Retraction, Withdrawal, and Correction (R-W-C) Policy

This journal is committed to upholding the integrity, transparency, and accuracy of the scholarly record.
All post-publication amendments are handled in accordance with the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Retraction Guidelines (2019) and the NISO Recommended Practice for the Communication of Retractions, Removals, and Expressions of Concern (CREC, 2008).
All amendments are permanent, accessible, and indexable to ensure that the publication record remains complete and trustworthy.

Questions related to research integrity or post-publication amendments may be addressed to the Editorial Office (journal@idscipub.com).

 

  1. Retractions

Retractions are issued when published content is found to be unreliable or invalid, whether due to honest error or research misconduct. Retractions follow COPE and NISO guidelines and may occur in the following circumstances:

  • There is clear evidence that findings are unreliable as a result of data fabrication, falsification, miscalculation, or major analytical error.
  • The work has been previously published elsewhere without proper citation, acknowledgment, or justification (redundant publication).
  • The article contains plagiarized material, manipulated authorship, or other ethical violations that compromise the integrity of the research.
  • The research involves unethical practices, such as lack of ethical approval for human or animal subjects.
  • There is systematic manipulation of the publication process, such as fake peer review or paper-mill activity.

Retraction notices are:

  • Clearly identified as a retraction;
  • Linked bi-directionally to the original article;
  • Freely accessible and permanent;
  • Published promptly with a factual, non-inflammatory explanation of who retracted the article and why.

 

  1. Withdrawals

Withdrawal refers to the removal of a manuscript or article before or shortly after publication under specific, justified circumstances.

This journal discourages withdrawals of the Version of Record (VoR) except in rare cases that require preserving the accuracy of the scholarly record.

  1. Accepted Manuscripts (Pre-Publication Stage)

An accepted but unpublished article (prior to copy-editing or issue assignment) may be withdrawn if:

  • It was accidentally submitted or accepted twice,
  • Contains significant errors that invalidate the results, or
  • Violates the journal’s ethical or authorship policies.

In such cases, the withdrawn record will be replaced with a Withdrawal Notice stating the reason for removal while maintaining bibliographic information for transparency.

  1. Version of Record (Post-Publication Stage)

Withdrawal of the published Version of Record is strongly discouraged and permitted only in exceptional circumstances, such as:

  • Legal or privacy concerns requiring removal to protect individuals or comply with court orders;
  • Content that, if followed, could pose health, safety, or reputational risks;
  • Clear violations of copyright or intellectual-property rights.

A withdrawal notice will remain in place of the removed article, preserving the metadata and DOI reference.

 

  1. Expressions of Concern

An Expression of Concern may be issued when editors or publishers have serious reservations about a published article but lack sufficient evidence for retraction.
This may occur when:

  • An investigation is ongoing or inconclusive;
  • There are strong indicators of potential misconduct, but verification is pending; or
  • Institutional investigations are delayed or non-responsive.

Expressions of Concern are publicly linked to the article and may later be replaced or updated by a Retraction or Correction notice once outcomes are confirmed.

 

  1. Corrections

Corrections (Errata or Corrigenda) are published when minor errors are identified that do not invalidate the article’s findings but require clarification for accuracy or discoverability.

Corrections may address:

  • Minor factual or data presentation errors;
  • Missing acknowledgments or funding statements;
  • Incorrect metadata (authors, affiliations, title);
  • Ethical declarations or conflict-of-interest statements omitted at publication.

Correction Procedures

  • For online-first or Early View articles (not yet assigned to an issue), corrections may be integrated directly into the article with a dated audit trail.
  • For articles already published in an issue, a separate correction notice will be issued and cross-linked to the original article.
  • Minor copy-editing or typographical errors that do not affect meaning will not warrant formal correction.

 

  1. Principles of Transparency
  • All Retractions, Withdrawals, Corrections, and Expressions of Concern are permanent, freely accessible, and indexed to preserve the integrity of the scholarly record.
  • Every notice will include:
  • Article title and author(s);
  • DOI and publication date;
  • The reason for the amendment;
  • The responsible party (editor, author, or publisher).

 

  1. References and Governance

This policy is developed in alignment with:

  • COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) – Retraction Guidelines (2019)
  • NISO (CREC Recommended Practice RP-8-2008)
  • Wiley Best Practice Guidelines for Research Integrity and Publication Ethics (2023)

 

  1. Contact

All concerns regarding research integrity, ethical breaches, or amendment requests should be submitted in writing to: journal@idscipub.com ; Subject: R-W-C Policy Inquiry – [Manuscript ID / DOI]