ACADEMIA Biota Nexus Journal (ABNJ) is committed to maintaining the accuracy, transparency, and integrity of the scholarly record. This policy outlines the procedures for issuing corrections and retractions in accordance with international publishing standards.
Purpose of Corrections
Corrections are issued to uphold the credibility and clarity of published research. By addressing genuine errors that may affect interpretation but do not invalidate the overall findings, ABNJ safeguards scientific integrity and public trust.
Types of Corrections
Erratum (Publisher-Initiated):
An erratum is issued to correct production-related errors introduced during the publication process, such as typesetting mistakes, formatting issues, incorrect author affiliations, or figure misplacement. These errors do not affect the validity or conclusions of the study.
Corrigendum (Author-Initiated):
A corrigendum is issued when authors identify significant post-publication errors in data, methodology, or presentation that affect understanding or clarity but do not compromise the core findings of the research.
Correction Procedure
Errors may be reported by authors, readers, reviewers, or editorial staff. The editorial board evaluates the reported issue to determine whether a correction is required and identifies the appropriate type of correction. A formal correction notice is then published online and linked to the original article. In most cases, the original article remains unchanged, with clear reference to the correction.
Visibility and Indexing
All corrections are clearly labeled as an erratum or corrigendum, linked to the original article, indexed in relevant academic databases, and made freely available under the journal’s open access policy.
Purpose of Retractions
Retractions are issued when the validity or reliability of a published article is fundamentally compromised due to serious errors or ethical violations. The retraction process ensures that misleading or flawed research is clearly identified to prevent the dissemination of inaccurate scientific information.
Grounds for Retraction
An article may be retracted for reasons including, but not limited to, scientific misconduct such as plagiarism, data fabrication, image manipulation, or fraudulent authorship; ethical violations such as lack of required ethics approval, undisclosed conflicts of interest, or improper treatment of human or animal subjects; and critical methodological errors that undermine the reliability or validity of the study’s findings.
Retraction Process
The editorial office conducts an internal investigation and may consult the authors, reviewers, or affiliated institutions as necessary. Retraction decisions are made in accordance with the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and ABNJ’s editorial policies. A formal retraction notice is published and linked to the original article. The retracted article remains accessible for the scholarly record but is clearly marked as retracted.
Transparency and Indexing
Retracted articles are clearly identified in all formats, including HTML and PDF versions. Retraction status is communicated to indexing and abstracting services, and the content remains freely accessible to ensure transparency and accountability.
ABNJ adheres to the ethical guidelines and best practices established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the Higher Education Commission (HEC) of Pakistan, and internationally recognized standards for scholarly publishing and editorial responsibility.
Requests or reports related to corrections or retractions may be submitted to the editorial office:
Email: jawad@academia.edu.pk
Authors, reviewers, and readers are encouraged to report any errors or concerns. ABNJ remains committed to maintaining a trustworthy, transparent, and ethically responsible scientific publication environment.
