R-W-C Policy

RWC Policy (Retraction, Withdrawal, & Correction Policy)

This policy outlines the journal's approach to maintaining the integrity of the scientific record:

1. Article Retraction:
   • Reasons for retraction: • Significant scientific errors invalidating conclusions • Duplicate publication without proper cross-referencing • Ethical issues like plagiarism or incorrect authorship
   • Process: • Editor evaluates following COPE guidelines • Ethics Advisory Board reviews findings • Final decision communicated to all parties • Retraction statement published online and in next journal issue
2. Article Withdrawal:

   • Authors wishing to withdraw their manuscript after submission must immediately submit a written withdrawal request to the journal editor. The request must include the reasons for the withdrawal. The journal reserves the right to deny withdrawal requests if the manuscript is already in the review process or in the stages of publication.

     This policy is intended to prevent unethical withdrawal practices after a manuscript has achieved an accept status or has been significantly processed by the editorial team and peer reviewers.

3. Article Correction:
   • Types: • Publisher's correction (erratum): For journal staff errors • Author's correction (corrigendum): For author errors • Addendum: For additional author clarifications
   • Editor decides on corrections, consulting with Reviewers or Editorial Board
4. Article Removal:
   • Limited to cases where articles: • Clearly defame or violate legal rights • Are subject to court order • Pose serious health risk
   • Metadata retained with removal notice replacing article text
5. Article Replacement:
   • For cases where follow-up article poses serious health risk
   • Original article retracted and replaced with revised version
   • Retraction notice includes link to corrected article and document history