Retraction, Correction and Withdrawal Policy
Retraction, Correction and Withdrawal Policy
1. Purpose
The Scientific Temper is committed to upholding the ethical integrity, accountability, trustworthiness, and stability of the published research record. The journal acknowledges that issues such as deficiencies, oversights, compliance violations, research misconduct, or academic dishonesty can occur during the submission or publication process, even despite strict editorial and expert review procedures.
This policy sets out the procedures relating to the following:
- Corrections
- Retractions
- Expressions of Concern
- Manuscript Retraction/Withdrawal
- Article Removal
- Appeals and Investigations
We follow the guidelines and directives of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and well-established standards and accepted procedure of publications worldwide.
2. Guiding Principles
The journal is committed to upholding the integrity of research it publishes, to transparency and accountability, and it will fairly investigate any allegations of research misconduct. Authors are provided with an opportunity to reply to complaints and corrections or retractions are clearly identified and permanently attached to the original. In conclusion, the purpose of the journal is to help readers gain confidence in the authenticity of the results of scholarly research.
3. Correction Policy
- Purpose of Corrections
The amendments are issued particularly when a manuscript contains such errors that affect the accuracy, clarity or accuracy of the document that is produced, but do not invalidate the entire observations or conclusions of the investigation.
3.2 Classifications of Corrections
Minor-scale Corrections
Minor corrections are typographical errors, misspellings, inconsistent formatting, institutional inaccuracies, incorrect email addresses, and minor inaccuracies in metadata. These may be inserted directly into the online version without a corrigendum or editorial notice, but only if the scientific content is not compromised.
Major/Substantial Corrections
Major corrections are those that make a significant error in the representation of data, have an error in a statistical value, have a table or figure that is flawed, have missing acknowledgements, do not include funding information, or have an error which affects the inference of findings. In such cases, a formal revision is published by the journal, which cross-references with the original publication.
3.3 Amendment Procedure
Any discrepancy can be identified by an author, a reader, a reviewer, or editor and then will be subjected to editorial evaluation. Contributors are informed and requested to supply an explanation (if applicable). The amendment needs to be approved by the Editor-in-Chief and an amendment notice is published which is permanently attached to the original publication.
4. Retraction Policy
- Purpose of Retraction
A retraction should be considered a statement to readers that a published paper includes substantially flawed, untrustworthy, ethically inappropriate or fabricated content and should therefore not be treated as a credible scholarly record. It is to correct academic literature and not to criticise the individual authors.
4.2 Grounds for Retraction
The editor-in-chief has the right to formally reject an article for any of the following reasons and as described below:
A. Research Misconduct
The journal will withdraw published articles in case of research misconduct (fabrication of data, manipulation of data, distortion of findings, alteration of graphical data, falsified and fraudulent peer review).
B. Publication Malpractice
Retraction may also be made when there is academic plagiarism or copying without citation, republication of the same work, redundant publication or parallel publication to another journal, or copyright violation.
C. Plagiarism Policy
Before editorial review, all manuscripts submitted are checked using DrillBit and Turnitin. All submissions must have a similarity percentage of less than 10%. If the manuscript goes beyond this limit will be returned for revisions, or it will be rejected. Self-plagiarism and any reuse of previously published work without citation are considered plagiarism and will be grounds for rejection or retraction, as per the journal's Retraction and Correction Policy.
D. Ethical Violations
Articles may be retracted when ethical violations are identified, such as lack of ethical clearance, lack of informed consent (when needed), ethically inappropriate treatment of study participants, ethically inappropriate treatment of animals, or failure to follow research ethics protocols and guidelines.
E. Authorship Misconduct
The responsibility of authorship is a valid reason for retraction, including falsified claims in the authorship, ghost and undisclosed authorship, guest authorship, or honorary authorship, and unapproved inclusion or removal of authors from the manuscript.
F. Significant Flaws
That significant flaws may also warrant retraction might also include substantial research methodological deficiencies, core analytic mistakes or major misanalysis of observations that render the scholarly article invalid and lacking in credibility.
4.3 Retraction Procedure
Step 1: Receipt of a complaint or a reported concern.
Step 2: Preliminary editorial-board evaluation.
Step 3: Formal notice to designated corresponding author/lead author.
Step 4: Collection of evidentiary proof.
Step 5: Consultation process with Editorial Board and subject-specific independent reviewers or consultants where appropriate.
Step 6: Final verdict by the Editor-in-Chief.
Step 7: Release of a Retraction Notice.
4.4 Retraction Notice
A retraction notice is freely and openly communicated, clearly identifies the retracted article and provides the reason for the retraction and the person who has requested it. This notice will be attached to the original article on a permanent and indefinite basis.
4.5 Status of Retracted Articles
When does a retracted article cease to be a publication? What happens to retracted articles?
Retracted articles are included in published history, and clearly and prominently marked as "RETRACTED”. They are not pulled from publication unless there are very special legal situations.
5. Expression of Concern
- Purpose
An Expression of Concern can be issued where there are serious concerns, a formal investigation is in progress, there is not enough evidence to support the concerns, or the results of the research cannot yet be verified.
5.2 Illustrative cases
These scenarios often involve accusations of misconduct while under investigation by an official body, an ongoing investigation by an institutional committee, an attribution of authorship that is in question, or issues about the data underlying the research.
5.3 Final outcome
In the event of a successful investigation, the final editorial action that can come as a result of an Expression of Concern may be none, or a corrigendum, or the full retraction or withdrawal of the publication.
6. Article Withdrawal Policy
- Scope
Withdrawal is limited only to scholarly manuscripts which have not yet been officially published.
6.2 Author-requested Withdrawal
Under the circumstances of significant inaccuracies, duplicate submission, ethical problems, or editorial decision that the authors choose not to publish, the author can request withdrawal. This will need to be done with a formal request on application signed by all authors.
6.3 Editorial Withdrawal
If plagiarism, manipulated data, ethical violations, an unresolved authorship issue, or suspected peer-review manipulation is found, the journal will be able to withdraw the manuscript prior to formal publication.
6.4 Withdrawal Subsequent to Formal Acceptance
Requests for withdrawal upon editorial acceptance for publication but before formal publication shall be considered solely upon exceptional conditions and be subject to editorial-board approval.
7. Article Removal Policy
Article removal is only allowed in rare and exceptional circumstances like judicial orders, defamatory content, privacy violations, legal restrictions and serious danger to public safety. Citation information and a notice of removal are available for articles even after they have been removed.
8. Grievance and Allegations
The editorial office welcomes concern about research misconduct, publication misconduct, ethical breaches, authorship disputes, conflict of interests or any other matter. Complaints must be made in writing along with evidence, but anonymous complaints may be considered if there is sufficient evidence.
9. Investigation Process
The allegations are investigated in accordance with the principles of procedural fairness, confidentiality and due process. The investigation can be conducted by authors, reviewers, editors, institutions, funding agencies, as well as by independent experts, who are all provided with reasonable opportunity to participate.
10. Appeals
Authors can request reconsiderations with respect to retraction, correction, withdrawal, or expressions of concern. An appeal must be made in writing within 30 calendar days of notification with clear and specific supporting information. The final decision is the Editor-in-Chief's (and in consultation with the Editorial Board, if applicable) decision.
11. Responsibilities of Authors
Authors bear the responsibility of maintaining the accuracy and reliability of their work, promptly notifying the editorial office of significant inaccuracies, complying completely with investigative procedures, furnishing original or raw data if applicable, and making it clear when there are conflicting interests or sources of funding.
12. Responsibilities of Editors
Editors are expected to be impartial, to remain confidential, to investigate complaints fairly, to preserve the integrity of the scholarly record, to follow professional and ethical standards, and to not have conflicts of interest in the course of their investigations.
13. Policy Review
These provisions are open to periodic revision to reflect changing best practices in scholarly communication and publishing ethics, statutory requirements, and internationally agreed upon best practices.
