Corrections, Retractions and Post-Publication Updates Policy

The Herald of the National Children's Medical Center is committed to maintaining an accurate, reliable, transparent, and durable scholarly record.

When significant errors, omissions, ethical concerns, or research-integrity issues are identified after publication, the journal will take appropriate and proportionate post-publication action. Depending on the circumstances, this may include a Correction, Expression of Concern, Retraction, Retraction with Republication, or another transparent post-publication notice.

Post-publication actions are intended primarily to correct and protect the scholarly record and to provide readers with accurate information. They are not primarily punitive measures.

Decisions are based on the nature and seriousness of the issue, the reliability of the available evidence, its effect on the article’s findings or conclusions, and its implications for research integrity, ethical acceptability, and reader safety.

Corrections

A Correction may be published when an error or omission materially affects the accuracy, interpretation, attribution, or completeness of an article but does not invalidate the work as a whole.

A correction may be appropriate for:

• factual or numerical errors;
• errors in tables, figures, legends, or supplementary material;
• statistical or analytical errors that do not invalidate the main conclusions;
• incorrect author names, affiliations, or contributorship information when appropriately documented;
• incomplete or inaccurate funding or conflict-of-interest declarations;
• reference errors that materially affect interpretation of the article;
• other substantive errors that can be corrected without retracting the publication.

Minor typographical, grammatical, or formatting errors that do not affect scientific meaning normally do not require a formal correction notice.

Where a formal correction is required, the journal will:

• publish a clearly labelled Correction notice;
• identify and cite the affected article;
• describe the nature of the correction;
• record the date of the correction;
• link the correction notice and the original article in both directions;
• update the article where appropriate while preserving a transparent record of the change.

Substantive changes will not be made silently.

Retractions

A Retraction may be issued when the journal determines that the findings, conclusions, ethical basis, or integrity of a published article are seriously compromised and the article can no longer be relied upon as part of the scholarly record.

Grounds for retraction may include:

• clear evidence that findings are unreliable because of major error, fabrication, falsification, or inappropriate manipulation;
• serious manipulation of research data, images, statistical analyses, code, or other research materials;
• substantial plagiarism;
• substantial duplicate or redundant publication without appropriate disclosure or justification;
• unethical research or serious failure to comply with requirements for ethical approval, informed consent, participant protection, or confidentiality;
• fraudulent or seriously compromised peer review;
• fabricated authorship, data, documentation, or declarations that materially affect publication integrity;
• serious undisclosed conflicts of interest that undermine the reliability or integrity of the article;
• other circumstances in which the article is seriously misleading or unreliable.

Retraction may result from research misconduct or from a serious honest error. A formal finding of misconduct is therefore not required in every case in which retraction is necessary.

An authorship dispute alone will normally not justify retraction when the scientific findings remain reliable. Where appropriate and adequately documented, authorship changes may instead be addressed through a formal correction.

Retraction Notices

A retraction notice will:

• be clearly identified as a Retraction;
• identify and provide a complete citation to the affected article;
• explain the reason for the retraction sufficiently clearly;
• indicate, where appropriate, whether the retraction results from error, misconduct, or another integrity concern;
• identify the person or body issuing or requesting the retraction where appropriate;
• remain permanently accessible;
• be electronically linked to the affected article.

The original article will normally remain accessible as part of the scholarly record but will be prominently marked as Retracted in its available online forms.

The retraction notice and the affected article will be linked in both directions.

A retraction will not be delayed solely because one or more authors disagree with or decline to approve it where sufficient evidence demonstrates that retraction is necessary.

Final responsibility for the journal’s post-publication editorial decision rests with the Editor-in-Chief or an appropriately authorized independent editor.

Expressions of Concern

An Expression of Concern may be published when serious and credible concerns exist regarding a published article but the available evidence is not yet sufficient to determine whether a correction or retraction is required.

An Expression of Concern may be appropriate when:

• an institutional, regulatory, or other competent investigation is ongoing;
• evidence concerning the reliability or integrity of the article remains inconclusive or disputed;
• the responsible institution has not completed an investigation;
• an investigation is substantially delayed;
• serious unresolved concerns exist regarding data, research ethics, authorship, peer review, or other aspects of publication integrity.

The notice will be clearly identified as an Expression of Concern, explain the basis of the concern, and be linked to the affected article.

When sufficient evidence becomes available, the journal will reassess the matter and may issue a Correction, Retraction, or another appropriate notice indicating how the concern has been resolved.

Retraction and Republication

In exceptional circumstances, retraction with republication may be considered when a major error substantially affects the results, interpretation, or conclusions, but:

• the error is determined to be unintentional;
• the underlying research remains scientifically valid;
• the corrected manuscript undergoes appropriate additional editorial assessment and, where necessary, peer review;
• republication provides a more accurate and transparent scholarly record.

The relationship between the retracted and republished versions will be clearly explained and linked.

Author Requests

Authors who identify a significant error in their published article should notify the journal promptly and cooperate in correcting the scholarly record.

A request by an author to withdraw, retract, remove, or substantially modify a published article does not by itself determine the journal’s action.

The editors will assess the scientific, ethical, legal, and integrity basis of the request and determine the appropriate post-publication mechanism.

A correction, Expression of Concern, or Retraction may proceed even where not all authors agree, provided that the decision is supported by sufficient evidence and fair editorial assessment.

Post-Publication Updates

Changes to published articles that materially affect scientific content, interpretation, authorship, declarations, article status, or the integrity of the scholarly record will be handled through a transparent post-publication mechanism.

Substantive changes will not be introduced through undocumented replacement of the published file.

Where appropriate, the journal may update the article together with a linked formal notice explaining:

• what was changed;
• why the change was necessary;
• when the change was made;
• whether the scientific conclusions were affected.

Routine technical or typographical corrections that do not alter scientific meaning may be handled without a separate formal notice where appropriate.

Version Control

The journal will maintain transparent version control for substantive post-publication changes.

Where an article is formally corrected or updated:

• the date and nature of the change will be recorded;
• the relevant notice will be linked to the article;
• readers will be able to determine that the article has been modified;
• prior versions will be preserved or appropriately archived;
• the most current version will be clearly identifiable.

Earlier versions should, where technically feasible, indicate that a newer version exists.

DOI and Metadata Updates

A correction, Expression of Concern, or Retraction does not normally result in the assignment of a new DOI to the original article solely because its status has changed.

Where appropriate, the journal will update relevant article metadata and information supplied to DOI registration, indexing, repository, archiving, and other scholarly communication services so that the current status of the publication is accurately represented.

Formal notices should be linked to the affected article through appropriate bibliographic and persistent-identifier metadata wherever technically possible.

Article Removal

Complete removal of a published article from the journal website will be considered only in exceptional circumstances, such as where continued public availability would create a serious legal, privacy, confidentiality, or safety problem that cannot reasonably be addressed by correction, retraction, or another notice.

Where removal is necessary, the article record should normally remain identifiable, and a public notice should explain the reason for removal to the extent legally and ethically permissible.

Removal must not be used simply to conceal error, misconduct, controversy, or an unfavorable research finding.

Independence and Due Process

Decisions concerning Corrections, Expressions of Concern, Retractions, and other substantive post-publication actions must be made independently, fairly, proportionately, and without inappropriate conflicts of interest.

Where the affected article is authored by the Editor-in-Chief, an editor, or a member of the Editorial Board, the matter will be handled by an independent editor or another suitably qualified person who was not involved in the article.

Authors will normally be informed of significant concerns and given an appropriate opportunity to respond.

However, failure to respond or disagreement by authors will not prevent the journal from correcting the scholarly record where sufficient evidence supports editorial action.

Post-publication notices will be issued as promptly as reasonably possible once the appropriate action has been determined.

Policy Application

This policy applies to all scholarly content published by the journal.

It should be read together with the journal’s:

• Publication Ethics;
• Research Ethics Policy;
• Research Data Policy;
• Authorship and Contributorship provisions;
• Conflicts of Interest and Funding provisions;
• Complaints and Appeals provisions;
• Digital Archiving and Long-Term Preservation Policy.

The journal’s overriding objective is to ensure that the status, reliability, and history of its published scholarly record remain accurate, transparent, traceable, and accessible.