Spectrum of Operational Research (SOR) is committed to preserving the accuracy, integrity, transparency, and completeness of the scholarly record. Published articles form part of the permanent scientific record. Where a significant error, omission, ethical concern, or other problem is identified after publication, the journal will take appropriate post-publication action in accordance with its Publication Ethics Statement and applicable Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidance .
Post-publication changes will be made transparently and only where necessary to correct the scholarly record, clarify relevant information, or address concerns affecting the accuracy, reliability, or integrity of a published article. The type of action taken will depend on the nature, seriousness, and effect of the identified issue.
A correction may be published when an error or omission affects the accuracy, interpretation, presentation, metadata, or completeness of an article but does not invalidate its principal findings or conclusions.
Corrections may relate to text, data, equations, figures, tables, references, author information, affiliations, funding statements, conflict-of-interest disclosures, data-availability information, or other relevant parts of the published record.
Where a substantive correction is required, the journal will normally publish a separate correction notice that clearly identifies the original article, describes the matter being corrected, and is electronically linked to the published article. The original article should likewise contain an appropriate link or indication directing readers to the correction notice.
Where appropriate, the online article may also be updated to incorporate the corrected information, provided that the change is transparently documented and the integrity of the Version of Record is preserved.
Minor typographical, grammatical, formatting, or production errors that do not affect the scientific meaning, interpretation, metadata, attribution, or integrity of the article may be corrected without publication of a separate formal notice at the journal's discretion. Substantive changes to published content will not be made silently.
A Publisher Correction may be issued where an error was introduced during editorial processing, copyediting, typesetting, metadata preparation, production, or online publication and is attributable to the journal or Publisher rather than to the authors' scholarly content.
Such errors may include incorrect author names, affiliations, article titles, bibliographic metadata, DOI information, figure or table placement, production-generated formatting errors, or other production mistakes that materially affect the accuracy, attribution, discoverability, interpretation, or usability of the published article.
Where appropriate, the published version may be corrected and accompanied by a linked Publisher Correction that transparently explains the change.
An Expression of Concern may be published where serious concerns have been raised regarding a published article but the available evidence is not yet sufficient to determine whether a correction, retraction, or other final action is warranted.
An Expression of Concern may be appropriate where:
Expressions of Concern will be clearly identified, made freely available, and linked to the article concerned. They may subsequently be supplemented, updated, or followed by a correction, retraction, or other appropriate notice when additional evidence becomes available.
Retraction is used primarily to correct the scholarly record and alert readers that the findings, conclusions, or other material in a published article are unreliable, seriously compromised, or otherwise should not continue to be relied upon in their published form.
Retraction does not normally involve deletion of the published article. The article will ordinarily remain accessible as part of the scholarly record and will be clearly identified as retracted, with an appropriate retraction notice linked to it.
Retraction may be considered where there is sufficient evidence that:
Questions involving plagiarism and unattributed reuse will also be considered under the journal's Plagiarism Policy .
Matters involving fabrication, falsification, duplicate or redundant publication, inappropriate reuse, citation manipulation, or related publication-integrity concerns will also be considered under the journal's Publication Integrity policy.
Where relevant, undisclosed or improperly managed competing interests will be assessed in accordance with the journal's Conflict of Interests policy.
Authors may request retraction where they identify a serious error or other issue that materially affects the reliability or integrity of their published work.
The journal may also initiate consideration of a retraction following its own assessment or information received from authors, readers, reviewers, editors, institutions, employers, funders, research integrity bodies, regulatory authorities, or other relevant parties.
A request for retraction does not automatically result in retraction. The journal will assess the circumstances, available evidence, effect on the reliability or integrity of the article, and whether correction or another post-publication measure would adequately protect the scholarly record.
Where a retraction concern involves a potential breach of research or publication ethics, the matter will be assessed in accordance with the journal's Procedures for Dealing with Allegations of Unethical Behaviour .
Individuals or parties directly affected by a substantive allegation will normally be given an appropriate opportunity to respond before a final decision is reached, subject to applicable legal, confidentiality, privacy, regulatory, or other compelling considerations.
The decision to retract an article is an editorial decision based on the available evidence and the need to protect the integrity of the scholarly record. The Publisher may provide administrative, procedural, technical, or legal support but will not interfere with independent editorial judgments concerning the scientific reliability or scholarly integrity of the article.
A retraction notice will normally:
A retraction may proceed even where one or more authors disagree with, or do not respond to, the proposed action, provided that the journal determines on the available evidence that retraction is necessary to protect the integrity of the scholarly record.
Complete removal of a published article is an exceptional measure and will not normally be used as a substitute for correction, an Expression of Concern, or retraction.
Removal may be considered only in rare circumstances where continued public availability of the content cannot reasonably be maintained. Such circumstances may include:
Where an article must be removed, the journal will seek, to the extent legally and technically permissible, to retain the bibliographic record and publish an appropriate notice indicating that the content has been removed and explaining the general reason for removal where disclosure is legally and ethically permissible.
There is no fixed time limit after publication for correcting an article, issuing an Expression of Concern, retracting an article, or taking another necessary post-publication action.
Appropriate action may be taken whenever reliable information becomes available indicating that the published scholarly record requires correction, clarification, investigation, or other editorial intervention.
Authors, readers, reviewers, institutions, and other parties who identify a significant error or concern in a published article are encouraged to contact the Editorial Office and provide sufficient information and, where available, supporting evidence to allow the matter to be assessed.
Scholarly comments, criticism, and other concerns raised after publication do not automatically require formal amendment of the published record. Where post-publication discussion raises a credible concern regarding the accuracy, reliability, ethics, or integrity of an article, the journal may assess the matter and determine whether formal editorial action is necessary.
Further information concerning scholarly discussion after publication is provided in the journal's Post-Publication Discussions and Corrections policy.
Post-publication matters will be handled objectively and proportionately. Individuals responsible for assessing a case must disclose relevant conflicts of interest and must not participate where their independence could reasonably be questioned.
Further principles governing independent editorial decision-making are provided in the journal's Editorial Independence policy.
SOR will consider applicable guidance and recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) when determining whether a correction, Expression of Concern, retraction, article removal, or other post-publication action is appropriate.
Each case will be considered according to its individual circumstances, the available evidence, the effect of the issue on the reliability and integrity of the published work, and the journal's applicable publication ethics policies.
