Withdrawal Policy

Purpose and Scope

The International Journal of Clinical Virology (IJCV) has established this comprehensive withdrawal policy to maintain transparency, integrity, and trust in scholarly communication. The policy defines the procedures for handling article corrections, retractions, replacements, and withdrawals at different stages of the publication process, ensuring compliance with COPE Retraction Guidelines (2019) and ICMJE Recommendations.

1. Article Withdrawal (Before Publication)

Authors may request withdrawal of a submitted manuscript before publication. Valid reasons include duplicate submission, authorship errors, or significant flaws discovered during review. The request must be signed by all listed authors and sent from their institutional emails.

• Withdrawal requests after peer review require editorial approval.
• Improper or unethical withdrawal (to submit elsewhere) may result in blacklisting.
• Once an article is in production (DOI assigned), it can no longer be withdrawn but must follow the retraction process.

Administrative Fee: A minimal processing fee may apply for layout or DOI allocation costs if the article was already typeset.

2. Article Retraction (After Publication)

Retraction is applied when a published article is found to contain serious errors or ethical violations that invalidate its findings. Typical reasons include:

• Data fabrication or falsification.
• Plagiarism or copyright infringement.
• Duplicate or redundant publication.
• Undisclosed conflicts of interest influencing results.
• Unethical research involving humans or animals.

Each retraction notice includes the article’s title, authors, DOI, reason for retraction, and publication date. Retracted articles remain accessible with a clear watermark and metadata tagging (“Retracted Article”) to preserve the scholarly record.

3. Article Replacement

Article replacement occurs when an error affects the integrity of the record but the corrected version is necessary to maintain scientific utility (e.g., correction of misidentified viral strain data or mislabeled images). The replacement notice includes:

• A full citation and DOI link to the original version.
• A statement describing the nature of corrections.
• Links between old and new versions for transparency.

4. Corrections (Errata and Corrigenda)

IJCV distinguishes between:

• Erratum: Correction of publisher or production errors.
• Corrigendum: Correction of author-identified errors not affecting scientific conclusions.

Minor errors (e.g., author affiliation, figure labels) are corrected via online update and linked correction notice. Major factual errors that alter results trigger retraction or replacement depending on severity.

5. Expressions of Concern

If an investigation is ongoing and outcome uncertain, IJCV issues an Expression of Concern. This temporary statement alerts readers to potential issues while maintaining transparency pending final resolution.

6. Withdrawal of Published Articles (Extraordinary Cases)

Withdrawal of already published articles is exceptional and permitted only for:

• Legal infringements (e.g., libel, court orders, privacy violations).
• Ethical violations posing public health or security risks.
• Breach of copyright agreements or confidentiality.

Such removals are replaced with a withdrawal statement explaining the reason and providing bibliographic details.

7. Process Workflow

8. Authorship and Consent Requirements

For any correction, retraction, or withdrawal request:

• All co-authors must agree and sign a statement confirming accuracy of the claim.
• The corresponding author serves as the point of contact for documentation.
• In cases of dispute, the journal follows COPE’s “Guidelines for Resolving Authorship Disputes.”

9. Notification and Transparency

All correction and retraction notices are permanently accessible and indexed in Crossref and major databases. These notices include citation metadata and DOI cross-linking to maintain the integrity of indexing services such as PubMed and Scopus.

10. Post-Publication Investigations

IJCV reserves the right to investigate suspected ethical breaches at any time, even years after publication. The journal may collaborate with authors’ institutions or funders to ensure a transparent and fair process.

11. Legal and Privacy Compliance

Article withdrawal for legal reasons follows national and international laws regarding defamation, intellectual property, or privacy. IJCV may redact or anonymize sensitive data to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) while maintaining research transparency.

12. Withdrawal Charges and Administrative Policy

• If withdrawal is requested after acceptance but before online publication, a small processing fee may be charged to recover editorial costs.
• No charges are applied for withdrawals initiated by the journal due to editorial or ethical reasons.
• Retraction notices and corrections are always published free of cost to authors.

13. Indexing and Metadata Updates

IJCV ensures that corrections, retractions, and replacements are updated in all bibliographic databases (Crossref, Google Scholar, Index Copernicus, etc.) to maintain consistency of the scientific record.

14. Ethical Oversight and Record-Keeping

All documentation related to ethical investigations, author communications, and final decisions is securely stored in the OJS platform for future audit. The editorial office guarantees confidentiality throughout the process.

15. Ethical References and Guidelines

• COPE Retraction Guidelines (2019)
• ICMJE Recommendations on Corrections and Retractions
• DOAJ Transparency and Best Practice Principles
• WAME Ethics Standards for Medical Editors

Contact Information

Editorial Office – International Journal of Clinical Virology (IJCV)
Email: [email protected]
Website: https://www.clinvirologyjournal.com/

View Publication Ethics Policy