Correction and Retraction Policy

1. Purpose and Scope

The Journal of Health Sciences (JHS) is committed to maintaining the integrity, accuracy, and reliability of the scholarly record. This policy governs post-publication corrections, retractions, expressions of concern, and related editorial notices for articles published by JHS. It applies to all article types and to concerns raised by readers, authors, reviewers, editors, institutions, or other parties. JHS will assess concerns fairly, confidentially where appropriate, and without discrimination.

2. Guiding Principles

Editorial decisions are based on the available evidence, the reliability of the published record, and applicable publication-ethics guidance, including recommendations from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). JHS distinguishes honest errors from possible research misconduct. An investigation by an institution may be relevant but is not always required before JHS acts to protect the scholarly record. The journal will avoid unnecessary delays and will document its decisions.

3. Corrections (Erratum/Corrigendum)

JHS may publish a correction when an otherwise reliable article contains an error that materially affects its clarity, attribution, presentation, or interpretation but does not invalidate its main findings. Examples include errors in author details, figures, tables, data labels, acknowledgments, or statements requiring clarification. Minor typographical errors that do not affect interpretation may be corrected according to editorial discretion. The correction notice will identify the original article, explain what has changed, and link to it. Where feasible, the article will be clearly marked and linked to the notice, with an update date and an accessible record of the change. Changes to authorship require documented justification and agreement or an appropriate editorial determination.

4. Retractions

JHS may retract an article when there is clear evidence that its findings are unreliable (including major error, fabrication, or falsification), when it contains plagiarism, redundant publication without appropriate disclosure, unethical research, compromised peer review, or other serious breaches that undermine the article’s validity or publication legitimacy. A retraction is intended to correct the literature, not to punish authors. A retraction notice will state the reason(s) and the party requesting or issuing it, identify and link to the original article, and be freely accessible. The original article will ordinarily remain available with a prominent RETRACTED marking and links to the notice; removal is reserved for exceptional legal, privacy, or safety circumstances.

5. Expression of Concern

JHS may issue an Expression of Concern when substantial questions arise about the integrity or reliability of a published article, but the available evidence is inconclusive, an investigation is ongoing, or the outcome is unlikely to be available promptly. The notice will identify the article and describe the concern as accurately as possible without making unsupported findings. JHS will revisit the notice when further evidence becomes available and may subsequently correct, retract, or close the matter with an explanatory update.

6. Reporting and Handling Allegations

Concerns should be submitted to the JHS editorial office through the official contact channel listed on the journal website. Reports should identify the article (title, DOI or URL), describe the concern, and provide supporting evidence where available. Anonymous reports may be considered if sufficiently specific and credible. JHS will acknowledge receipt where contact information is available and conduct an initial assessment of the allegation, its seriousness, and the evidence.

7. Editorial Assessment and Decision Process

Step 1 — Initial screening: The Editor-in-Chief or a delegated editor checks the scope and credibility of the concern and identifies any conflicts of interest.

Step 2 — Evidence review: Relevant article files, peer-review records, underlying data where appropriate, and other documentation may be examined. Independent experts may be consulted.

Step 3 — Right of response: Authors will normally be informed and given a reasonable opportunity to respond, except where doing so could compromise a legitimate investigation or create other serious risks.

Step 4 — Institutional contact: When necessary, JHS may contact an author’s institution, ethics committee, funder, or other competent body for investigation or clarification.

Step 5 — Decision: The Editor-in-Chief, with editorial consultation as needed, decides whether to take no action, publish a correction, issue an Expression of Concern, retract the article, or take another proportionate step.

Step 6 — Publication and follow-up: Any notice is published promptly once justified, linked bidirectionally to the article where technically possible, and supplied with appropriate metadata to indexing services. The journal retains records of the process and reviews new evidence if received.

8. Transparency, Notices, and Indexing

Notices will be clearly titled (Correction, Retraction, or Expression of Concern), dated, accessible without a paywall, and assigned a persistent identifier where supported. They will cite the original publication and specify the nature of the editorial action. JHS will endeavor to update the article landing page, PDF or HTML status, and metadata so readers and indexing services can identify the current publication status. Editorial notices will not silently overwrite the scholarly record.

9. Appeals and Conflicts of Interest

Authors or complainants may request reconsideration by submitting a reasoned appeal and relevant new evidence through the journal’s official contact channel. An editor without a relevant conflict of interest will review the appeal; external advice may be sought. Appeals do not automatically suspend a notice that is necessary to protect readers. Editors involved in a complaint or with a conflict of interest must recuse themselves from the decision.

10. Confidentiality and Data Protection

JHS will limit disclosure of personal information and allegations to what is reasonably necessary for assessment and public explanation. The journal will not promise absolute confidentiality where disclosure is required for fair investigation, legal compliance, or safeguarding the scholarly record. Allegations alone do not establish misconduct.

11. Policy Review and Reference

This policy should be reviewed periodically and updated when publication-ethics guidance or journal procedures change. Primary reference: Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), Retraction Guidelines and related flowcharts: https://publicationethics.org/retraction-guidelines . This draft is intended to be adapted to JHS’s actual editorial workflow before official adoption.

Implementation Notes for the OJS Administrator

Publish this policy as a dedicated public OJS page, for example under About / Publication Ethics; use the actual published page URL in ARJUNA.
Confirm the official editorial contact email, roles, and operational procedure before publication.
Link this page from the journal’s Publication Ethics and Author Guidelines pages.
Ensure correction, retraction, and Expression of Concern notices are linked to the affected articles and indexed where supported.