Allegations of breach of Research Ethics or Publication Ethics (plagiarism, papers written by AI, etc.) will be investigated by ILM JAHM. ILM JAHM considers such allegations as serious both for research integrity and for the career of the researcher. The Editorial Board will investigate these allegations with the authors. The Editorial Board in conjunction with the Editor in Chief will then make a decision regarding further action which may include:

No Further Action Needed. This decision is reached by the Editorial Board and Editor in Chief after investigation of the allegation if there is no credible evidence that there was a breach of Research Ethics or Publication Ethics.

Publication of a Correction.  After investigation of the allegation by the Editorial Board and Editor in Chief, and discussion with the authors, it may become apparent that there is a need to amend a specific portion of the article to clarify or correct an error. The wording of such correction will be negotiated and agreed upon by the authors and the Editorial Board.

Corrections to existing articles submitted by the authors will be published at the end of the existing article, with the date, time and authorship of the correction noted, and the authors explanation included.

Publication of an Expression of Concern. The Editorial Board and Editor in Chief may decide to temporarily apply an Expression of Concern to a published paper if evidence of verifiable concerns are raised about the information contained in a manuscript. The Expression of Concern is understood to be a brief temporary measure while the Editorial Board and Editor in Chief investigates these allegations and discusses these allegations with the authors and explores with the authors possible ways of correcting the concern.

Such expressions of concern will be appended to the end of the article at the discretion of the Editorial Board and Editor in Chief, and include the full reasons for the Expression of Concern as well as the authors response to the Expression of Concern. In making a decision to temporarily apply an Expression of Concern, the Editorial Board and Editor in Chief looks to COPE guidelines on Expressions of Concern for guidance in the decision . These guidelines are summarized here:

An expression of concern might be warranted if there are major and credible concerns about the reliability of a publication which do not meet the criteria for a retraction, or conclusive evidence cannot be obtained for some time.

An expression of concern can be used as an interim notice and followed up with either a correction or retraction, or it could the final outcome for an article that will not be updated further.

Expressions of concern might be necessary if other investigations are ongoing, if there is a breach in journal or publisher policies that cannot be resolved, or if the journal is waiting for further information from the authors to address the concern.

Expression of concern notices should link to the affected article, clearly identify it, state the reasons for the concern, and be freely available to all readers.

Similar to all types of amendments, the main purpose of an expression of concern is to correct the literature and ensure its integrity rather than to punish the authors.

Concerns raised by a complainant that do not warrant a correction or expression of concern could also be resolved by some other means (eg, letter to the editor, or note or notification).

Retraction of the published paper. The Editorial Board and Editor in Chief of ILM JAHM considers retraction to be a last resort when all lesser means of correcting the publication have not been effective after discussions with the authors. The purpose of retraction is to correct the literature and ensure its integrity, not to punish the authors. The Editorial Board and Editor in Chief recognizes the serious implications of retraction on the careers of the researchers and will work to avoid a retraction if at all possible. In making a decision to retract, the Editorial Board looks to COPE guidelines on retraction for guidance in the decision. Selected guidelines for ILM JAHM are summarized here:

Retraction might be warranted if there is clear evidence of major errors, irregularities in the data or images, or any form of misrepresentation (eg, fraud, identity theft or fictitious authorship) that compromise the reliability of the findings.

Publications should be considered for retraction if the findings have been published elsewhere without proper attribution, permission, or justification, or material or data have been used without proper authorisation.

Retractions might be necessary for unethical research practices, compromised peer review, or undisclosed conflicts of interest that could bias interpretation of the work or recommendations by peer reviewers.

Notices of retraction should link to the retracted article, clearly identify it with title and authors, and be published promptly and be freely accessible to all readers.

Batch retractions might be needed when there is evidence of systematic manipulation of the publication process in one or more journals (eg, paper mills).

Articles published in ILM JAHM may be subject to retraction at the discretion of the Editorial Board for violations of research ethics or when the article cannot be corrected by lesser means.  Such retractions will include the full reason for the retraction as well as the authors response to the retraction.