British Journal of Diabetes policy for handling post-publication amendments, retractions and withdrawals

https://doi.org/10.15277/bjd.2025.474

The British Journal of Diabetes (BJDVD Ltd)  is committed to upholding the integrity and accuracy of the publication record. Our Editors will investigate and resolve research integrity concerns in accordance with the guidelines published by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). We publish a range of post-publication amendments, for different circumstances, as outlined below. These amendments are permanent, accessible and indexable, adhering to the practices and guidance described by the International Committee for Medical Journal Editors - https://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/publishing-and-editorial-issues/corrections-and-version-control.html .

Questions about these policies can be submitted to our editorial team via bjd@abcd.care.

Amendments

If any error is discovered in a paper after publication, corrections (Erratum, Corrigendum, Addendum) will be published in the next issue or as soon as the publisher and author, both agree to the proposed changes. The corrections will be published only if a significant error is found in the paper such as factually inaccurate published information. Minor corrections that do not significantly affect the content and understanding of the paper like spelling mistakes and grammatical errors will not be published.

When a correction is published it will be linked to the article being corrected and a link to the corrections page will also be placed on the article published earlier. The correction will also be added to the PDF version of the article. No changes or modifications will be made to the original content of the article PDF. This will enable the readers to download the article and the amendment together. The original published version of the article, in HTML and PDF, the format will be preserved in journal archives to maintain the integrity of the published record.

Errata is published when mistakes are introduced or not recognized in the article during editing or production, like significant typographical errors, errors in figure or table numbers or their legends, proof corrections submitted but not included in the article during editing, wrong details in the address or email of the author.

Corrigenda is published when errors are detected by the authors after publication of the paper which compromises the validity of the scientific content, its accuracy and reproducibility. If the readers detect an error in any paper, they are requested to submit their comments as ‘Letter to the Editor’ via bjd@abcd.care following the prescribed article format. These articles submitted as ‘Letter to the editor’ will be peer-reviewed and will also be sent to original authors for their comments. On acceptance for publication, the ‘Letter to the editor’ and comments of the original authors will be published in the same issue.

Addenda are published if the authors inadvertently omitted any significant information at the time of submitting the manuscript and want to add this content to the article after it has been published. All information submitted as an addendum will be peer-reviewed before editorial acceptance. Addenda will be published only in rare circumstances when it is decided by the editors that the information in the addendum is essential to understand a significant part of the published article.

Retractions

BJD publishes retractions in cases where it has been determined that the findings reported in a published research article cannot be relied upon, in accordance with COPE’s Retraction guidelines.

Articles may be retracted in accordance with COPE’s Retraction guidelines, if:

• There is major error which would invalidate the conclusions of the article, for example, where there is clear evidence that findings are unreliable, either as a result of misconduct (e.g. data fabrication) or honest error (e.g. misinterpretation, miscalculation or experimental error) or a major conflict of interest which could have affected the interpretation of the research.
• Where the findings have previously been published elsewhere without proper cross-referencing, permission or justification (i.e. cases of redundant publication).
• Where there are ethical issues such as plagiarism (appropriation of another person's ideas, processes, results, or words without giving appropriate credit including those obtained through confidential review of others' manuscripts) or manipulation of authorship which could undermine the integrity of the research (see COPE discussion document on Authorship).
• Where unethical research has been reported.
• Where an investigation uncovers evidence of systematic manipulation of the publishing process.

Withdrawals

It is our policy to strongly discourage withdrawal (removal) of the Version of Record in line with STM guidelines on the preservation of the objective record of science. Therefore, withdrawal of the Version of Record is rare, and we will only consider it in exceptional circumstances, such as, but not limited to, the following:

• Where withdrawal is necessary to preserve the privacy of a research subject;
• Where there are errors to which a member of the general public might be exposed and if followed or adopted, would pose a significant risk to health;
• Where a clearly defamatory comment has been made about others in the relevant field or about their work; or
• Where violations of copyright, intellectual property rights, or violation of confidentiality have been identified.

Expressions of Concern

Journal editors/publishers may consider issuing an Expression of Concern if they have serious concerns about a published article and feel that readers should be made aware of them, but do not have sufficient evidence that the article should be retracted. Therefore, Expressions of Concern should only be issued if an investigation into the concerns relating to the article prove inconclusive, and if there remain strong indicators that the concerns are valid. On some occasions, an Expression of Concern may be issued where serious concerns have been raised and an investigation is underway, but a final decision may not be available for a considerable time.  Expressions of concern should be addressed to The Editor via bjd@abcd.care quoting EOC in the email title.

CrossMark

From 2025, subject to approval of application,  the British Journal of Diabetes (BJDVD Ltd)  intends to implement CrossMark across all article types featuring a digital object identifier (DOI).  CrossMark is a multi-publisher initiative (see https://www.crossref.org/services/crossmark/)   to provide a standard way for readers to locate the authoritative version of an article or other published content. By applying the CrossMark logo, the British Journal of Diabetes (BJDVD Ltd) will be committing to maintaining the content it publishes and to alerting readers to changes if and when they occur.

Clicking the CrossMark logo on a document will tell you its current status and may also give you additional publication-record information about the document.  The British Journal of Diabetes (BJDVD Ltd) content that will be subject to CrossMark is restricted to content from 2025 containing a digital object identifier (DOI).