Retraction and Correction policies

International Journal of Economic Sciences (IJES) is committed to maintaining the accuracy, reliability, integrity, and completeness of the scholarly record. Published articles form part of the permanent scientific record, and post-publication changes will therefore be made transparently and only where necessary.

Reporting and Assessment of Errors

Authors, readers, reviewers, editors, institutions, and other interested parties are encouraged to inform the Editorial Office if they identify a potentially significant error, omission, inaccuracy, or integrity concern in an article published in IJES. Reports should identify the article concerned and provide sufficient information to allow the journal to assess the issue.

Authors who become aware of a significant error, omission, or inaccuracy in their published work must promptly inform the Editorial Office and cooperate with the journal in determining whether corrective action is necessary.

Reported errors will be assessed according to their nature, extent, and potential effect on the accuracy, interpretation, reliability, or conclusions of the published article. The journal will distinguish between errors that can appropriately be corrected while the principal findings remain reliable and more serious problems that may require an Expression of Concern, Retraction, or other post-publication action.

The existence of an allegation or reported error does not, by itself, establish that the published article is unreliable or that research or publication misconduct has occurred. Where a concern involves suspected misconduct, it will be assessed in accordance with the journal's Unethical Behaviour policy.

Corrections

A Correction may be published when an error or omission identified after publication materially affects the accuracy, interpretation, clarity, metadata, or integrity of an article but does not invalidate its overall findings or warrant retraction.

Corrections may address, among other matters, errors in data presentation, statistical analyses, figures, tables, equations, author or affiliation information, funding information, conflicts-of-interest disclosures, or other substantive elements of the published article.

Where a formal Correction is necessary, IJES will publish a separate correction notice that identifies the original article and clearly describes the nature of the error and the correction made. The notice will be freely accessible and linked to the original article. Where appropriate, the article itself may also be updated, provided that the change is transparently documented.

Minor typographical, grammatical, formatting, or production errors that do not affect the scientific meaning, interpretation, metadata, or integrity of the article may be corrected without publication of a separate formal notice where appropriate.

Publisher's Notes

A Publisher's Note may be issued when a significant error introduced during the production or publication process requires clarification or correction. Such errors may include problems affecting metadata, presentation, formatting, production, or other publisher-controlled elements of the article.

Publisher's Notes will be freely available and linked to the affected article where appropriate.

Expressions of Concern

IJES may publish an Expression of Concern when serious questions have been raised about the integrity or reliability of a published article but the available evidence is inconclusive, an investigation is ongoing, or a definitive editorial action cannot yet be taken.

An Expression of Concern is intended to alert readers to potentially significant unresolved issues. It will be freely accessible and linked to the article concerned and may subsequently be followed by a Correction, Retraction, or other appropriate action when sufficient information becomes available.

Retractions

Retraction is a formal post-publication action used when there is clear evidence that the findings, conclusions, or other substantive content of a published article are unreliable, seriously compromised, or otherwise should not be relied upon.

A Retraction may be considered where, for example:

  • there is clear evidence that the findings are unreliable as a result of major error, fabrication, falsification, or inappropriate manipulation;
  • the article contains plagiarism or substantial unattributed material;
  • the same or substantially similar findings have previously been published elsewhere without appropriate disclosure, justification, or cross-referencing;
  • the article contains material or data for which the necessary authorization, rights, permissions, or ethical approvals were not obtained;
  • the research was conducted or reported in violation of relevant ethical requirements;
  • authorship has been fraudulently or seriously misrepresented in a manner that materially affects the integrity of the article;
  • the peer-review, editorial, or publication process has been seriously compromised or manipulated; or
  • other serious research or publication ethics concerns materially undermine the reliability or integrity of the published article.

Retraction may be initiated following concerns raised by authors, editors, reviewers, readers, institutions, or other parties. The decision to retract an article will be made by the journal following appropriate assessment of the available evidence and, where relevant, the findings of an institutional or other competent investigation.

Retraction is intended primarily to correct the scholarly record and inform readers that the affected article or substantial parts of it should not be relied upon. It is not primarily a mechanism for punishing authors.

Retraction Notices

When an article is retracted, IJES will publish a Retraction Notice that is freely accessible and permanently linked to the affected article. The notice will identify the retracted article and explain the reason for the retraction to the extent appropriate and legally permissible.

Where possible, the notice will indicate whether the retraction resulted from author error, research or publication misconduct, an institutional investigation, or another identified cause. If the authors do not unanimously agree with the retraction, this may also be stated where relevant.

A retracted article will normally remain available as part of the scholarly record but will be clearly and prominently identified as retracted. The article and Retraction Notice will be linked to each other so that readers are made aware of the article's status.

Article Removal in Exceptional Circumstances

Complete removal of a published article is reserved for rare and exceptional circumstances. Removal may be considered where continued publication would create a serious legal risk, violate legally protected privacy or confidentiality rights, be subject to a binding legal or regulatory requirement, or create another exceptional risk that cannot reasonably be addressed through correction, retraction, or redaction.

Where an article must be removed, IJES will seek to preserve an appropriate bibliographic record and provide a notice explaining the reason for removal to the extent legally and ethically permissible.

Transparency and Permanence of the Scholarly Record

Significant post-publication changes will be documented transparently. IJES does not apply an arbitrary time limit to the reporting, assessment, correction, or retraction of published material. Appropriate action may be taken whenever a significant error or integrity concern is identified, regardless of the time elapsed since publication.

Substantive changes to the Version of Record will not be made silently. Where a published article is formally corrected, retracted, or otherwise subject to a significant post-publication action, the status of the article and the nature of the change will be communicated transparently through an appropriate notice or other permanent documentation.

Decisions concerning Corrections, Expressions of Concern, Retractions, and article removal will be based on the nature and seriousness of the issue, the available evidence, the journal's publication ethics policies, and the need to preserve the accuracy and integrity of the scholarly record.

Related IJES Policies

Suspected research or publication misconduct is addressed under the journal's Unethical Behaviour policy. Concerns involving plagiarism or inappropriate reuse are addressed in the Plagiarism Policy.

COPE Guidance

IJES considers relevant guidance of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Retraction Guidelines when considering whether a published article should be retracted and how the retraction should be communicated.