Retraction and Correction policies

Post-Publication Corrections, Retractions, and Removal Policy

The ACIE Journal strictly adheres to maintaining the integrity, accuracy, and permanence of the scholarly record. Once an article is published online, it forms part of the permanent scientific archive. Changes to published articles are made only under exceptional circumstances, governed by standard academic publishing best practices and the COPE Guidelines for Retracting Articles.

 

Types of Post-Publication Amendments

1. Author Erratum / Corrigendum

 

Definition: A formal notification issued by the authors to correct significant errors or omissions that affect the paper’s interpretation without invalidating its overall scientific conclusions.

 

Procedure: The original online article remains unchanged. A separate, freely accessible Erratum notice is published, detailing the corrections and their impact on the findings. The Erratum is cross-linked directly to the original article.

 

2. Publisher’s Note

 

Definition: A formal statement issued by the publisher to correct production or typographical errors made during typesetting or layout that impact metadata (e.g., titles, author names, bylines) or significantly impair reader comprehension.

 

Procedure: The original file is replaced with a corrected version containing a notification date. The Publisher’s Note is made freely available to all readers.

 

3. Minor Corrections (Discretionary Updates)

 

Definition: Minor typographical or formatting adjustments that do not alter scientific data, metadata, or reader comprehension.

 

Procedure: Corrected at the publisher’s discretion. For articles published within one year, the original file is updated directly with the correction date recorded. For articles published older than one year, corrections are documented exclusively via a Publisher’s Note.

 

Article Retractions

A Retraction is a formal mechanism to alert the scientific community that an article’s findings are no longer reliable and should not be cited as valid literature.

 

Grounds for Retraction:

 Clear evidence of unreliable findings resulting from severe honest error or scientific misconduct (e.g., data fabrication or falsification). Plagiarism or redundant/duplicate publication without proper authorization or citation. Ethical violations in research design, conduct, or reporting.

 

Retraction Process & Display:

 Initiation: Retractions may be requested by the authors or mandated by the Editor-in-Chief and Publisher following an investigation.

Transparency: The formal Retraction Notice explicitly states the reasons for the action, identifies who initiated it, and notes any disagreement among authors.

 

Archival Record: To preserve the historic record, the original article is not removed from the journal’s website. Instead, it is prominently watermarked as "RETRACTED," and a freely accessible Notice of Retraction is permanently linked to it.

 

Article Removal or Redaction

In rare and extreme cases involving serious legal infractions (e.g., court orders, defamatory content, or severe privacy violations), the publisher reserves the right to redact or remove an article from the online platform. Even if full text content is removed, the bibliographic metadata (title, authors, volume, page numbers) will remain preserved to maintain the continuous integrity of the scientific archive.