1. Introduction: The ABUAD International Journal of Natural and Applied Sciences (AIJNAS) is committed to maintaining the integrity and accuracy of the scholarly record. Retractions are a crucial part of this commitment, ensuring that any published work found to be seriously flawed or unethical is clearly identified and corrected. In line with the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) retraction guidelines, this policy outlines the circumstances under which retractions are issued, the process for handling retractions, and the communication of retractions to the scientific community.
2. Grounds for Retraction: A retraction may be considered under the following circumstances:
• Scientific Misconduct: Evidence of data fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism.
• Ethical Violations: Breach of ethical standards, such as inappropriate authorship or unethical research practices.
• Significant Errors: Discovery of substantial errors that invalidate the findings and conclusions of the work.
• Redundant Publication: Instances where the paper has been published elsewhere without proper citation, permission, or justification (self-plagiarism).
• Authorship Issues: Unresolved disputes over authorship that cannot be corrected through an authorship change notice.
• Legal Issues: Legal concerns related to the content of the paper, such as defamation or copyright infringement.
3. Retraction Process
• Initiation: Retraction can be initiated by the authors, readers, reviewers, or editors. Any concerns about the integrity or validity of a published paper should be communicated to the Editor-in-Chief.
• Preliminary Assessment: The Editor-in-Chief, along with the editorial board, will conduct a preliminary assessment to determine if the concerns are valid and if further investigation is warranted.
• Investigation: A detailed investigation will be conducted, which may involve consulting the authors, reviewers, and relevant experts. Authors will be given an opportunity to respond to the allegations.
• Decision: Based on the investigation, the editorial board will decide whether a retraction is necessary. If a consensus cannot be reached, the Editor-in-Chief will make the final decision.
4. Retraction Notice
• Content of Notice: The retraction notice will clearly state the reason for the retraction, provide a summary of the issues leading to the retraction, and indicate who is retracting the article (authors or editors). It will also reference the original article.
• Publication of Notice: The retraction notice will be published in the next available issue of the journal and will be linked to the original article. The online version of the original article will be marked as retracted, with the retraction notice prominently displayed.
• Permanence: The original article will not be removed from the journal's website, but it will be clearly marked as retracted. This ensures the integrity of the scholarly record while indicating that the findings are not reliable.
5. Post-Retraction Actions
• Communication: The retraction will be communicated to relevant databases and indexing services to ensure that the retracted status is reflected in their records.
• Authors' Responsibilities: Authors of retracted papers are expected to correct the scientific record by publishing corrected versions of the work if applicable. Authors may be barred from submitting new manuscripts to the journal for a defined period, depending on the severity of the misconduct.
• Transparency: The journal will maintain transparency by providing detailed reasons for the retraction and ensuring that all parties involved understand the process and outcomes.
6. Appeals and Corrections
• Appeals: Authors who disagree with the retraction decision may submit an appeal to the Editor-in-Chief. The appeal must include a detailed explanation and any supporting evidence. The editorial board will review the appeal and make a final decision.
• Corrections: In cases where errors are significant but do not warrant retraction, the journal may issue a correction notice. Corrections will be published in the next available issue and linked to the original article.
7. Ethical Considerations
• Confidentiality: The investigation process will be conducted with confidentiality to protect the reputations of those involved until a final decision is made.
• Fairness: The journal will ensure that the retraction process is fair, unbiased, and based on substantial evidence.