Corrections Policy

Corrections to Published Work

For Authors, Reviewers, and Readers

This policy is established in accordance with the guidance of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the Recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) on Corrections and Version Control, the policy statements of the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME), and the version-control and metadata standards of Crossref’s CrossMark service.

Scholarly publishing is a cumulative and self-correcting process. Even after rigorous peer review, honest errors can come to light in published work — in data, methodology, presentation, or authorship — that were not apparent at the time of publication. The National Journal of Health Sciences (NJHS) regards the prompt, transparent correction of such errors as essential to the accuracy and reliability of the scholarly record. This policy explains when a correction will be published, the form it takes, and the procedure NJHS follows to issue one.

This policy governs corrections only. Where an error is serious enough to undermine the reliability of an article’s findings or conclusions, or where misconduct is suspected, the matter is instead handled under the Journal’s separate Retraction Policy.

Policy Statement and Purpose

NJHS is committed to maintaining an accurate, complete, and unambiguous published record. A correction amends the literature; it is not a penalty against authors. The great majority of corrections arise from honest error rather than misconduct, and authors who bring such errors to the Journal’s attention are acting in the interest of the scientific record, not against their own. The Editor-in-Chief is responsible for ensuring that any error materially affecting a published article is corrected promptly, whether that error originated with the author(s) or with the Journal’s own editorial or production process.

Scope of Application

This policy applies to all content published by NJHS — including research articles, review articles, case reports, editorials, and letters — from the point at which the item is first made public, including “online first,” ahead-of-print, or other advance-published versions.

Types of Correction

NJHS distinguishes between three categories of post-publication amendment:

• Corrigendum — a correction of an error made by the author(s) — for example, in data, calculations, methodology, results, or the reported author list — that was already present in the version the authors submitted and approved.
• Erratum — a correction of an error introduced during the Journal’s own editorial, copyediting, or production process, and not present in the version the authors approved.
• Addendum — a short item that adds information relevant to interpreting a published article without correcting an existing error — for example, a clarifying detail that came to light after publication.

Where an error is so extensive or fundamental that it invalidates the results or conclusions of the article, it is addressed as a retraction, not a correction; see the Retraction Policy.

Grounds for Publishing a Correction

A correction will generally be considered for, though is not limited to, the following:

• Errors in data, methods, or results. Miscalculations, coding errors, or methodological inaccuracies that affect part of the article but do not change the overall direction or validity of its findings and conclusions.
• Errors in authorship, affiliations, or disclosures. Omitted, misspelled, or incorrectly ordered author names; incorrect institutional affiliations; errors or omissions in funding and acknowledgement statements; or incomplete disclosure of conflicts of interest or of the use of artificial intelligence tools in the research or writing process, where this does not amount to a misrepresentation of accountability.
• Errors in figures, tables, or references. Mislabeled or duplicated figures and tables that misrepresent the underlying data, or citation and reference errors that affect a reader’s ability to verify the work.
• Production or publisher errors. Errors introduced during copyediting, typesetting, or online publication that were not present in the author-approved version.

When a Correction Is Not Appropriate

Consistent with ICMJE and COPE guidance, NJHS does not issue a formal correction notice for:

• Minor typographical, grammatical, or stylistic issues that do not affect the scientific content or a reader’s ability to understand the work.
• Matters of scientific debate, differing interpretation, or the ordinary evolution of methods and evidence over time; these are better addressed through a Letter to the Editor or reader correspondence.
• Errors serious enough to invalidate the article’s results or conclusions, which fall under the Retraction Policy instead.
• Requests concerning older articles (for example, published more than a decade earlier) where, in the Editor-in-Chief’s judgment, the original data, materials, or authors are no longer reasonably available to allow a fair correction, and correcting the record would have limited practical value.

The Correction Procedure

• Raising a correction request. A correction may be requested by the author(s), by a reader, or identified independently by the editorial team. Requests should be sent in writing to the Editor-in-Chief at publication@njhsciences.com and tabinda.ashfaq@aku.edu , identifying the article by title and DOI (or volume/issue), describing the error, and providing supporting evidence where possible.
• Editorial evaluation. The Editor-in-Chief reviews the request, determines whether it meets the threshold for a correction, and establishes whether the error originated with the author(s) or with the Journal. Where needed, the Editor-in-Chief may consult the corresponding author, relevant co-authors, members of the editorial board, or outside experts before deciding.
• Author involvement. Where a correction concerns the substance of the work, the corresponding author is normally consulted and asked to confirm the proposed change. A correction to the author list requires documented justification and, wherever possible, the agreement of all listed authors or their institution.
• Timely publication. Once a correction is confirmed as warranted, NJHS publishes the correction notice as soon as practicable, to limit the period during which the published record remains inaccurate.

Publishing and Displaying the Correction

When a correction is published, NJHS follows these minimum standards:

• The original article is preserved unaltered as part of the permanent record; it is never silently edited. Any change to the record is made through a separate, clearly labelled correction notice.
• The correction notice’s title identifies its type and the article it corrects — for example, “Corrigendum to: [original article title]” — so its relationship to the original is clear from the title alone.
• The correction notice cites the original article in full, states plainly what was incorrect and what has been changed, and gives the date on which the correction was made.
• The correction is assigned its own DOI and is linked bidirectionally to and from the original article, so a reader arriving at either item can find the other.
• The correction is listed in the Table of Contents of the issue in which it appears and is submitted for indexing, so it is discoverable alongside the original article in bibliographic and abstracting databases.
• Where an error affects a figure, table, or substantial portion of text, a corrected version of the item may be produced and clearly marked and dated as such, while the original remains accessible so the history of the record is not obscured.
• Correction notices are made freely available to all readers and are never placed behind a paywall.

CrossMark and Ongoing Record Maintenance

NJHS participates in Crossref’s CrossMark service. The CrossMark button is displayed on the HTML and PDF versions of published articles and lets a reader check, at any time, whether an item has been updated with a correction, an erratum, an expression of concern, or a retraction — including for PDF copies downloaded before the update occurred. In line with CrossMark participation requirements, NJHS registers this Corrections Policy against a DOI, references it in the Journal’s article-level metadata, and updates that metadata promptly whenever a correction, erratum, or addendum is published, so the CrossMark status shown for an article always reflects its current record.

Author Responsibilities

Authors are expected to:

• Notify the Editor-in-Chief promptly on becoming aware of a significant error in their own published work.
• Respond to editorial queries and provide underlying data, documentation, or clarification requested during the evaluation of a correction.
• Provide written agreement, or documented justification where agreement cannot be obtained, for any requested change to the author list.

Requesting a Correction as a Reader or Third Party

Readers or other researchers who identify a possible error in a published article are encouraged to contact the Editor-in-Chief at publication@njhsciences.com and tabinda.ashfaq@aku.edu, citing the article by title and DOI, describing the concern, and providing supporting references or evidence where available. All such requests are reviewed under the procedure set out above.

Relationship to the Retraction Policy

Corrections and retractions serve different purposes and follow separate procedures. A correction is used where the main findings and conclusions of an article remain valid; a retraction — and, where appropriate, an interim Expression of Concern — is used where confidence in those findings and conclusions is no longer justified. Authors and readers should consult the Journal’s Retraction Policy for the grounds and procedure governing retraction.

Policy Compliance

This Corrections Policy is developed in accordance with:

• Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidance on corrections, errata, and corrigenda
• International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) Recommendations, Section III.A, Corrections and Version Control
• World Association of Medical Editors (WAME), Recommendations on Publication Ethics Policies for Medical Journals
• Crossref CrossMark standards for registering and displaying post-publication updates

Contact Information

Questions or concerns about this policy should be directed to:

Editor-in-Chief, National Journal of Health Sciences (NJHS)
Email: publication@njhsciences.com, tabinda.ashfaq@aku.edu