Corrections, Retractions and Withdrawal

Three commitments govern every post-publication change. The original record is preserved. The change is described in plain language on the work itself. The decision is made by the editorial office and logged against the work, with the Author informed.

A published article is locked to editing. Editing rights are only re-opened when the editorial office formally starts a Corrections process, and are closed again when that process is completed and the correction is issued.

A Correction is issued where an error affects the reader’s understanding but not the standing of the findings — a mis-stated value, a mislabelled figure, an incomplete affiliation, a broken identifier. These examples are illustrative rather than exhaustive.

Corrected works carry a Corrected marker on the article page, in the publications list and on the typeset PDF, and a numbered, dated Corrections statement is appended to the work permanently. Corrections are cumulative and append-only: a subsequent Correction never replaces, overwrites or removes an earlier one, so Correction 2 remains part of the record alongside Correction 1.

A Retraction is issued where the findings are no longer reliable — substantial error, unreliable data, undisclosed conflict, or a breach of publication ethics. A retraction is not a judgement of intent; it is a statement about the reliability of the record.

The article remains available and citable, is marked Retracted throughout, and carries a retraction notice naming what is affected and who requested it. Associated published data are annotated with the same notice and preserved alongside it, as set out in the Data Availability Policy.

Where a matter is governed by another Journal policy, the applicable assessment and escalation process is followed before a formal Retraction decision is made. Matters concerning plagiarism are assessed under the Journal’s Plagiarism Policy and, where the matter meets the applicable escalation criteria, proceed through the Escalation from Assessment of Plagiarism process. Retraction is a formal editorial decision made by the editorial office where the applicable threshold for Retraction is met.

A work that has not yet reached the version of record — a Pre-Print or a work in production — may be withdrawn by the Author or the editorial office. A withdrawal notice replaces the content at the same address so that citations and links resolve rather than break. Withdrawal before the version of record is distinct from Retraction of a published article: once a work has reached the version of record, it is subject to the post-publication procedures set out above.

Requests may be made by an Author, a reader or an institution. Write to editorial@jqbio.org naming the work, the passage, figure, information or other part in question, and what you believe is wrong and why.

The editorial office acknowledges within ten working days and states which route it intends to take — consideration under the Corrections process, consideration of Retraction where the reliability of the findings is in question, or consideration under another applicable Journal policy where the matter falls within that policy's scope. Where a request is declined, the reason is given in writing.

Post-publication changes are recorded against the relevant work so that the history of the publication remains transparent and traceable. A Correction or Retraction does not silently replace the original publication record — the status of the work and the relevant notice remain identifiable through the article and the Journal's publication record. The Journal's archiving and preservation arrangements apply to the publication record and its associated notices in accordance with the Archiving and Preservation Policy.