Corrections, Retractions, and Article Removal Policy

The Indonesian Journal of Medicine is committed to maintaining the accuracy, transparency, and integrity of the scholarly record. Published articles are considered part of the permanent scholarly record and should remain accessible and unaltered whenever possible. However, when errors, research misconduct, or legal concerns are identified, appropriate editorial action may be required to correct, retract, or, in exceptional circumstances, remove an article.
All decisions concerning corrections, retractions, and article removal are made by the Editor-in-Chief or a designated editor, following a fair assessment of the available evidence and in accordance with the journal’s publication ethics policies.
1. Corrections
A correction may be issued when an error or omission is identified in a published article and correcting it is necessary to maintain the accuracy of the scholarly record.
    •    Corrigendum: Issued to correct an error or omission attributable to the authors.
    •    Erratum: Issued to correct an error introduced during the journal’s editorial or production process.
Corrections are appropriate when the error does not invalidate the overall findings or conclusions of the article. All corrections are subject to editorial assessment and approval. A correction notice will describe the error and the changes made and will be permanently linked to the original article.
Requests to correct authorship or contributor information will be assessed individually and must be supported by appropriate documentation and agreement from the relevant parties.
2. Retractions
A retraction may be issued when an article’s findings are unreliable or when serious violations of research or publication ethics undermine the integrity of the published work.
Grounds for retraction may include, but are not limited to:
    a.    Fabrication, falsification, or inappropriate manipulation of research data or images.
    b.    Plagiarism or substantial unattributed overlap with previously published work.
    c.    Duplicate publication or undisclosed redundant publication.
    d.    Unethical research practices or serious violations of research ethics requirements.
    e.    Compromised peer review or systematic manipulation of the editorial process.
    f.    Serious authorship irregularities, including fraudulent or fictitious authorship.
   g.    Undisclosed conflicts of interest that materially affect the interpretation or credibility of the work.
   h.    Other serious breaches of publication ethics that undermine confidence in the article’s findings or integrity.
Retraction does not necessarily imply that all authors were responsible for the misconduct. The purpose of retraction is to correct the scholarly record and alert readers to the limitations or unreliability of the published work.
A retraction notice will explain the reasons for retraction as clearly as possible and will be permanently linked to the original article. The original article will generally remain accessible, with a clear retraction notice and an appropriate retraction watermark on the PDF, where technically feasible. The article’s bibliographic information will be retained to preserve the publication record.
3. Expressions of Concern
An Expression of Concern may be issued when there are credible concerns regarding the reliability or integrity of a published article, but the available evidence is inconclusive or an investigation has not yet reached a final conclusion.
This notice alerts readers to potential problems while further investigation is undertaken. Once the matter has been resolved, the journal may issue a correction, retraction, editorial note, or other appropriate notice. The original Expression of Concern will remain part of the publication record.
4. Article Removal
Removal of a published article from the journal’s online archive is an exceptional measure and will be considered only when retaining the article’s content would create serious legal, privacy, or public safety concerns that cannot be adequately addressed through a correction or retraction.
Possible grounds for removal include:
    a.    A valid court order or other applicable legal requirement.
    b.    Serious infringement of legal rights, including circumstances in which a retraction alone is insufficient.
    c.    A substantial risk of serious harm to individuals or public health if the content remains accessible.
    d.    Other exceptional circumstances in which removal is necessary to address a serious legal or ethical concern.
When removal is necessary, the article’s full text may be replaced with a removal notice explaining the reason for the action, to the extent legally permissible. Bibliographic metadata, including the article title and authors, will be retained whenever possible to preserve the scholarly record.
Removal will not be used as a substitute for retraction when the primary concern is the reliability of the research findings or research misconduct.
5. Article Withdrawal Before Final Publication
A manuscript that has not yet been formally published may be withdrawn from the editorial or publication process when justified by the circumstances, including duplicate submission, serious ethical violations, or significant editorial or production errors.
Withdrawal of an unpublished manuscript is distinct from retraction of an article that has already been published. The journal will document the decision and take appropriate action in accordance with its editorial procedures.
6. Reporting Concerns and Editorial Procedures
Authors, readers, reviewers, and other parties may report suspected errors, research misconduct, or concerns about a published article to the journal’s editorial office.
Upon receiving a report, the journal may:
    a.    Assess the allegation and request relevant evidence or clarification from the authors.
    b.    Give the authors an appropriate opportunity to respond.
    c.    Consult independent experts, reviewers, institutional representatives, or research ethics committees when necessary.
   d.    Determine the appropriate action based on the available evidence and the seriousness of the concern.
   e.    Publish a correction, Expression of Concern, retraction, or removal notice, as appropriate.
The journal will handle all reports fairly and confidentially, where appropriate, and will seek to avoid premature conclusions. If necessary, the journal may contact the authors’ institutions or relevant authorities to support an investigation.
All corrective notices will be clearly identifiable, publicly accessible where possible, and permanently linked to the original article or its bibliographic record. The journal will take reasonable steps to ensure that indexing services and relevant scholarly databases are informed of significant post-publication changes.