Retraction, Withdrawal, and Correction Policies

Policy Statement

JIECAR – Islamic Education Contemporary and Applied Research is committed to maintaining the integrity, accuracy, and completeness of the scholarly record. Although manuscripts undergo editorial screening and peer review, errors or ethical issues may occasionally be identified before or after publication.

Corrections, retractions, withdrawals, and, in exceptional circumstances, article removals are handled carefully and transparently to protect the integrity of the academic record and maintain the trust of authors, readers, researchers, and the wider academic community.

JIECAR follows recognized publication-ethics principles, including the COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) guidelines, when handling retractions, corrections, and other post-publication issues.

1. Article Retraction

A published article may be retracted when there is substantial evidence that its findings or publication process are seriously compromised. Reasons for retraction may include:

Major errors in data, methodology, analysis, or interpretation that invalidate the main conclusions.
Fabrication, falsification, or manipulation of research data.
Plagiarism or substantial unauthorized use of another person's work.
Duplicate or redundant publication without appropriate disclosure.
Serious violations of research ethics.
Inappropriate, fraudulent, or disputed authorship that significantly affects the integrity of the publication.
Other forms of serious academic or publication misconduct.

Retraction Procedure

When a potential reason for retraction is identified:

The matter is brought to the attention of the Editor-in-Chief or editorial team.
The editor investigates the issue and, when necessary, requests clarification or a response from the authors.
The editor may consult reviewers, editorial board members, institutional representatives, or relevant experts.
The evidence and responses are evaluated according to applicable publication-ethics standards.
If retraction is warranted, the final decision is communicated to the authors.
A retraction notice is published and clearly linked to the original article.
The original article remains part of the journal's scholarly record where technically and legally possible, but it is clearly marked as RETRACTED.

Retraction does not necessarily imply misconduct by the authors; an article may also be retracted because of serious honest errors that invalidate its findings.

2. Article Withdrawal

Withdrawal generally applies to manuscripts that have been accepted or are in the publication process but have not yet been formally published.

A manuscript may be withdrawn when:

The authors identify a serious error that cannot be adequately corrected before publication.
The manuscript has been submitted or published elsewhere.
Significant ethical or authorship problems are identified.
The manuscript violates JIECAR's publication policies.
Other circumstances arise that make publication inappropriate.

Requests for withdrawal should be submitted to the Editor-in-Chief with a clear explanation. JIECAR may reject withdrawal requests when the request is made solely to avoid legitimate editorial decisions, peer-review comments, or publication obligations.

3. Article Correction

JIECAR may publish a correction when an error is identified in a published article but the error does not invalidate the overall findings or conclusions.

Corrections may include:

Errors in data or numerical information that do not change the main conclusions.
Errors in author names, affiliations, or other publication metadata.
Minor errors in text, tables, figures, or references.
Other inaccuracies that may affect the clarity or accuracy of the published record.

Depending on the source and nature of the error, JIECAR may issue:

Publisher Correction (Erratum): correction of an error introduced during the editorial, production, or publishing process.
Author Correction (Corrigendum): correction of an error originating from the authors.
Addendum: additional information provided by the authors that is necessary to clarify or supplement the published article.

The decision to issue a correction is made by the Editor-in-Chief or assigned editor, with consultation from reviewers or editorial board members when necessary.

4. Article Removal

In exceptional circumstances, JIECAR may remove the full text of a published article from its online platform. Article removal will only be considered when necessary for legal or serious ethical reasons, such as:

Defamation or violation of legal rights.
Copyright infringement.
A valid legal or court order.
Serious risks to individuals or the public resulting from the continued availability of the article.
Other exceptional circumstances where retaining the article online would cause significant harm.

Where an article is removed, the article's basic metadata, including its title, authors, DOI, and publication information, will normally remain available, together with a statement explaining that the article has been removed and the general reason for the removal.

5. Article Replacement

In exceptional circumstances, an article may be replaced by a corrected version when the published content contains information that could cause serious harm if relied upon.

In such cases:

The original article will undergo the appropriate retraction procedure.
A retraction notice will explain the reason for the replacement.
A corrected version may be published with a clear link to the retraction notice.
The publication history and relationship between the original and corrected versions will be maintained to preserve transparency and the integrity of the scholarly record.

6. Post-Publication Concerns

Authors, reviewers, readers, and other parties who identify substantial errors or potential ethical violations in a JIECAR article are encouraged to notify the editorial team and provide relevant evidence.

JIECAR will investigate such concerns fairly and confidentially and will take appropriate action based on the evidence and established publication-ethics principles.