Corrigendum, Addendum, Retraction Policy

We at Pakistan Journal of Physiology believe in integrity of published research. Editorial board is committed to maintain the content published, and to alert the readers about the changes in the contents, when occur, if any. Pak J Physiol provides its forum to the readers for offering responsible alternative opinions and will publish any correspondence regarding its published contents.

Corrections are made for errors of fact. If reported after publication, the Chief editor will constitute a Publication & Research Integrity Committee comprising of neutral referees for a fair investigation of the matter and recommendation to update, correct, or retract the contents, if required.

Erratum

An erratum refers to a correction of errors introduced to the article by the journal in editing or production, including errors of omission such as failure to make factual proof corrections requested by authors within the deadline provided by the journal and within journal policy. During proof stage, PJP sends the final PDF copy to the corresponding author to identify any errors to be corrected by the journal and approval of the final version by the author before final publication.

Corrigendum

A corrigendum refers to a change to their article that the author wishes to publish at any time after acceptance. Corrigenda submitted by the original author(s) are published if the scientific accuracy or reproducibility of the original paper is compromised. Corrigenda will be published if there is an error in the published author list. Such corrigendum request must be signed by all authors and submitted to PJP for appropriate action. Readers may wish to draw the journal’s attention to a significant published error and should submit their comments as ‘Letter to Editor’. Such ‘Letters to Editor’ will be reviewed by unrelated and neutral referees. On editorial acceptance, the paper will be sent to author(s) of the original article to provide an opportunity for an early response.

Retraction

Papers having serious errors to invalidate a paper’s results and conclusions, or publication misconduct may require retraction. Retractions may be requested by an article’s author(s), by an institution, by readers, or by editor. As per COPE retraction guidelines, PJP will consider retracting a publication if:

  • It constitutes plagiarism
  • Copyright has been infringed or there is some legal issue
  • It is based on unethical research
  • It contains unauthorised material or data
  • The content has been published elsewhere
  • There is a clear evidence that the findings are unreliable, either as a result of fabrication (e.g., of data) or falsification (e.g., image manipulation) or as a result of major error (e.g., miscalculation or experimental error)

Retraction Process

Pakistan Journal of Physiology adopts the following retraction process:

  1. An article requiring retraction is notified to the editor.
  2. The editor follows the guidelines according to the COPE flowcharts and will seeks the response from the author of the article as well.
  3. Publication and Research Integrity Committee constituted for this task will look for the evidence of the misconduct and response of the authors. Based on the findings, committee will recommend whether to retract the publication or otherwise.
  4. The final decision is then communicated to the author, and if necessary, any other relevant bodies, such as the author’s institution if deemed appropriate.
  5. The retraction-note will be published, in a subsequent issue of the journal duly paginated, and listed in the contents list.
  6. The text of the retraction will explain why the article is being retracted.
  7. The statement of retraction and the original article will be linked in the electronic database.