Retraction Policy

Retraction Guidelines: International Journal of Physiotherapy follows COPE Retraction Guidelines.

Journal editors should consider retracting a publication if:

• they have clear evidence that the findings are unreliable, either as a result of misconduct (e.g., data fabrication) or honest error (e.g., miscalculation or experimental error)
• the findings have previously been published elsewhere without proper crossreferencing, permission or justification (i.e., cases of redundant publication)
• it constitutes plagiarism
• it reports unethical research

Journal editors should consider issuing an expression of concern if:

• they receive inconclusive evidence of research or publication misconduct by the authors
• there is evidence that the findings are unreliable, but the authors’ institution will not investigate the case
• they believe that an investigation into alleged misconduct related to the publication either has not been or would not be, fair and impartial or conclusive
• an investigation is underway, but a judgment will not be available for a considerable time

Journal editors should consider issuing a correction if:

• a small portion of an otherwise reliable publication proves to be misleading (especially because of honest error)
• the author/contributor list is incorrect (i.e., a deserving author has been omitted, or somebody who does not meet authorship criteria has been included)

Retractions are not usually appropriate if:

• a change of authorship is required, but there is no reason to doubt the validity of the findings

Notices of retraction should:

• be linked to the retracted article wherever possible (i.e., in all electronic versions)
• clearly identify the retracted article (e.g., by including the title and authors in the retraction heading)
• be clearly identified as a retraction (i.e., distinct from other types of correction or comment)
• be published promptly to minimize harmful effects from misleading publications