Complaints Policy

Expressions of Concern

In some cases, a notification of an expression of concern may be considered if a concern of a serious nature is raised (e.g., serious research or publication misconduct), but if the outcome of the investigation is inconclusive or if due to various difficulties the investigation will not be completed for a significant period of time.

Once the investigation is complete, a retraction or correction may follow the expression of concern, and all will remain part of the permanent published record, along with the original article.

Publication of an expression of concern will be considered if:

There is inconclusive evidence of misconduct by the authors in the research or publication, but the nature of the concern requires notification to readers.

There are reasonable concerns that the results are unreliable or that misconduct may have occurred, but there has been limited cooperation from the authors’ institution(s) in investigating the concerns raised.

An investigation into alleged misconduct related to the publication is underway, which has not or would not be fair, impartial, or conclusive.

An investigation is ongoing, but a resolution will not be available for a significant period of time, and the nature of the concern requires notification to readers.

The expression of concern will be linked to the published article to which it relates.