or analysis) invalidates the conclusions in the article, or where it appears research or publication misconduct has taken place (e.g., research without required ethical approvals, fabricated data, manipulated images, plagiarism, duplicate publication, etc.).

The decision to retract an article will be made in accordance with both World Journal of Case Reports and Clinical Images policies and COPE guidelines. The decision will follow a full investigation by World Journal of Case Reports and Clinical Images editorial staff in collaboration with the journal’s editorial team. Authors and institutions may request a retraction of their articles if they believe their reasons meet the criteria for retraction.

Expressions of concern

In some cases, an Expression of Concern may be considered where concerns of a serious nature have been raised (e.g., research or publication misconduct), but where the outcome of the investigation is inconclusive or where due to various complexities, the investigation will not be completed for a considerable time. This could be due to ongoing institutional investigations or other circumstances outside of the journal’s control.

When the investigation has been completed, a Retraction or Correction notice may follow the Expression of Concern alongside the original article. All will remain part of the permanent publication record.

Expressions of Concern notices will be considered in cases where:

There is inconclusive evidence of research or publication misconduct by the authors, but the nature of the concerns warrants notifying the readers.

There are well-founded concerns that the findings are unreliable or that misconduct may have occurred, but there is limited cooperation from the authors’ institution(s) in investigating the concerns raised.

There is an investigation into alleged misconduct related to the publication that has not been, or would not be, fair and impartial or conclusive.

An investigation is underway, but a resolution will not be available for a considerable time, and the nature of the concerns warrant notifying the readers.

The Expression of Concern will be linked back to the published article it relates to.