Corrections and Retraction Policy
The Journal of Sustainable Civil Engineering & Technology (JSCET) is committed to maintaining the accuracy, integrity and credibility of the scholarly record. JSCET corrects or retracts published articles when necessary to ensure that the published record remains accurate and reliable.
The Editor in Chief will assess concerns about published articles and determine appropriate corrective action in consultation with the Editorial Board and the publisher when necessary. JSCET may also seek information from authors, reviewers, institutions or other relevant parties before making a decision.
Corrections
JSCET may publish a correction when a published article contains an error that affects the accuracy or clarity of the article but does not invalidate its main findings or conclusions.
Corrections may address:
- errors in text, data, tables, figures or references;
- errors in author names or affiliations;
- errors that affect the interpretation of the article without invalidating its main findings;
- omissions or inaccuracies that can be corrected without changing the overall validity of the article; and
- other substantive errors identified after publication.
JSCET will clearly identify the correction and link it to the original article. The journal will maintain the original article as part of the scholarly record and will indicate that a correction has been published.
Retractions
The Editor in Chief may retract a published article when reliable evidence shows that the article contains serious problems that undermine its validity, integrity or ethical standing.
JSCET may retract an article when:
- the article contains plagiarism or other forms of serious academic misconduct;
- serious errors or flawed methodology make the results or conclusions unreliable;
- the authors fabricated or falsified data, images, results or other research materials;
- the article constitutes duplicate or redundant publication without appropriate disclosure or justification;
- the authors used text, data, figures or other materials without appropriate permission, authorization or acknowledgement;
- the article contains serious copyright, legal, privacy or ethical violations;
- the research lacked required ethical approval or failed to meet accepted research standards;
- the publication resulted from a compromised, manipulated or fraudulent peer-review process; or
- the authors failed to disclose a significant conflict of interest that materially affected the research or its interpretation.
JSCET may also retract an article when other serious circumstances undermine the reliability or integrity of the published work.
Retraction Notices
JSCET will issue a retraction notice when it retracts a published article. The notice will:
- clearly identify the retracted article;
- include the article title, author names and citation details;
- link directly to the retracted article;
- clearly state that the article has been retracted;
- explain the reason for the retraction;
- identify the party responsible for the retraction;
- remain freely accessible to readers;
- be issued promptly after the decision to retract; and
- use neutral factual and professional language.
JSCET will retain the original article as part of the scholarly record and clearly mark it as RETRACTED. The journal will not remove the article from the online record unless legal or exceptional
When Retraction May Not Be Appropriate
JSCET may decide not to retract an article when:
- an authorship dispute does not affect the validity of the research;
- the main findings and conclusions remain reliable and a correction can resolve the identified problem;
- available evidence does not justify retraction;
- an institutional investigation remains ongoing and the available evidence does not support immediate retraction; or
- a conflict of interest is disclosed after publication but does not affect the validity of the research or its conclusions.
In such cases JSCET may publish a correction, editorial note or other appropriate post-publication notice.
Post-Publication Review
JSCET welcomes concerns about the accuracy or integrity of published articles. Concerns should be submitted to the Editor in Chief with sufficient information and supporting evidence to allow an appropriate assessment.
JSCET will review concerns fairly and confidentially and will provide authors with an opportunity to respond when appropriate.
Where necessary JSCET may consult the authors’ institutions, research organizations, reviewers or other relevant parties before taking corrective action.
JSCET will follow the principles and guidance of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) when assessing allegations of misconduct and making decisions about corrections or retractions
