A journal apparently changed its mind about the uniqueness of a math paper, published last year.
We’ll get right to the brief retraction notice:
The paper: “AL-Watani manifold admitting semi symmetric metric connection” by Musa A.A. Jawarneh, which appeared in Pure Mathematical Sciences, Vol. 4, 2015, no. 1, 1-8 has been retracted from Pure Mathematical Sciences due to a lack of scientific contributions and novelty.
Although the Committee on Publication Ethics recommends keeping retracted papers online along with the notice, the paper has been removed from the issue of the journal in which it appeared. The journal is not indexed by Thomson Reuters Web of Science.
Musa A.A. Jawarneh — the paper’s sole author, who works at King Abdulaziz University in Saudi Arabia — said he didn’t know why the paper had been retracted.
The journal’s editorial office has not replied to our requests for more information on the retraction. The publisher, Hikari, is on the list of “potential, possible, or probable” predatory publishers maintained by Jeffrey Beall.
We recently saw another journal change its mind about a paper, with little explanation as to why. As we reported earlier this month, the Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management decided that an article no longer “fit” with the journal. In that case, the disgruntled author is planning to sue.
Hat tip: Tansu Kucukoncu
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This should be illegal. Changing their mind on publishable quality based on their opinion is grounds for damages.