Horizon of Medical Education Development

The Journal of Horizons in Medical Education Development follows the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) regarding the conduct, reporting, editing, and publication of scholarly works in medical journals. These recommendations, along with the guidelines from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), serve as the fundamental basis for our policies (http://www.icmje.org/icmje-recommendations.pdf and https://publicationethics.org/guidance).

Our goal is to ensure the accuracy and integrity of the scientific records of all published and potentially published issues. If incorrect information, misleading statements, or distorted reports are identified, they must be promptly and appropriately corrected. In cases where a thorough investigation reveals that a case involves fraud, it must be retracted. This action should be clearly identifiable to readers and indexing systems.

Corrections

Errors in published articles can be acknowledged through an erratum or a correction when the editor-in-chief deems it necessary to inform readers of a prior error and implement a correction in the published article. This erratum or correction is published as a new article in the journal and will reference the original article.

Retractions

Retractions are considered and published when evidence of serious errors in an article is found that could invalidate its results. Retractions also occur in cases where evidence of misconduct such as plagiarism, unauthorized duplicate publication, or unethical research practices is present.

In accordance with best practices in the industry and following COPE guidelines, the Journal of Horizons in Medical Education Development will take the following steps upon confirming a retraction:

1. Issuing a retraction notice titled "Retraction: [Title of the Article]" signed by the authors and/or the editor, which will be published in the next issue of the journal and included in the table of contents.
2. In the electronic version, a link to the original article will be included in the retraction notice.
3. The previously online article will lead to a page containing the retraction notice, and a link to this page will be transferred to the article, allowing readers to access the original article.
4. The original article will remain unchanged, except for additional marking added in the HTML and PDF versions indicating that this article is “retracted.”

Editorial Statements Regarding Concerns

In cases of significant doubt regarding the integrity or honesty of a submitted or published article, the journal editor may issue a statement of concern. These statements are issued only when investigating issues related to the article yields inconclusive results and strong evidence supports the validity of these concerns. In rare cases, a statement of concern may be issued while an investigation is ongoing, especially when a final judgment is not available for a considerable period.

This statement of concern will be linked to the relevant published article