Retraction and withdrawal

Green Medical Journal (GMJ) is committed to maintaining the integrity, transparency, and reliability of the scientific record. This policy establishes procedures for the withdrawal, correction, retraction, and handling of concerns related to articles published in or manuscripts submitted to GMJ.

1. Retraction Policy

GMJ may retract a published article when there is clear evidence that its findings or publication record are unreliable or that serious ethical or publication misconduct has occurred.

Grounds for retraction may include, but are not limited to:

Plagiarism, duplicate publication, or substantial overlap with previously published work without appropriate acknowledgment.
Fabrication or falsification of research data, results, images, or other research materials.
Serious methodological or analytical errors that invalidate the findings or conclusions.
Violations of research ethics, including failure to obtain required ethical approval, informed consent, or appropriate authorization for research involving human participants or animals.
Breaches of patient confidentiality or the unauthorized disclosure of identifiable clinical information.
Inappropriate image manipulation or other forms of misleading data presentation.
Peer-review manipulation, fraudulent authorship, or other forms of publication misconduct.
Undisclosed conflicts of interest that materially affect the integrity or interpretation of the research.
Misuse of artificial intelligence (AI), including the generation of fabricated data, false references, or misleading scientific content.

Retraction Procedure

When a concern is raised, GMJ may:

Request an explanation and supporting documentation from the corresponding author and, where appropriate, other authors.
Examine relevant research data, images, ethical approval documents, and other supporting materials.
Consult independent experts, statistical reviewers, research ethics committees, or the authors’ institutions when necessary.
Evaluate the available evidence and determine the appropriate editorial action.

The Editor-in-Chief will make the final decision in accordance with applicable publication ethics principles, including relevant guidance from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

If retraction is warranted, GMJ will publish a clear retraction notice explaining the reason for retraction and link the notice to the original article. The original article will normally remain accessible in the journal archive and be clearly marked as “Retracted” to preserve the scholarly record, except where exceptional legal or safety considerations require otherwise.

Retraction does not automatically imply that all authors were responsible for the misconduct. Responsibility will be assessed based on the available evidence.

2. Manuscript Withdrawal Policy

Authors may request withdrawal of a manuscript before formal acceptance by submitting a written request to the GMJ Editorial Office. The request must include:

The manuscript title and submission identification number.
The names of all authors.
A clear and valid reason for withdrawal.
Written confirmation that all authors agree to the withdrawal.

Authors must not submit the same manuscript to another journal while it remains under consideration by GMJ.

Withdrawal Fee

Authors who request manuscript withdrawal after the manuscript has entered the editorial or peer-review process may be charged a withdrawal fee of IDR 500,000 (five hundred thousand Indonesian rupiah).

The fee is intended to cover administrative and editorial resources already allocated to processing the manuscript. The applicable fee and its conditions will be communicated to authors through the journal’s Author Guidelines or publication fee information.

Withdrawal requests must be submitted in writing and include a valid reason for withdrawal and confirmation of agreement from all authors. The withdrawal will be processed in accordance with this policy.

Requests arising from substantiated editorial errors or other exceptional circumstances may be considered individually by the Editor-in-Chief. The fee will not be used to prevent the journal from addressing research misconduct, ethical violations, or concerns affecting the integrity of the scholarly record.

After formal acceptance, withdrawal will generally not be permitted except in exceptional circumstances and subject to the Editor-in-Chief’s decision.

Once an article has been published, it cannot ordinarily be withdrawn at the authors’ request. Concerns regarding a published article will be handled through correction, an expression of concern, or retraction, as appropriate.

3. Correction Policy

GMJ may publish a correction when an error is identified in a published article but does not invalidate the overall findings or conclusions.

Examples include:

Minor errors in author names, affiliations, or other publication metadata.
Typographical or formatting errors that affect the clarity of the article.
Errors in tables, figures, or text that can be corrected without invalidating the main findings.

Corrections will be published transparently and linked to the original article.

4. Expression of Concern

GMJ may publish an Expression of Concern when credible concerns have been raised about a published article but the investigation is ongoing or the available evidence is insufficient to reach a final decision.

The notice will explain the nature of the concern to the extent appropriate and will be linked to the article. GMJ may update the notice when the investigation is completed.

5. Editorial Responsibility and Transparency

The Editor-in-Chief and editorial team are responsible for handling cases covered by this policy fairly, confidentially, and consistently. Decisions will be based on available evidence and relevant publication ethics principles.

Authors are expected to cooperate with editorial investigations and provide accurate information when requested. GMJ reserves the right to contact relevant institutions, ethics committees, or other appropriate bodies when necessary to investigate concerns.

This policy applies to submitted manuscripts and published articles handled by GMJ. It is intended to protect the integrity of the scientific record and promote responsible research and publication practices.