The Journal welcomes scholarly discussion of published articles and handles all post-publication concerns according to COPE guidelines.
How readers can respond. Readers may comment on, question, or challenge a published article by sending a Letter to the Editor through the Journal's official email. A letter should identify the article by its title and DOI, state the issue clearly, and be supported by evidence. Anonymous or abusive submissions are not considered.
Handling of letters. The editor assesses each letter for relevance and scholarly merit. When a letter raises a substantive point, the authors of the original article are invited to reply. The letter and the authors' response may be published together in a later issue.
Reporting concerns. Concerns about possible misconduct, such as plagiarism, data fabrication or falsification, duplicate publication, undisclosed conflicts of interest, or authorship disputes, are investigated following COPE flowcharts. The authors are given the opportunity to respond before any decision is made.
Corrections and retractions. Depending on the outcome, the Journal may publish one of the following, each linked to the original article and its DOI:
- Erratum or corrigendum, for an error that does not affect the article's main findings.
- Expression of concern, when an investigation is ongoing or its outcome is inconclusive.
- Retraction, when the findings are unreliable or the article involves serious misconduct. Retracted articles remain online, clearly marked as retracted, with a retraction notice explaining the reason.
Authors who find a significant error in their own published article must notify the editor promptly so that a correction can be issued.