Qubahan Journal of Medical Sciences is committed to maintaining an accurate, transparent, and trustworthy scholarly record.

Corrections

A correction may be issued where an otherwise reliable published article contains an error that materially affects its presentation, interpretation, metadata, attribution, or understanding without invalidating its principal findings.

Corrections are permanently linked to the original article and clearly identify the corrected information.

Retractions

Retraction may be considered where there is reliable evidence that:

• Findings are seriously unreliable because of major error or misconduct.
• Data have been fabricated or falsified.
• Plagiarism has occurred.
• Research was conducted unethically.
• Publication is substantially redundant without appropriate disclosure.
• Peer review was manipulated.
• Authorship has been seriously misrepresented.
• Other major integrity problems invalidate the publication.

A retraction notice will:

• Clearly identify the affected article.
• Explain the reason for retraction.
• Be linked to the original article.
• Clearly mark the article as retracted.
• Remain permanently accessible.

Retracted articles normally remain part of the scholarly record and are prominently identified as retracted rather than silently deleted.

Expressions of concern

An Expression of concern may be published where substantial concerns exist but available evidence is incomplete, an institutional investigation is ongoing, or a reliable conclusion cannot yet be reached.

Article removal

Removal of published material is exceptional and will be considered only where compelling legal, privacy, safety, or other extraordinary circumstances require it.