How we correct, flag, retract and withdraw published work — transparently, and with linked, DOI-registered notices.
Directive Publications is committed to the integrity and durability of the published scholarly record across all of our peer-reviewed journals. The academic literature is self-correcting only when changes are made openly, documented transparently, and linked persistently to the work they concern. This policy explains how we handle every kind of post-publication change — corrections, expressions of concern, retractions and pre-publication withdrawals — and the principles that govern each. It is aligned with the COPE Core Practices and the COPE Retraction Guidelines, and follows the ICMJE Recommendations. It works together with our Publication Ethics and Editorial Policies.
The Version of Record (VoR) is the definitive, citable, peer-reviewed article as published by the journal. It is the authoritative form that scholars should read and cite. Every article we publish carries a Crossref-registered Digital Object Identifier (DOI) under our prefix 10.52338. That DOI resolves persistently to the VoR together with any correction, expression of concern, or retraction notice subsequently attached to it — so a reader who follows the DOI always arrives at the current, complete status of the article.
Our core pledge is simple: published content is never silently altered, replaced, or removed. Where a change is warranted, it is made through a public, linked notice that any reader can find and cite. The historical article remains part of the record.
Five principles guide every post-publication decision:
When an article's main findings and conclusions remain reliable, but a significant error needs to be put right, the appropriate remedy is a correction rather than a retraction. This reflects the COPE principle that retraction is reserved for cases where the reliability of the work itself is in question, whereas a correction addresses a discrete, fixable problem in an otherwise sound article. We publish two kinds of correction.
A corrigendum corrects a significant error introduced by the author(s) that affects the record or its interpretation — for example, an incorrect value, a mislabeled figure, or an omission that materially changes how the work is understood. Authors who discover such an error should contact the editorial office promptly. The editors assess the issue and, where a formal correction is warranted, publish a linked corrigendum notice.
An erratum corrects an error introduced during editing, typesetting, or production by the publisher rather than by the authors. These may be identified by an author, a reader, or our own staff, and are corrected by the publisher through a linked erratum notice.
Each corrigendum or erratum is a citable object with its own DOI, bidirectionally linked to the original article and clearly labeled at the top of the article page. Both the notice and the corrected article are freely accessible under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) licence, and both are made available for harvesting by discovery services through our Crossref, OAI-PMH and JATS metadata. Because our journals are fully open access, corrections and all other notices are free for readers to access. Minor typographical fixes that do not affect meaning, data, or interpretation may be made without a formal notice; anything that could alter understanding is handled through a documented correction.
An Expression of Concern is a notice that alerts readers to substantial, credible concerns about a publication that do not — at least not yet — meet the threshold for a correction or retraction. Consistent with COPE guidance, we may use it in two ways. As an interim measure, it flags an article while an investigation is ongoing. As a standalone outcome, it records a final position where serious concerns remain but the evidence is inconclusive. Expressions of Concern are issued by the journal's editors or editorial office and may later be superseded by a correction or a retraction once the matter is resolved.
The purpose of a retraction is to correct the literature and alert readers to work that cannot be relied upon. A retraction is not a punishment; our notices are neutral, factual and non-defamatory, and they distinguish, where possible, between honest error and misconduct. Following the COPE Retraction Guidelines, an article may be retracted when, for example:
A retracted article is not deleted. It remains accessible and is prominently flagged and watermarked as "Retracted" so that no reader can mistake its status. A retraction notice, with its own DOI, is linked bidirectionally to the article; it states the reason for retraction, who requested it (the authors, the editors, or both), and whether an external investigation was involved. In line with COPE, we publish retraction notices as soon as the editors are confident that a serious problem exists — we do not delay a notice because authors are uncooperative, and we do not wait for a pending institutional finding when the editorial evidence is already sufficient. Retraction and correction decisions are made editorially by the journal and do not depend on an external body's ruling.
In the rare case where a pervasive but honest error affects a large portion of an article, yet a corrected version is clearly warranted, we may retract the flawed version and republish a corrected one. Both remain accessible and are clearly cross-linked, so readers can see exactly what was changed and why, consistent with the COPE approach to retraction and replacement.
Withdrawal applies only to accepted manuscripts or articles in press, before the formal Version of Record is finalized — for example, when a duplicate submission, a significant error, or an ethical breach is detected early. This is distinct from retraction, which applies to a published VoR. When an accepted manuscript is withdrawn, a withdrawal notice replaces the content. Authors considering withdrawal, or affected by an early-stage issue, should consult our Author Guidelines.
There is one narrow, standards-based exception to our commitment never to remove content. Where an article is defamatory, infringes another party's rights, violates privacy, or poses a serious risk to health or safety, we may remove or redact the content. In every such case the bibliographic metadata — title, authors and DOI — is retained, and the content is replaced with an explanatory notice, so the citation record persists and the DOI continues to resolve.
To keep the pledge above truthful, we state our limits explicitly. We will never silently edit or delete a published article; we will never remove content for reputational or commercial convenience; and we will never leave a documented change unrecorded. The legal or health-and-safety carve-out described above is the sole, narrow exception, and even then the metadata and a public notice remain.
Anyone — an author, a reader, or a third-party analyst — may raise a concern about a published article by writing to [email protected]. Please include the article's DOI or title, a clear description of the specific concern, and any supporting evidence. Concerns are handled confidentially and investigated in line with COPE guidance regardless of who raises them. Good-faith reporting is welcomed and reporters are not penalized. Where a concern implicates an article, the authors are given a fair opportunity to respond before any determination is made. Our approach to allegations is set out further in our Plagiarism Policy and Publication Ethics policies.
Corresponding authors must notify the editorial office promptly of any error they discover after publication and cooperate fully with any inquiry. We encourage all authors to register and supply an ORCID identifier, which strengthens accountability and helps us attribute corrections and other notices correctly. Manuscripts are screened for similarity before acceptance, and our double-blind peer review process is designed to identify problems before publication wherever possible.
This policy is aligned with the COPE Core Practices, the COPE Retraction Guidelines and the ICMJE Recommendations. All corrections, expressions of concern and retractions follow recognized bibliographic notice practice and are registered with Crossref, and are exposed for harvesting by discovery services through OAI-PMH and JATS metadata. Published content is safeguarded by off-site backups, and we are pursuing a formal digital-archiving arrangement to further strengthen long-term availability.
Questions about this policy, or a request to raise a concern, may be sent to [email protected].
Directive Publications, 30 N Gould St, Sheridan, WY 82801, USA.