Corrections, Retractions and Appeals

IJMIE is committed to keeping the scholarly record accurate and transparent. This page explains how published articles are corrected or retracted, and how authors and readers can appeal a decision or make a complaint. The journal follows the guidance of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) throughout.

Corrections

When a significant error is found in a published article, a correction notice is published. It is linked to the original article and remains permanently available.

  • Erratum — corrects an error introduced by the journal during production.
  • Corrigendum — corrects an error made by the authors that does not invalidate the conclusions.

Minor errors that do not affect the meaning of an article or its metadata may be corrected in a new version of the article, with a note explaining the change; earlier versions remain available.

Expressions of Concern

Where there are well-founded concerns about the reliability of an article and an investigation is ongoing or inconclusive, the editors may publish an expression of concern. It is linked to the article and is updated or replaced when the investigation is complete.

Retractions

An article is retracted when its findings are unreliable because of misconduct or major error, when it contains plagiarism or duplicates previously published work, or when it reports unethical research. Retractions follow the COPE retraction guidelines:

  • a retraction notice explaining who is retracting the article and why is published and linked to the article;
  • the article remains available, clearly marked as retracted, so that the record is preserved;
  • removal of content is considered only in exceptional legal circumstances, and the article's metadata and the reason for removal remain available.

Requesting a Correction or Retraction

Authors who discover an error in their published article should contact the editorial office as soon as possible. Readers who believe an article contains an error or raises an integrity concern are also welcome to contact us, with as much detail and evidence as they can provide.

Appeals Against Editorial Decisions

  1. Submit an appeal — write to the editorial office within 30 days of the decision, quoting the manuscript ID and explaining in detail why the decision should be reconsidered, with a point-by-point response to the editor's and reviewers' comments.
  2. Independent assessment — the appeal is assessed by an editor who was not involved in the original decision, who may consult the original reviewers or additional experts.
  3. Outcome — the authors are informed of the outcome. The decision on an appeal is final, and only one appeal is considered per manuscript.

Appeals are considered where authors can show that a decision was based on a factual error, a misunderstanding of the work or a significant flaw in the review process. A manuscript under appeal must not be submitted to another journal until the appeal has been decided.

Complaints

Complaints about the journal's processes, its editorial staff or its publications help us improve. Please send them to the editorial office through the Contact page. Complaints are acknowledged promptly and investigated by a senior editor who is not involved in the matter; if you are not satisfied with the response, you may ask for the complaint to be reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief.