Retraction Policy of Anhui Medical Journal

I. Withdrawal of Manuscripts Before Publication

1.      If an author requests to withdraw a manuscript after acceptance but before publication (online or print), any paid Article Processing Charges (APCs) will not be refunded. In cases where the withdrawal causes significant disruption or financial loss to the journal, the journal reserves the right to seek compensation and may impose a a sanction, such as declining to consider future submissions from the authors.

2.      If an author requests to withdraw a manuscript during the peer review process, any paid submission or review fees will not be refunded.

II. Retraction of Published Articles

1. Grounds for Retraction

The journal will consider retraction in cases of:

1.      Evidence of fabricated or tampered data that invalidate the core findings.

2.      Confirmed plagiarism of academic content.

3.      Findings based on research that violates ethical standards (e.g., lack of ethics approval, patient consent).

4.      Duplicate publication of identical manuscripts.

5.      Evidence of peer review manipulation.

6.      Non-intentional experimental design, implementation or analytical errors that render the findings and conclusions unreliable.

7.      Third-party reports with sufficient verified evidence of misconduct.

8.      Violations of national laws and regulations.

9.      Other circumstances that violate the core principles of publishing ethics.

2. The Retraction Process

1.      The editorial office contacts the authors (usually via email) to inform them of the concerns.

2.      Authors wishing to retract their article must submit a formal written request, stating the reasons.

3.      This request must be signed by all co-authors and the original document sent to the editorial office.

4.      In cases of conclusive evidence, the editorial office may proceed with the retraction unilaterally if the authors are unresponsive or uncooperative.

5.      A Notice of Retraction is published in the next available issue and on the journal’s website.

6.      The editorial office notifies relevant indexing databases to ensure the retraction notice is linked to the original article.

3. Implementation and Author Responsibility

1.      Notice of Retraction: The notice is published in the journal’s print and online versions and is linked to the original article.

2.      “RETRACTED” Watermark: A “RETRACTED” watermark is prominently displayed on all pages of the online (PDF) versions of the retracted article.

3.      Collective Responsibility: Retraction applies to all listed authors. Partial authors’ claims of ignorance do not exempt them from association with the retraction.

4. Content of the Retraction Notice

1.      Title: Retraction: [Article Title] (Journal Name, Year, Volume, Issue, Page Numbers)

2.      Main Text: The notice must include the full citation of the retracted article (title, authors, journal name, publication year, volume, issue, page numbers), clearly state the reason(s) for the retraction, and identify who is retracting the article (authors or the journal). The retracted article must be cited as a reference.