Correction and Retraction Policy

Post-publication issues

Ebu Press Ltd and AAJBB are dedicated to upholding the integrity of scientific research and will conduct thorough investigations into any concerns that are brought to our attention by authors or readers. Authors will be given the chance to address any concerns that are raised. We may request access to original unprocessed data and seek advice from experts during the investigation process. Depending on the gravity of the matter, the following outcomes may result:

1. If the manuscript is still being evaluated, it could be declined and sent back to the author (pre-publication/production stage).
2. If the article has already been published online, the potential outcomes may vary depending on the nature and severity of the issues:
   • An errata may be issued: An erratum may be issued if a significant error has been introduced during the production of a journal article, which affects the publication record, scientific integrity of the paper, reputation of the authors or the journal. This may include errors of omission, such as failure to make factual proof corrections requested by authors within the deadline (typically within 30 days of online publication) provided by the journal. Errata may be published for typing errors, unless the error is seemingly trivial, such as a simple incorrect unit. In cases where there is a significant error in a figure or table, a new corrected figure or table may be published as an erratum, if necessary. If there is an error in the lettering of a figure, a sentence of rectification may be published. For significant errors in the figure itself, a new corrected figure may be published as an erratum, and republishing of the figure or table is at the discretion of the editor;
   • A corrigenda may be issued: A corrigendum is a notice of a significant error made by the authors of a published article. Readers who wish to report a significant published error should submit a communication via email to the journal editor. Corrigenda are published after consultation among the editors, often with the assistance of peer-reviewers, and require all co-authors to agree to the amended wording before publication. If co-authors disagree, the editors may seek advice from independent peer-reviewers and impose the appropriate amendment, acknowledging the dissenting author(s) in the published version. In cases where some co-authors decline to sign a corrigendum or retraction, the editors reserve the right to publish it with the dissenting author(s) identified. This journal publishes corrigenda for errors in the author list but not for overlooked acknowledgements;
   • A correction or addendum may be issued: An addendum is a notice of a peer-reviewed addition of information to a published paper, often in response to a reader’s request for clarification. Addenda are not meant to contradict the original publication, but may include significant information that was inadvertently omitted by the author at the time of publication. These materials can be published as an addendum after undergoing peer review. Addenda are rarely published and are only deemed necessary by the editors if the additional information is crucial to the reader’s understanding of a significant aspect of the published contribution;
   • If issues of concern arise in a published article, an editor’s note or editorial expression of concern may be issued by the journal. These notices may be followed by a second notification once the investigation is concluded;
   • The article may be retracted.
3. If potentially serious issues are identified, the author’s institution may be informed by the AAJBB and Ebu Press Ltd.
4. If an error in a published article is identified, AAJBB will consider publishing an updated version of the article that corrects the error and clearly notes the changes made, including the date(s) of the changes, in a correction notice appended to the end of the article. In this case, previous electronic versions of the article will be marked as outdated and readers will be directed to the more recent version.

Retraction policy of AAJBB

AAJBB follows the COPE guidelines for retracting a published article. The journal will retract a published article if,

• There is clear evidence that the findings of an article are unreliable, either due to major errors such as miscalculations or experimental errors, or due to the fabrication or falsification of data such as image manipulation;
• The article comprised plagiarized texts;
• The findings of a published article have been previously published elsewhere without proper attribution to previous sources, disclosure to the editor, permission to republish, or justification in cases of redundant publication;
• The article contains material or data without authorization for use;
• The copyright of the article has been infringed or there is some other serious legal issues such as libel, privacy;
• The article reports unethical research;
• The article has been published solely on the basis of a compromised or manipulated peer review process;
• The author(s) failed to disclose a major competing interest (a.k.a. conflict of interest) that, in the view of the editor, would have unduly affected interpretations of the work or recommendations by editors and peer reviewers.

In cases where an article needs to be retracted, Ebu Press Ltd and AAJBB will collaborate with the editor and author to draft the retraction notice, which will clearly explain the reasons why the article is being retracted.

The PDF of the retracted article will be replaced with a version that is watermarked with the word “Retracted”, but the original text will remain accessible. A retraction notice will also be published in the next available print issue of the journal. However, in rare cases, the journal and publisher may need to remove the original content for legal reasons. For example, if the content is defamatory, infringes on a third party’s intellectual property rights, right to privacy, or other legal right, or is otherwise unlawful. If a court or government order has been issued or is likely to be issued, requiring the removal of such content, the publisher may have to remove it. Additionally, if the published content, if acted upon, would pose an immediate and serious risk to health, it may need to be removed. If an article needs to be removed for legal reasons, we will retain the metadata such as the title and authors, but the article text will be replaced with a notification stating that it has been removed for legal reasons. Additionally, a retraction notice will be published online.

AAJBB will not consider a retraction of a published article if,

• The authorship is disputed among published authors but there is no reason to doubt the validity of the findings;
• The main findings of the article are still reliable and correction could sufficiently address errors or concerns;
• An assigned editor has inconclusive evidence to support retraction, or is awaiting additional information such as from an institutional investigation;
• Author conflicts of interest of the published article have been reported to the journal after publication, but in the editor’s view these are not likely to have influenced interpretations or recommendations or the conclusions of the article.

The author is not required to pay any fees to the journal or publisher for publishing errata, corrigenda, addendum, or retraction notices.