Retraction & Correction Policy
Maintaining the integrity of the published record
Overview
Upubscience Publisher House follows COPE Retraction Guidelines to maintain the integrity of the scholarly record. Published articles may be corrected, retracted, or removed under specific circumstances as outlined below.
Types of Post-Publication Actions
Erratum / Corrigendum
Corrections of errors discovered after publication that do not affect the overall findings. Published as a linked notice to the original article.
Retraction
Withdrawal of a published article due to serious issues such as misconduct, unreliable data, plagiarism, or ethical violations. The article remains online with a “RETRACTED” watermark.
Expression of Concern
Issued when there is evidence of possible misconduct or error, but a full investigation has not yet been completed.
Removal
In rare cases where content poses legal risks (defamation, privacy violation) or could cause serious harm, the article may be removed entirely, with a notice explaining the removal.
Grounds for Retraction
An article may be retracted if:
- Clear evidence of unreliable findings due to misconduct (fabrication, falsification) or honest error
- Plagiarism or substantial overlap with previously published work
- Failure to disclose major conflicts of interest
- Ethical violations (e.g., research conducted without required approvals)
- Violation of copyright or legal issues
- Duplicate publication (same manuscript published in multiple journals)
Retraction Process
Report
Concerns raised by readers, reviewers, editors, or authors are reported to the Editor-in-Chief.
Assessment
Preliminary evaluation to determine if a full investigation is warranted. An Expression of Concern may be published.
Investigation
Formal investigation following COPE guidelines. All parties are given opportunity to respond.
Decision
The Editor-in-Chief, in consultation with the editorial board, decides on the appropriate action.
Publication
A retraction notice is published, linked to the original article. The retracted article remains accessible but clearly marked.
Corrections
- Minor errors (typos, formatting) that do not affect interpretation: Erratum published and linked
- Errors by the authors that affect findings: Corrigendum published with corrected information
- All corrections are published as separate notices linked bidirectionally to the original article
- The original article is updated to include a link to the correction notice
Author-Initiated Retraction
Voluntary Retraction by Authors
Authors may request retraction of their own article if they identify significant errors or ethical issues. Requests should be submitted to the Editor-in-Chief with a detailed explanation. Author-initiated retractions are handled with the same process and transparency as all other retractions.
Have Concerns About a Published Article?
If you have concerns about the integrity of a published article, please contact our editorial team.
Contact editor@upubscience.com