Retraction, Withdrawal, Correction, Removal, and Replacement Policies
We acknowledge that authors put significant effort into preparing their manuscripts, and we also conduct a thorough peer-review process. However, under certain scientific circumstances, published articles may need to be withdrawn or even deleted. This is not a decision made lightly and can only happen under exceptional conditions. Corrections, clarifications, retractions, and apologies are handled with strict standards to maintain trust in the journal’s electronic archives. Our commitment is to uphold the integrity and completeness of vital scientific records for the benefit of researchers and librarians.
(R) Article Retraction
JICE is committed to preserving the integrity of scholarly records, and occasionally, retractions are necessary. Articles may be retracted for reasons such as:
- Significant scientific errors that invalidate the article’s conclusions, such as unreliable findings due to misconduct (e.g., data fabrication) or honest mistakes (e.g., miscalculations or experimental errors).
- Prior publication of the findings elsewhere without proper referencing, permission, or justification (redundant publication).
- Ethical violations, including plagiarism or inappropriate authorship.
To ensure retractions follow best practices and comply with the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines, JICE adheres to the following procedure:
- The journal editor is alerted to a potential retraction.
- The editor follows the COPE guidelines step-by-step, including seeking a response from the article’s author(s).
- Before any action, the editor submits their findings to the Advisory Editor-in-Chief.
- The final decision to retract is communicated to the author(s) and, if necessary, to relevant bodies, such as the author's institution.
- A retraction notice is published online and in the next available journal issue.
(W) Article Withdrawal
Authors may withdraw their manuscripts until the article has not yet been included in the final version (galley) of the full issue. A formal written request stating the reason for withdrawal must be submitted by the author. For instance, if an author discovers an error in their published article, they should contact the journal as soon as possible using the contact information provided on the journal's website. Typically, the corresponding author informs the journal about the error. The journal editor or a qualified editorial team member will review the correction and any related details. If necessary, the correction may be sent for further review. The editor will then decide how to correct the article.
For Articles-in-Press (early versions of accepted articles that have not yet reached their final form), they can be withdrawn before final publication for the following reasons:
- They contain errors.
- They are identified as accidental duplicates of other published articles.
- They violate the journal's publishing policies, such as issues of multiple submissions, false authorship claims, plagiarism, or fraudulent data.
- They were published early due to an editorial or production mistake.
(C) Article Correction
JICE may issue a correction under the following circumstances:
- A small but significant error affects a portion of an otherwise reliable article, especially due to an honest mistake.
- The author or contributor list is incorrect, such as missing a deserving author or including someone who does not meet authorship criteria.
Corrections fall into three categories:
- Publisher Correction (Erratum): This addresses important errors caused by the publishing staff that negatively affect the article’s integrity, the authors' reputation, or the journal itself.
- Author Correction (Corrigendum): This addresses errors made by the authors that impact the article’s integrity, their reputation, or the journal.
- Addendum: This is an addition to the article, made by the authors, to address inconsistencies, expand on the original work, or update the information in the article.
The decision to issue a correction is made by the journal's editor(s), sometimes with input from reviewers or the editorial board. Handling editors may request clarification from the authors, but the final decision on whether a correction is necessary, and what type, rests with the editors.
(R) Article Removal
In very rare cases, an article may need to be removed from our online platform. This will only occur if the article is clearly defamatory, infringes on legal rights, is the subject of a court order, or poses a serious health risk if followed. In such cases, the article’s metadata (e.g., title and author details) will be retained, but the text will be replaced with a notice indicating that it was removed for legal reasons.
(R) Article Replacement
If an article poses a serious health risk, the authors may choose to retract the original flawed version and replace it with a corrected version. In this case, the retraction process will follow the same steps, with the added provision that the retraction notice will link to the corrected version and provide a history of the document.