TEJAS Journal of Technologies and Humanitarian Science

Scope of the Policy

This policy applies to articles and other scholarly content that have been formally published by TJTHS.

Manuscripts that have not yet been formally published are handled under the journal's Article Withdrawal Policy.

Minor errors and limited inaccuracies that do not invalidate the principal findings of an article may be addressed under the Corrections and Retractions Policy through an appropriate correction rather than retraction.

Grounds for Retraction

An article may be considered for retraction where reliable evidence indicates one or more of the following:

• The findings are unreliable because of a major error
• Research data have been fabricated or falsified
• Research materials, images, figures, or results have been manipulated in a misleading manner
• The article contains substantial plagiarism
• The article substantially reproduces previously published work without appropriate disclosure, permission, or citation
• The article reports duplicate or redundant publication that materially affects the scholarly record
• The research was conducted without required ethical approval or participant consent
• The article contains a serious breach of participant privacy, confidentiality, or legal rights
• The article involves serious copyright infringement
• The publication or peer-review process was manipulated
• The article was published without proper author authorization
• Authorship information was intentionally falsified in a manner that substantially compromises the integrity of the publication
• A significant undisclosed competing interest materially affects the reliability or interpretation of the article
• The authors cannot provide essential supporting data or records necessary to address serious concerns about the reliability of the findings
• Another substantial ethical, legal, or research-integrity concern makes continued reliance on the article inappropriate

The presence of an allegation alone does not establish grounds for retraction. The journal will assess the available evidence before reaching a decision.

Matters That May Not Require Retraction

Retraction may not be necessary where:

• A minor error does not affect the principal findings
• A limited factual or typographical error can be corrected transparently
• An author name or affiliation requires correction
• Funding or conflict-of-interest information requires an accurate update but does not affect the reliability of the article
• A limited section can be corrected without misleading readers
• An authorship dispute can be resolved through an authorship correction
• A scholarly disagreement concerns interpretation rather than research integrity
• New research reaches conclusions different from those reported in the article
• A reader or author disagrees with the editorial decision but provides no evidence that the article is unreliable

Such matters may be handled through a correction, clarification, addendum, post-publication discussion, or another appropriate editorial notice.

Reporting a Concern

Authors, readers, reviewers, editors, institutions, or other concerned persons may report a possible reason for retraction to the Editorial Office.

A report should include, where available:

• Article title
• Author name or names
• DOI or article webpage link
• Volume, issue, and publication year
• Clear description of the concern
• Relevant evidence or supporting documentation
• Name and contact details of the person reporting the concern

Anonymous reports may be considered when sufficient and verifiable evidence is provided.

The journal may request additional information where the initial report is incomplete or unclear.

Initial Editorial Assessment

The Editorial Office will conduct an initial assessment to determine:

• Whether the concern relates to a published TJTHS article
• Whether sufficient evidence has been submitted
• Whether the matter could be addressed through a correction
• Whether the reliability or ethical status of the article may be seriously affected
• Whether specialist, institutional, legal, or technical advice is required
• Whether readers require an interim notification

The journal will distinguish between an allegation, supporting evidence, and an established finding.

Editorial Investigation

Where further assessment is required, the journal may:

• Contact the corresponding author
• Contact all listed authors where appropriate
• Request an explanation or written response
• Request original data, images, ethical-approval records, consent documentation, or other supporting materials
• Review relevant manuscript and peer-review records
• Seek independent subject, statistical, technical, or ethical advice
• Contact an affiliated institution or another responsible authority
• Contact a copyright holder, data custodian, funder, or other relevant party
• Review whether the peer-review or editorial process was compromised

The journal will seek to conduct the assessment fairly and on the basis of available evidence.

Authors will normally be given a reasonable opportunity to respond before a final decision is reached, unless immediate action is required because of a serious legal, privacy, safety, or confidentiality concern.

Author Cooperation

Authors are expected to cooperate with reasonable editorial enquiries concerning their published work.

Authors may be asked to provide:

• A written explanation
• Original or supporting research data
• Ethical approval or consent records
• Authorship confirmations
• Copyright permissions
• Conflict-of-interest information
• Relevant institutional correspondence
• Other records necessary to evaluate the concern

Failure or refusal to cooperate does not prevent the journal from reaching a decision on the basis of the evidence available.

Expression of Concern

TJTHS may publish an Expression of Concern when serious questions have been raised about an article but sufficient evidence is not yet available to support a correction or retraction.

An Expression of Concern may be appropriate where:

• An investigation is incomplete
• Available evidence is inconclusive
• An institutional investigation is pending
• An institution has not completed or communicated its findings
• Authors have not provided necessary information
• Immediate notification is required to alert readers
• There are serious concerns about the reliability or ethical status of the article

The notice will explain the nature and current status of the concern without presenting an unresolved allegation as a confirmed fact.

An Expression of Concern may later be replaced or supplemented by:

• A correction
• A retraction
• A clarification
• A notice confirming that no further action is required
• Another appropriate editorial update

Retraction Decision

A final retraction decision will be made by the Editor-in-Chief or another editor formally authorized to make the decision.

The decision will be based on:

• The nature and seriousness of the concern
• Reliability of the available evidence
• Responses provided by the authors
• Relevant institutional or expert findings
• Effect of the concern on the article’s validity or ethical status
• Whether a correction would adequately protect the scholarly record
• Applicable journal policies

Retraction does not require the agreement of all authors.

Where the evidence supports retraction, the journal may retract an article even when one or more authors disagree with the decision or do not respond.

Editorial Conflicts of Interest

An editor who has a personal, professional, academic, institutional, or financial conflict of interest relating to the article must not control the assessment or final decision.

The matter should be assigned to another suitably qualified editor who can conduct an independent assessment.

A submitting editor, Editorial Board member, journal employee, or person closely associated with TJTHS must not participate in the retraction decision concerning their own article.

Retraction Notice

Where an article is retracted, TJTHS will publish a separate Retraction Notice.

The notice should:

• Be clearly titled “Retraction”
• Clearly identify the retracted article
• Include the article title
• Include the author name or names
• Include the journal, volume, issue, year, and page information where applicable
• Include the DOI or official article link, where available
• Explain the reason for the retraction
• State who initiated or authorized the retraction
• Distinguish between error, misconduct, and other grounds where the evidence permits
• Identify whether all or only some authors are responsible, where this has been reliably established
• Avoid defamatory, speculative, or unsupported statements
• Display the date of retraction
• Remain freely accessible to readers
• Link to the original article

The Retraction Notice should provide sufficient information to explain why the article should no longer be relied upon while avoiding disclosure of confidential or legally restricted information.

Treatment of the Retracted Article

A retracted article will normally remain accessible as part of the scholarly publication record.

The journal will clearly indicate that the article has been retracted.

Where technically possible:

• The article webpage will display a prominent retraction notice
• The word “Retracted” will be added visibly to the article record
• The article PDF will be marked or watermarked as retracted
• The original article will link to the Retraction Notice
• The Retraction Notice will link to the original article
• Readers will be able to identify the reason and date of the retraction

The article must not be silently deleted or replaced merely to conceal its publication history.

Retention of the article does not indicate that the journal continues to endorse or support its findings.

Article Removal

Removal is different from retraction and will be considered only in exceptional circumstances.

An article or part of an article may be removed from public access where continued availability creates a serious concern that cannot be addressed adequately through a retraction notice.

Possible circumstances include:

• A binding legal requirement
• Serious infringement of privacy or confidentiality
• Unlawfully disclosed personal or sensitive information
• Serious copyright infringement requiring removal
• Content presenting an immediate and substantial risk of harm
• Another legal or security restriction preventing continued display

Where content is removed, the article webpage should normally remain available with a notice explaining that the content has been removed and stating the general reason, unless legal or confidentiality restrictions prevent such disclosure.

Author-Initiated Retraction

Authors who discover a serious error or ethical concern in their published article should contact the Editorial Office promptly.

An author-initiated request should include:

• Complete article information
• Clear explanation of the concern
• Relevant evidence or supporting documentation
• Explanation of how the issue affects the findings or publication
• Confirmation that the other authors have been informed, where applicable

An author request does not automatically determine the editorial action.

The journal will assess whether the matter requires:

• A correction
• A clarification
• An Expression of Concern
• A retraction
• Another appropriate editorial action

The final decision remains with the journal.

Retraction Without Author Agreement

The journal may retract an article without the authors’ agreement where the available evidence demonstrates that retraction is necessary to protect the scholarly record.

The Retraction Notice should state that the authors disagreed with or did not respond to the retraction where this information is relevant and can be stated accurately.

An author’s refusal to sign or approve a notice does not prevent publication of the notice.

Metadata and Publication Records

Following retraction, the journal will update the article’s publication status where technically applicable.

The journal may:

• Update the article landing page
• Update the article title or status to identify it as retracted
• Link the article and Retraction Notice
• Update relevant DOI metadata
• Notify relevant indexing or discovery services where appropriate
• Retain the original bibliographic record
• Ensure that any replacement or updated file is clearly identified

TJTHS does not claim use of Crossmark, automated metadata notification, or a separate DOI for every Retraction Notice unless such arrangements have actually been implemented.

Citation of Retracted Articles

A retracted article should not ordinarily be cited as reliable evidence.

Where discussion of the retraction itself is academically necessary, the citation should clearly identify that the article has been retracted.

The journal cannot control citations made on external websites, repositories, databases, or independently stored article copies. It will, however, clearly identify the article’s status on the official journal website.

Confidentiality and Fairness

Information relating to a retraction assessment will be handled responsibly.

Relevant information may be shared with:

• Authors
• Editors
• Reviewers
• Independent experts
• Affiliated institutions
• Copyright holders
• Legal advisers
• Other responsible parties

Information will be shared only where reasonably necessary to evaluate or resolve the concern.

Confidentiality cannot be guaranteed where disclosure is required by law or is necessary to protect participants, readers, or the scholarly record.

Appeals

Authors may request reconsideration of a retraction decision by submitting a written appeal.

An appeal should:

• Identify the article and decision
• Explain the specific factual or procedural error alleged
• Provide relevant supporting evidence
• Identify any significant new information not considered previously
• Be written in a professional and factual manner

Disagreement with the outcome alone is not sufficient grounds for an appeal.

Where reasonably possible, the appeal should be considered by an editor who was not responsible for the original decision.

An appeal does not automatically suspend, remove, or reverse a published Retraction Notice.

Relationship with Other Policies

This Retraction Policy should be read together with the journal’s:

• Corrections and Retractions Policy
• Article Withdrawal Policy
• Research Misconduct Policy
• Plagiarism Policy
• Authorship Criteria
• Conflict of Interest Policy
• Copyright and Licensing Policy
• Data Availability Policy
• Complaints and Appeals Policy
• Publication Ethics Policy

Policy Consistency

The rules stated in this Retraction Policy must remain consistent with the journal’s Corrections and Retractions Policy.

Where both policies are maintained as separate webpages:

• The Retraction Policy should provide detailed retraction procedures
• The Corrections and Retractions Policy should provide an overview and link to this page
• Grounds, procedures, terminology, and editorial responsibilities must not conflict
• Any amendment should be reflected on both pages where relevant

Policy Review

TJTHS may review and revise this policy when changes are required in its editorial procedures, publication practices, or legal and ethical responsibilities.

Any revised version will be made available through the official journal website.

Editorial Office