Medical Journal: IMJ Health Article Withdrawal Policy

Policy Overview:

The editorial team at Medical Journal IMJ Health is responsible for deciding which submitted articles are published. This decision is based on the article's relevance to the journal's scope and its adherence to ethical and legal standards, including those concerning libel, copyright infringement, and plagiarism. Once published, an article becomes part of the permanent scholarly archive. However, there are rare circumstances under which an article may need to be withdrawn, retracted, removed, or replaced. Such actions are not taken lightly and are reserved for exceptional cases.

Article Withdrawal:

1. Conditions for Withdrawal:

Articles may be withdrawn prior to publication if they represent early versions that contain significant errors, were accidentally submitted multiple times, or if they violate ethical guidelines (e.g., multiple submissions, bogus authorship claims, plagiarism, or fraudulent data use). Once withdrawn, the article will be removed from the journal's database. However, any cached versions beyond our control remain the responsibility of third parties.

2. Withdrawal Process and Fees:

• The corresponding author must submit a formal withdrawal request to the journal.
• As per our publication policy, authors are not allowed to make any changes after publication. If an author still wishes to make edits to a published article, a modification fee of 100 USD will be charged.
• If an author wants to retract the article from the journal, a retraction fee of 250 USD will be applied.
• The journal does not guarantee the removal of articles from other platforms or databases where the article may have been indexed or archived.

3. Post-Withdrawal Considerations:

Once an article is withdrawn, it will not be reconsidered for future publication in the journal. The withdrawal notice will be posted in place of the article, stating that the article was withdrawn according to the journal's policy.

Article Retraction:

1. Conditions for Retraction:

Retraction may occur due to ethical violations such as multiple submissions, false claims of authorship, plagiarism, or fraudulent data. Retractions may also correct significant errors in submission or publication. The decision to retract is made by the editor, often in consultation with members of the journal’s editorial board.

Retraction Process:

• A retraction notice titled "Retraction: [Article Title]" will be published in a subsequent issue of the journal, signed by the authors and/or the editor.
• A link to the original article will be provided in the electronic version.
• The original article remains accessible but is clearly marked as retracted, with a watermark on the PDF indicating its retraction. The HTML version of the document will be removed.

Article Removal (Legal Limitations):

1. Conditions for Removal:

In rare instances, an article may be removed from the online database due to legal reasons, such as defamatory content, infringement of legal rights, or if the article poses a serious health risk. Removal may also occur if the article is subject to a court order.

Removal Process:

In these cases, while the article's metadata (title and authors) will be retained, the text will be replaced with a notice indicating that the article has been removed for legal reasons.

Article Replacement:

1. Conditions for Replacement:

Authors may request to retract a flawed article and replace it with a corrected version, particularly if the original poses a serious health risk or violates international scholarly standards.

Replacement Process:

The procedures for retraction will be followed, with the addition that the retraction notice will include a link to the corrected, republished article along with a history of the document.

Final Decision:

The final decision regarding the withdrawal, retraction, removal, or replacement of an article rests with the chief editor, managing editor, and the journal's governing bodies. Authors may submit suggestions, which will be considered by the editorial board when making the final decision.