Correction and Retraction PolicyJSSR will issue corrections, retraction statements and other post-publication updates including Editor’s Notes and Editorial Expressions of Concern on published content. The following are categories of corrections and post-publication updates to peer-reviewed primary research and review-type articles and certain kinds of non-peer reviewed article types. Substantial errors to Supplementary Information and Extended Data are corrected in the same manner as amendments to the main article. With the exception of Editor’s Notes, all categories below are bi-directionally linked to the original article and indexed. JSSR include the Cross mark button on the HTML and online PDFs of all articles. Cross mark is an industry standard mechanism that allows readers to quickly check that the version of the article they are reading is up to-date. By clicking the Cross mark button readers can view the Cross mark record for that article, with details of all formal amendments and corrections.
Publishing an Editor’s Note or EEoC is recommended by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) as a means of keeping readers updated while a potentially lengthy research integrity investigation is underway. Editor’s Notes and EEoCs are typically superseded by publishing another amendment?such as a correction or retraction?once the investigation is complete.
1. Removal of published content: In exceptional circumstances, Springer Nature reserves the right to remove an article, chapter, book or other content from Springer Nature’s online platforms. Such action may be taken when (i) Springer Nature has been advised that content is defamatory, infringes a third party’s intellectual property right, right to privacy, or other legal right, or is otherwise unlawful; (ii) A court or government order has been issued, or is likely to be issued, requiring removal of such content; (iii) Content, if acted upon, would pose an immediate and serious risk to health. Removal may be temporary or permanent. Bibliographic metadata (e.g. title and authors) will be retained, and will be accompanied by a statement explaining why the content has been removed. 2. Matters Arising Nature Portfolio: journals recognize the importance of post-publication commentary on published research as necessary to advancing scientific discourse. Formal post-publication commentary on published papers can involve challenges, clarifications or, in some cases, replication of the published work, and after peer review may be published online as Matters Arising, usually alongside a Reply from the original Nature journal authors. Details of the submission criteria and peer review process for Matters Arising are provided in the Guide to Authors for each individual journal. 3. Addressing post-publication issues: We are committed to maintaining the integrity of the scientific record and thoroughly investigate concerns that are directly raised with us by authors and readers. Authors are always given an opportunity to respond to the concerns raised. We may request original unprocessed data and consult with experts in the course of an investigation. Depending on the seriousness of the issues, the following outcomes may ensue: If the manuscript is still under consideration, it may be rejected and returned to the author. If the article has already been published online, depending on the nature and severity of the issues:
We aim for transparent notification to readers; however, our primary goal is to ensure the integrity of the published record rather than to sanction individuals and as such, we will not use these statements to attribute responsibility to specific named individuals. We may refer readers to the reports of institutional investigations if these reports are publicly available. While we are committed to addressing post-publication issues and correcting the record swiftly, investigations typically take some time to reach resolution given the complexity of the discussions and the need to obtain original data and consult with experts. We will issue Editor’s Notes and/or Editorial Expressions of Concern to alert our readership when we become aware of concerns with published material. |