MOLECULE RETRACTION POLICY
A retraction is the formal withdrawal of an article previously published in one of Molecule journals and, therefore, the article must no longer be considered part of the scientific literature. Retractions are issued in cases of scientific misconduct, significant errors, plagiarism, or other ethical concerns that undermine the integrity of the scientific record.
A Molecule journal will consider retracting a published article if:
- The article contains major errors or inaccuracies that undermine the scientific validity or conclusions of the research.
- The article contains data that has been fabricated, falsified, or manipulated.
- The article contains text or figures that have been plagiarized from other sources.
- The findings have previously been published elsewhere without proper citation, permission, or justification (i.e. duplicate publication).
- The article violates ethical standards or principles of scientific integrity, such as failure to obtain necessary ethical approvals, misrepresentation of authorship, or conflict of interest.
- The article poses a serious risk to public health, safety, or the environment.
Process for Retraction
The journal will initiate an investigation into any allegations of misconduct, error, or unethical behavior. The authors of the article, as well as any other relevant parties, will be given an opportunity to respond to the allegations. If the journal determines that a retraction is warranted, it will issue a notice of retraction that will include the reason for the retraction, a summary of the issues leading to the retraction, and a link to the original article.
Correction Policy
In cases where an article contains errors or inaccuracies that do not rise to the level of retraction, the journal may issue a correction or erratum. The correction will be published alongside the original article and will include a description of the error and the corrected information.
Transparency
Molecule is committed to transparency in its handling of retractions and corrections. All notices of retraction or correction will be published on the journal’s website and will be freely accessible to readers. The concerned journal will also maintain an archive of all notices of retraction or correction for future reference.
