Retraction Policy

Journal editors will consider retracting an article where:

  • They have adequate evidence that the results are untrustworthy due to either significant errors (like a calculation or experimental error) or fabrications (like data) or falsifications (like picture manipulation).
  • This is considered plagiarism.
  • The results have already been published elsewhere, and the authors have not given due credit to earlier sources, informed the editor, obtained permission to republish, or offered an explanation (i.e., redundant publication).
  • It includes information or data that the writers were not permitted to publish.
  • There has been a violation of copyright or another significant legal problem (such as libel or privacy invasion).
  • It discloses unethical research and/or violates Elsevier's publishing ethics guidelines concerning the use of animals and/or human subjects in studies.
  • There is proof that the editorial process was systematically manipulated or that peer review was degraded. There is evidence or material concerns of authorship being sold.
  • There is evidence of citation manipulation.
  • The author or authors failed to disclose a major competing interest (a conflict of interest) that, in the editor's opinion, would have materially affected interpretations of the work or recommendations by editors and/or peer reviewers.
  • There is evidence of any other violations of the journal's publishing policies.

Best Practices for Retraction:

  • In a later edition of the journal, a retraction notice with the title "Retraction: [article title]" that is signed by the editor and, if applicable, the authors is published. It is paginated and included in the table of contents.
  • The retraction notice and the original article are linked in the electronic edition.
  • A screen with the retraction note appears before the web story. The link redirects to this screen, after which the reader can access the article.
  • The original article is kept the same, with the exception of a watermark on the .pdf file that reads "retracted" on each page.
  • The article's HTML version has been deleted.