R-W-C Policy

Policy Statement

PIJME recognizes that authors invest considerable effort in preparing manuscripts, and that the editorial team is equally committed to conducting a rigorous peer review process. Nevertheless, in rare and extraordinary circumstances, it may become necessary to retract, withdraw, correct, or remove a published or submitted article. Such actions are never taken lightly and are carried out only when justified by compelling scientific, ethical, or legal grounds. PIJME is firmly committed to maintaining the integrity, completeness, and reliability of the scholarly record for the benefit of researchers, librarians, and the wider academic community.

Article Retraction

PIJME is committed to upholding the integrity of the scholarly record and will retract published articles when necessary. An article may be retracted under the following circumstances:

• There is a major scientific error that invalidates the conclusions of the article, whether as a result of misconduct (e.g., data fabrication or falsification) or honest error (e.g., miscalculation or experimental error).
• The findings have been previously published elsewhere without proper cross-referencing, permission, or justification (redundant or duplicate publication).
• There are serious ethical violations, including plagiarism, inappropriate authorship claims, or undisclosed conflicts of interest.
• There is evidence of violations of PIJME's Generative AI Policy, including the submission of manuscripts substantially generated by AI without proper disclosure.

In accordance with COPE Retraction Guidelines, PIJME adopts the following retraction process:

1. A potentially retractable article is brought to the attention of the Editor-in-Chief.
2. The Editor-in-Chief follows the applicable COPE flowcharts, including seeking a response from the corresponding author.
3. The editor's findings are reviewed by the Editorial Board prior to any action being taken, to ensure consistency and adherence to best practices.
4. The final retraction decision is communicated to the corresponding author and, where appropriate, to the author's affiliated institution.
5. A retraction statement is published online and included in the next available issue of the journal.

Please note that authors retaining copyright of their article do not automatically have the right to retract it after publication. The integrity of the published scientific record takes precedence, and COPE Retraction Guidelines apply in all cases.

Article Correction

PIJME will consider issuing a correction when:

• A small but significant portion of an otherwise reliable publication is found to contain flawed data or misleading information, particularly as a result of honest error.
• The author or contributor list is found to be incorrect, including cases where a deserving author has been omitted or an individual who does not meet authorship criteria has been included.

Corrections to peer-reviewed content fall into the following categories:

• Publisher Correction (Erratum):Issued to notify readers of an important error made by the editorial or production staff that negatively affects the publication record, the scientific integrity of the article, or the reputation of the authors or the journal.
• Author Correction (Corrigendum):Issued to notify readers of an important error made by the authors that negatively affects the publication record, the scientific integrity of the article, or the reputation of the authors or the journal.
• Addendum:An addition to a published article by its authors, used to explain inconsistencies, expand upon the existing work, or provide updated information relevant to the main publication.

The decision to issue a correction rests with the Editor-in-Chief, who may seek advice from reviewers or Editorial Board members. The handling editor will contact the authors concerned to request clarification before a final decision is made.

Article Removal

In extremely limited circumstances, it may be necessary to remove a published article entirely from the PIJME online platform. Removal will only be considered if an article is clearly defamatory, infringes upon the legal rights of others, is subject to or likely to be subject to a court order, or poses a serious risk to public health or safety.

In such cases, the article's metadata — including the title and author information — will be retained on the platform, while the full text will be replaced with a notice indicating that the article has been removed for legal reasons.

Article Replacement

In cases where a published article, if acted upon, may pose a serious health or safety risk, the authors of the original article may request to retract the flawed version and replace it with a corrected publication. In such circumstances, the standard retraction procedure outlined above will be followed, with the addition that the retraction notice will include a direct link to the corrected, re-published version of the article, along with a complete document history.