Retraction and Correction

Darunnajah in Education (DIE) is committed to maintaining the accuracy, integrity, and reliability of the scholarly record. The journal recognizes that errors or ethical concerns may occasionally be identified before or after publication. Therefore, DIE applies transparent procedures for issuing corrections, expressions of concern, and retractions when necessary.

All decisions concerning corrections or retractions are made independently by the editorial team based on the seriousness and nature of the identified issue.

1. Correction Policy

A correction may be issued when an article contains an error that does not invalidate the overall findings, interpretation, or scholarly contribution of the publication.

Examples may include:

  • Minor errors in text that affect clarity or accuracy;
  • Incorrect author affiliation;
  • Errors in tables or figures that do not alter the principal conclusions;
  • Typographical or formatting errors that may cause misunderstanding;
  • Incorrect or incomplete bibliographic information; or
  • Other factual errors that can be corrected without withdrawing the article.

When a correction is issued, the journal will:

  1. Publish a clearly identified correction notice;
  2. Describe the nature of the correction;
  3. Correct the relevant portion of the published article where appropriate;
  4. Maintain a clear link between the correction notice and the original article; and
  5. Preserve the original publication record as part of the scholarly record.

Corrections should be made transparently so that readers can distinguish the corrected information from the original publication.

2. Retraction Policy

A published article may be retracted when there is substantial evidence that its findings, integrity, or publication process has been seriously compromised.

Grounds for retraction may include, but are not limited to:

  • Fabrication of research data or results;
  • Falsification or manipulation of data;
  • Serious plagiarism;
  • Duplicate or redundant publication;
  • Major errors that invalidate the principal findings or conclusions;
  • Serious violations of research ethics;
  • Publication without appropriate ethical approval or informed consent where required;
  • Unreliable or manipulated research results;
  • Significant undisclosed conflicts of interest that materially affected the research;
  • Serious authorship or contribution-related misconduct;
  • Manipulation of the peer-review process;
  • Evidence that the article was produced through fraudulent or deceptive practices; or
  • Other circumstances that substantially undermine the reliability or integrity of the published work.

Retraction is intended to correct the scholarly record and does not necessarily imply misconduct by every author of the article.

3. Retraction Procedure

When a potential reason for retraction is identified, the editorial office will conduct an appropriate assessment before making a final decision.

The procedure may include:

  1. Receiving or identifying a concern regarding a published article;
  2. Conducting an initial editorial assessment;
  3. Requesting clarification or supporting documentation from the authors;
  4. Consulting reviewers, editorial board members, institutional authorities, or independent experts where appropriate;
  5. Assessing the available evidence and determining the seriousness of the issue;
  6. Providing the authors with an opportunity to respond;
  7. Making an editorial decision based on the available evidence; and
  8. Publishing a retraction notice when retraction is considered necessary.

Where appropriate, the journal may request that the authors' affiliated institution or relevant research body investigate allegations of research misconduct.

4. Retraction Notice

A retracted article will remain part of the journal's online scholarly record whenever technically and ethically appropriate. The article will be clearly identified as “Retracted”, while access to the original publication may be retained for transparency and record-keeping purposes.

The retraction notice will:

  • Clearly identify the retracted article;
  • Provide the article title, authors, publication information, and DOI where applicable;
  • Explain the reason for the retraction;
  • Identify whether the retraction concerns the entire article or specific aspects of the publication; and
  • Be permanently linked to the original article.

The journal will not remove a retracted article from the scholarly record unless there are exceptional legal or ethical circumstances requiring removal.

5. Expression of Concern

An Expression of Concern may be issued when there are credible concerns regarding the reliability or integrity of a published article but the available evidence is not yet sufficient to justify correction or retraction.

An Expression of Concern may be appropriate when:

  • An investigation is ongoing;
  • Relevant evidence is incomplete;
  • An institutional investigation has been requested but not completed; or
  • The editorial office requires additional information before reaching a final decision.

Once sufficient evidence becomes available, the journal may replace or supplement the Expression of Concern with a correction or retraction notice, as appropriate.

6. Author-Initiated Retraction or Correction

Authors who identify a significant error or ethical concern in their published article should promptly notify the editorial office.

The editorial team will assess the issue and determine whether a correction, Expression of Concern, or retraction is appropriate.

Authors may request a correction or retraction, but the final decision rests with the editorial team based on the evidence and the journal's publication ethics principles.

7. Corrections Before Publication

Errors identified during peer review, revision, copyediting, or proofreading should be corrected before the article is formally published whenever possible.

Authors are responsible for carefully reviewing revised proofs and notifying the editorial office of any remaining substantive errors before publication.

8. Post-Publication Changes

Once an article has been published, substantive changes to the article will not normally be made without an appropriate editorial record.

Where changes are necessary, the journal will use an appropriate mechanism, such as:

  • Correction;
  • Retraction;
  • Expression of Concern; or
  • Editorial clarification.

This approach ensures that changes to the published record remain transparent and traceable.

9. Appeals

Authors may appeal an editorial decision concerning correction, Expression of Concern, or retraction by submitting a written explanation and relevant supporting evidence to the editorial office.

Appeals will be assessed fairly and independently. The editorial team may seek additional expert advice where necessary.

An appeal does not automatically suspend an already published correction or retraction notice.

10. Editorial Responsibility

The Editor-in-Chief has final responsibility for decisions concerning corrections, Expressions of Concern, and retractions, with appropriate consultation with the editorial team and independent experts where necessary.

Editorial decisions will be guided by the principles of:

  • Accuracy;
  • Transparency;
  • Fairness;
  • Academic integrity;
  • Confidentiality;
  • Accountability; and
  • Protection of the scholarly record.

Darunnajah in Education (DIE) is committed to correcting the scientific and scholarly record promptly and transparently whenever credible evidence demonstrates that a published article contains significant errors or has been compromised by ethical or research-integrity concerns.