Corrections, Retractions and Withdrawals Policy

1. Purpose and Ethical Framework

The Journal of Social Science & Multidisciplinary Enquiry (JSSME) is committed to maintaining the accuracy, integrity, transparency, and permanence of the scholarly record.

This policy is developed in accordance with the principles and recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), including relevant guidance on corrections, expressions of concern, and retractions.

JSSME also follows relevant Crossref Crossmark practices for communicating substantive post-publication updates to readers and maintaining appropriate metadata relationships.

Publication ethics is a continuing responsibility that extends beyond the initial publication of an article. The journal therefore maintains procedures for addressing credible concerns about published content and for correcting, updating, or retracting the scholarly record when necessary.

The purpose of any post-publication action is to correct and maintain the scholarly record, not to punish authors. Decisions will be based on the reliability and integrity of the published work and the available evidence.

This policy should be read together with JSSME's other editorial and publication-ethics policies, including policies concerning:

• research and publication ethics;
• plagiarism and redundant or duplicate publication;
• authorship and contributorship;
• conflicts of interest;
• peer review;
• complaints and appeals;
• research involving human participants and ethical approval;
• data and research integrity; and
• intellectual property and copyright.

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2. Compliance with COPE Principles

JSSME follows the principles established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) for responsible scholarly publishing.

In particular, JSSME recognizes the following principles:

1. Credible allegations of misconduct must be taken seriously, whether they arise before or after publication.
2. Post-publication concerns must be assessed fairly and objectively, irrespective of whether they are raised by an author, reader, reviewer, editor, institution, or whistleblower.
3. Appropriate mechanisms must be available for correcting, revising, or retracting published work when the scholarly record requires such action.
4. Retraction is a mechanism for correcting the scholarly record and is not intended as a form of punishment.
5. Corrections should normally be preferred to retraction where an article remains fundamentally reliable and the identified problem can be adequately corrected.
6. Authorship disputes alone do not ordinarily justify retraction where there is no reason to doubt the validity or reliability of the research.
7. Retraction decisions remain an editorial responsibility. JSSME may issue a retraction or Expression of Concern when the available evidence warrants such action, even if one or more authors disagree.
8. Retraction notices must be clear, transparent, freely accessible, and permanently linked to the affected article.
9. The journal will cooperate, where appropriate, with authors' institutions and other responsible authorities when investigations of research or publication misconduct are required.
10. Whistleblowers and individuals raising good-faith concerns will be treated fairly and, where appropriate, their confidentiality will be protected.

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3. Crossref Crossmark

Crossmark enables readers to identify whether an article has been corrected, retracted, withdrawn, or otherwise substantially updated after publication.

JSSME is committed to maintaining the content for which it is responsible and to registering significant post-publication updates with Crossref in accordance with applicable Crossmark requirements.

Where applicable, the Crossmark button will be applied to eligible current content in the journal's digital formats, including HTML and PDF.

The journal's Crossmark Update Policy Page may be assigned a DOI and registered with Crossref. Where implemented, the DOI of the policy page will be included in the relevant Crossmark metadata for the journal's registered content.

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4. Post-Publication Corrections

JSSME distinguishes between minor corrections, substantive corrections, and cases requiring retraction or another formal post-publication action.

Minor typographical or formatting errors that do not affect the meaning, interpretation, authorship, attribution, or reliability of an article may be corrected without issuing a separate correction notice.

Where an error has a substantive effect on the article but does not invalidate the overall work, JSSME will normally issue a formal correction, erratum, or corrigendum rather than retracting the article.

The correction notice will clearly identify the affected article, describe the correction, and establish a persistent link between the correction and the original article.

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5. Retractions

JSSME may retract an article when there is clear evidence that the publication is sufficiently unreliable or seriously flawed such that the scholarly record should no longer present the article as a reliable contribution.

Possible grounds include, but are not limited to:

• fabricated or falsified data;
• major methodological or analytical errors that invalidate the conclusions;
• substantial plagiarism;
• duplicate or redundant publication;
• serious ethical violations;
• fraudulent or seriously compromised authorship;
• unreliable findings resulting from serious misconduct or error;
• serious manipulation of the publication or peer-review process;
• other circumstances in which the article can no longer be considered a reliable part of the scholarly record.

Consistent with COPE guidance, retraction will generally not be used where a limited error can be adequately corrected or where an authorship dispute exists but the reliability of the research is not in question.

A retracted article will normally remain accessible as part of the scholarly record but will be clearly marked as Retracted. A separate retraction notice will be published and permanently linked to the original article.

The retraction notice will clearly identify the article, state the reason or reasons for retraction, identify who is retracting the article, and be freely accessible to readers.

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6. Editorial Responsibility for Retraction Decisions

The Editor-in-Chief and/or the responsible editorial authority of JSSME retains final editorial responsibility for decisions concerning correction, Expression of Concern, retraction, withdrawal, or other post-publication action.

JSSME may consider findings or recommendations from an author's institution, research organization, ethics committee, or other competent authority. However, an institutional investigation does not automatically determine the journal's editorial decision.

Where the evidence is sufficiently clear, JSSME may take editorial action even if the authors do not agree with the decision.

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7. Expression of Concern

JSSME may publish an Expression of Concern where there are substantial unresolved questions regarding the reliability, integrity, ethics, authorship, data, or methodology of a published article, but the available evidence is not yet sufficient to justify a correction or retraction.

An Expression of Concern may remain in place while an investigation by the journal, authors' institution, or another appropriate authority is ongoing.

Once sufficient evidence becomes available, JSSME may replace or supplement the Expression of Concern with an appropriate correction, retraction, or other editorial action.

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8. Whistleblowers and Good-Faith Concerns

JSSME accepts credible concerns about published content from authors, readers, reviewers, editors, institutions, research organizations, and whistleblowers.

Concerns raised in good faith will be assessed objectively. The journal will not tolerate retaliation against individuals who raise legitimate publication-ethics concerns.

Where appropriate and legally permissible, JSSME will protect the confidentiality of individuals who report concerns, particularly where disclosure of their identity could expose them to unreasonable risk.

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9. Authorship and Contributorship Disputes

Authorship and contributorship disputes arising after publication will be handled in accordance with JSSME's authorship policy and applicable COPE guidance.

An authorship dispute will not ordinarily result in retraction where there is no reason to question the reliability or integrity of the published research.

Where appropriate, JSSME may publish an authorship correction or other formal notice and update the relevant metadata.

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10. Complaints, Appeals and Post-Publication Discussion

JSSME provides mechanisms through which authors, readers, reviewers, and other members of the scholarly community may raise concerns about published work or editorial decisions.

Post-publication comments, criticisms, corrections, and scholarly discussion may be considered by the editorial team where they contribute meaningfully to the academic record.

JSSME will assess complaints and appeals fairly, transparently, and without discrimination.

Where a complaint identifies a credible problem with a published article, it may be handled under this policy and may result in correction, Expression of Concern, retraction, withdrawal, or another appropriate response.

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11. Preservation of the Scholarly Record

JSSME considers formally published, DOI-assigned content to be part of the permanent scholarly record.

The journal will not normally remove or silently replace published articles merely because a post-publication concern has arisen.

Where a substantive change is required, the journal will preserve the publication history through an appropriate correction, update, Expression of Concern, retraction, or withdrawal notice.

The original DOI will normally remain persistent, and appropriate Crossref metadata relationships will be maintained.

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12. Crossref Registration of Updates

Where applicable, JSSME will register substantive post-publication updates with Crossref.

These may include corrections, retractions, withdrawals, Expressions of Concern, and other recognized updates that affect the interpretation, reliability, citation, or status of a published work.

Crossref metadata will be maintained so that readers, indexing services, libraries, and other metadata users can identify relationships between the original work and subsequent updates.

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13. Policy Review

This policy will be reviewed periodically to ensure continued consistency with developments in publication ethics, COPE recommendations, Crossref Crossmark requirements, and recognized standards of scholarly publishing.

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