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

Research Integrity & Scholarly Record

Post-Publication Amendments Policy

Retractions, Withdrawals, Expressions of Concern, and Corrections

Post-publication amendment policy

This journal is committed to maintaining the integrity, transparency, and accuracy of the scholarly record. Post-publication amendments are handled in accordance with recognized publication-ethics standards, including COPE and relevant NISO recommendations.

Notices relating to published articles are maintained as part of the scholarly record and, where applicable, remain publicly accessible, linked, and indexable.

RETRACTION WITHDRAWAL CONCERN CORRECTION
1. Retractions

A retraction may be issued when published findings are considered unreliable, invalid, or seriously compromised by error or misconduct.

  • Fabrication, falsification, major analytical error, or serious miscalculation;
  • Redundant or duplicate publication;
  • Plagiarism, manipulated authorship, or other serious ethical violations;
  • Research conducted without required ethical approval; or
  • Manipulation of peer review or other publication processes.

Retraction notices identify the affected article, explain the reason factually, remain publicly available, and are linked to the original article.

2. Withdrawals

Withdrawal is generally limited to manuscripts that have not yet become the final Version of Record (VoR).

Before Publication

An accepted but unpublished manuscript may be withdrawn in exceptional circumstances, such as duplicate submission, major errors that invalidate the results, or serious ethical or authorship violations.

After Publication

Removal of a Version of Record is strongly discouraged and considered only in exceptional circumstances involving legal requirements, privacy or safety concerns, or serious copyright and intellectual-property violations. A withdrawal notice and relevant bibliographic metadata will normally remain available.

3. Expressions of Concern

An Expression of Concern may be issued when serious questions have been raised about a published article but sufficient evidence for a correction or retraction is not yet available. This may occur while an investigation is ongoing, inconclusive, or delayed. The notice may later be updated or replaced following the outcome of the investigation.

4. Corrections

Corrections are published when an error affects the accuracy or discoverability of an article but does not invalidate its principal findings.

  • Minor factual or data-presentation errors;
  • Incorrect author, affiliation, title, or other metadata;
  • Missing acknowledgments or funding information; or
  • Missing or incomplete ethical or conflict-of-interest declarations.

Articles already assigned to an issue normally receive a separate correction notice linked to the original publication. Minor typographical changes that do not alter meaning generally do not require a formal correction.

Transparency of Amendment Notices

Formal Retraction, Withdrawal, Correction, and Expression of Concern notices will normally identify:

✓ Article title and author(s) ✓ DOI and publication information
✓ Reason for the amendment ✓ Responsible party or issuing authority

References & Governance

This policy is informed by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Retraction Guidelines, relevant NISO recommendations for communicating retractions and corrections, and recognized international best practices in research integrity and publication ethics.

Research Integrity Contact

Concerns regarding research integrity, ethical breaches, or post-publication amendments should be submitted to journal@idscipub.com
Subject: R-W-C Policy Inquiry – [Manuscript ID / DOI]