Article Retraction, Correction & Withdrawal
A widely accepted principle in scholarly communication holds that the journal editor—or the proceedings, as applicable—is solely and independently responsible for determining which submitted articles may be published. In making this determination, the editor does not act arbitrarily: the decision is shaped and directed by the policies of the journal’s editorial board while also being limited by specific legal obligations that address issues such as slander, copyright infringement, and plagiarism. One key consequence of this principle is the importance of scientific archives as enduring historical records documenting transactions in scholarly activity. For that reason, once articles have been published, they should ordinarily remain extant, accurate, and unchanged to the greatest extent possible. Nevertheless, there are circumstances in which an article that has already appeared in the public record must subsequently be retracted or, in some cases, removed entirely. Retraction or removal must not be carried out casually or as a routine measure; such actions may be taken only when exceptional and extraordinary circumstances arise. Across all such cases, our archives at the Journal of Islamic Accounting. This policy is intended to address the problem described above and to reflect the best practices followed within the academic and library communities. Because standards are not static and will continue to evolve, we will re-examine this issue as developments occur. We will also solicit and take into account input from the library and academic communities. We further believe that the issue requires an international standard; accordingly, we will actively advocate for the collection and consideration of information needed to develop such an international standard and establish best practice. We aim for these practices to be suitable for adaptation by industrial information and publishing sectors as well.
Article Retraction
Articles can be withdrawn owing to scientific inaccuracies, including situations involving multiple submissions, false assertions of authorship, plagiarism, or the fraudulent use of data. Before an article may be withdrawn, the publisher must receive a signed statement from the author. Publication of a repeal requires the consent of all paper authors. When a retraction is issued, the notice will be published and linked to the original article, clearly identified as cancelled. The notice will also state the reasons for withdrawal and identify who retracted the article. Neither the original article in the online version nor in the print journal will be removed; instead, it will be marked as a retracted article. Retractions will also be displayed on the table of contents. Articles may be retracted when:
- There is a major scientific error that would render the article’s conclusions invalid—for example, where there is clear evidence that the findings are unreliable, whether due to misconduct (e.g., data fabrication) or to an honest mistake (e.g., miscalculation or experimental error).
- The findings have already been published elsewhere without proper cross-referencing, permission, or justification, that is, in cases of redundant publication.
- Ethical concerns exist, including plagiarism—defined as the appropriation of another person’s ideas, processes, results, or words without giving appropriate credit, including material obtained through confidential review of other manuscripts—or inappropriate authorship.
To ensure that retractions are handled in line with publication best practice and in accordance with COPE retraction guidelines, Balance: Journal of Islamic Accounting adopts the following retraction procedure:
- A journal editor is informed about an article that may require retraction.
- The journal editor should follow the step-by-step guidance in the COPE flowcharts, including evaluating the response from the author of the article in question.
- Before any action is taken, the editor’s conclusions should be submitted to the Ethics Advisory Board. This step is intended to support a consistent approach in accordance with industry best practices.
- The ultimate decision on whether to retract will then be communicated to the author and, where relevant, to other bodies such as the author’s institution on occasion.
- The retraction statement is subsequently posted online and published in the next available issue of the journal (see below for further details on this step).
Note that if authors retain copyright for an article, this does not automatically grant them the right to retract it after publication. The integrity of the published scientific record is of paramount importance, and COPE’s Retraction Guidelines still apply in such cases.
Article Withdrawal
Withdrawing an article is strongly discouraged and should be used only in exceptional circumstances. This applies to an early version of a manuscript that has been accepted for publication but has not yet been officially published, although it may already have been posted online. Such a version may contain errors, may have been posted inadvertently twice, or may breach journal publishing ethics guidelines (for example, multiple submissions, false claims about authorship, plagiarism, improper use of data, etc.). In these cases—particularly when there is a legal or ethical violation or when false or inaccurate data could pose a risk of harm if used—it may be decided to withdraw the article’s initial version from our electronic platform. When withdrawn, the article content is removed, including both the HTML and PDF versions, and it is replaced with HTML and PDF pages stating that the article has been withdrawn in accordance with the Indonesian Journal Publisher’s article withdrawal policy, together with a link to that policy.
Additional note: if the author retains their own copyright for the article, this does not mean the author has the right to withdraw it after publication. The integrity of the published scientific record is paramount, and the policy on revocation and withdrawal continues to apply even in such cases.
Article Correction
Balance: Journal of Islamic Accounting should consider publishing a correction when
- A small portion of an otherwise reliable publication contains flawed data or is shown to be misleading, particularly if the problem stems from an inadvertent, good-faith mistake.
- The author or contributor list contains inaccuracies, for instance, by omitting a qualifying author or by including an individual who does not fulfill authorship criteria.
Corrections to peer-reviewed material are grouped into three categories:
- Publisher correction (erratum): issued to inform readers about a serious error committed by the publishing journal staff (typically a production error) that adversely affects the publication record or the article’s scientific integrity, as well as the reputations of the authors or the journal.
- Author correction (corrigendum): issued to notify readers of an important error made by the authors that negatively affects the publication record or the scientific integrity of the article, and/or the reputations of the authors or the journal.
- Addendum: prepared by the article’s authors to add information that clarifies inconsistencies, extends the existing work, or otherwise explains, updates, or revises the information presented in the main publication.
The journal’s editor(s) decide when a correction is needed, sometimes checking with reviewers or editorial board members. The handling editor(s) will reach out to the authors of the relevant paper to request clarification, but the ultimate judgment regarding whether a correction is needed—and the appropriate type—remains with the editors.
Article Removal
In a very small number of situations, a published article may need to be removed from our online platform. This would occur only when the article is clearly defamatory; infringes another person’s legal rights; or when—based on where the article is located or on our strong expectation that it is subject to a court order—action on the article could create a serious health risk. Under these circumstances, the article’s metadata (namely, the title and author information) will be retained, but the article’s text will be replaced with a screen stating that the article has been taken down for legal reasons.
Article Replacement
When the article, if it is followed up, could create a serious health risk, the author of the original paper may choose to withdraw the original document and substitute it with the corrected version. In these cases, the removal procedure described above will be carried out, and the article retraction notification will include revised links, after which the article will be republished together with the document history.