Retraction Policy and Flowcharts

1. The Definition of Retraction

Retraction refers to a normal correcting procedure as well as an editing behavior of periodicals that cancel the publication of articles (including printed, digital and web version) that have been published. 

2. The Purpose of Retraction 

The major purpose of a retraction is to correct the literature and ensure its integrity rather than to punish the authors. Also, the purpose that the editorial office publishes a retraction is to:

　· maintain the purity of the academic atmosphere

　· sustain the credibility of the scientific research

　· alert the author(s) not to violate the publication ethics

　· correct the mistakes of the articles

　· spread proper and authoritative information to the readers

3. The Reason of Retraction 

The Journal of Third Military Medical University will consider retracting an article if:

· it is not an original manuscript or is ghostwritten by other people.

· we have clear evidence that the findings are unreliable, either as a result of data fabrication or falsification.

· it constitutes plagiarism in description, images or charts, ideas, paragraphs and full text.

· it is a redundant publication and the findings have previously been published elsewhere.

· it reports unethical research.

· the author provides false or manipulated peer reviewer information during the review process and falsifies recommendation opinions of experts.

4. The Implementer of Retraction

· Retraction may be requested by an article’s author(s) and/or by the author’s institution.

· If the author(s) is/are unwilling to issue retractions, the editorial office can implement the retraction according to the facts. Even if some or all of the authors      do not agree, the editorial office has the final right to decide whether the article should be retracted or not.

5. The Time of Retraction

· The retraction notice should be published as soon as possible. Prompt retractions will minimize the harmful effects that the readers will be misguided and the number of researchers who will cite the erroneous work or draw incorrect conclusions.

· If the editorial office has the clear evidence that a retraction is required, they should not delay the retraction simply because the authors are not cooperative.

· If the article related to a potential retraction results in a hearing or institutional investigation, it may be appropriate to wait for the outcome before issuing out a retraction, but the editorial office could publish an Expression of Concern (EOC) to inform its readers in the interim. When conclusive evidence is obtained, the editorial office should consider whether the EOC needs to be replaced by a retraction notice or whether only a correction statement is needed. 

6. The Form of Retraction

　· Retraction notices should be published in all versions of the journal. 

　· Retraction notices should be displayed in content pages in both printed and/or online versions.

　· For the articles that are published online, there should be reciprocal links between the retraction notices and the original articles.

　· After the retraction, the metadata should be retained on the journal’s webpage. Also, the article should be labelled with “retraction” watermark in its abstract  and whole content. At the same time, the online version of the article should be retained with a clear Notice of Retraction with retraction dates, which should be included in bibliographic database with a digital object identifier (DOI) or other permanent citation methods.

7. The Drafting of a Retraction Notice

　· Subject: the author/ the author’s institution/ the editorial office of the retraction notice, taking appropriate form with different subjects. 

　· Title: including “retraction: the article title (the journal’s name, volume number, year, and the page number)”.

　· Main body: including manuscript information (the title, the author’s name, the journal’s name, the volume number, year, and the page number) and the reasons for the retraction. The retracted article should be listed as a reference in the last part of the retraction notice.

8. The Retraction Flowcharts