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Corrections and Retractions
Post-Publication Policy
Corrections and Retractions
This policy explains how Jurnal Agroekoteknologi Tropika Lembab corrects, updates, alerts readers to, or retracts published content while preserving a transparent and reliable scholarly record.
Jurnal Agroekoteknologi Tropika Lembab (JATL), internationally titled Humid Tropical Agroecotechnology Journal, recognizes its continuing responsibility for published articles. When an error or integrity concern is identified, the journal will take action proportionate to its effect on the accuracy, attribution, interpretation, and reliability of the article.
Transparency
Substantive changes are explained through a clearly identified and publicly accessible notice.
Traceability
Notices and affected articles are linked so readers can identify the current status of the publication.
Proportionality
The response depends on whether the issue is minor, limited, inconclusive, or invalidates the article.
Core Principle
Substantive Changes Must Not Be Made Silently
After an article becomes the version of record, JATL will not silently replace scientifically or editorially significant content. A correction, expression of concern, retraction, or other update notice will be published whenever necessary to explain a substantive change.
Types of Post-Publication Action
Correction
Used when a limited error or omission affects part of an article but does not invalidate its principal findings and conclusions.
Expression of Concern
Used to alert readers when serious concerns exist but the evidence is inconclusive or an investigation remains incomplete.
Retraction
Used when the article's findings or publication process are seriously unreliable, invalid, unethical, or misleading.
Retraction and Republication
May be considered in exceptional cases involving a major honest error when the underlying research remains valid after correction and renewed editorial evaluation.
Addendum or Clarification
May be used when additional information is necessary to clarify the article without correcting an error that affects its validity.
Content Removal
Reserved for exceptional legal, privacy, safety, or other circumstances in which continued public access would cause serious harm or violate an enforceable requirement.
Corrections
A correction is appropriate when an otherwise reliable article contains an error or omission that affects its interpretation, indexing, attribution, or presentation but does not invalidate the article as a whole.
Examples include:
- an error in a table, figure, unit, calculation, or statistical value;
- an incorrect author name, affiliation, acknowledgment, or funding statement;
- an omission or error in a conflict-of-interest declaration;
- an inaccurate description that requires clarification;
- an omitted citation or limited attribution problem; or
- another error that affects the record but leaves the principal results and conclusions reliable.
The correction notice will identify the article, describe what was incorrect, provide the corrected information, state who initiated the correction when relevant, and link to the original publication. The original article will also link to the correction notice.
Minor Technical Changes
Minor spelling, formatting, layout, or metadata errors that do not affect meaning, interpretation, attribution, citation, or scientific reliability may be corrected without a formal correction notice. Changes affecting author identity, results, conclusions, disclosures, or the scholarly interpretation of the work require a transparent notice.
Expression of Concern
JATL may publish an expression of concern when readers should be alerted to potentially serious problems while a definitive conclusion cannot yet be reached. This may occur when:
- credible evidence raises doubt about the reliability of an article;
- an institutional or regulatory investigation is ongoing;
- available evidence is inconclusive or conflicting;
- the relevant institution is unable or unwilling to investigate;
- an investigation is taking an unreasonable length of time; or
- the fairness or integrity of the peer-review or publication process is seriously questioned.
An expression of concern is not a lesser form of retraction and does not establish guilt. It is a temporary or precautionary notice informing readers of an unresolved issue. It may later be followed by a correction, retraction, or statement that the concern has been resolved.
Grounds for Retraction
A published article may be retracted when there is clear evidence that:
- the findings are unreliable because of fabrication, falsification, miscalculation, experimental error, or another serious problem;
- substantial plagiarism has occurred;
- the findings were previously published without adequate disclosure, permission, or justification;
- the article reports unethical research or lacks required ethical approval;
- copyrighted material was used without authorization when permission was required;
- authorship or consent to publication was seriously invalid;
- peer review or the publication process was manipulated or compromised;
- a major undisclosed competing interest materially affected the research or editorial process; or
- another serious ethical or integrity problem makes continued reliance on the article unsafe or misleading.
Retraction Protects the Scholarly Record
Retraction is not primarily a punishment and does not always imply misconduct. Articles may also be retracted because of a serious honest error. The purpose is to notify readers that the work should not be relied upon in its original form.
Retraction Notice and Article Status
A retraction notice will:
- be clearly identified as a retraction;
- identify and link to the retracted article;
- state who is retracting the article;
- explain the reason for retraction objectively and distinguish an honest error from misconduct when supported by the evidence;
- be freely accessible to readers;
- be linked from the original article and relevant metadata; and
- avoid defamatory, speculative, or unnecessary personal statements.
The original article will ordinarily remain accessible to preserve the scholarly record, but each public version will be clearly marked as Retracted and linked to the retraction notice. The original DOI will be maintained and its metadata updated to reflect the article's status.
Assessment Procedure
1
Concern Received
A possible error or integrity concern is reported by an author, reader, reviewer, editor, institution, or another party.
2
Preliminary Assessment
An authorized editor examines whether the issue is credible, relevant, and potentially significant to the published record.
3
Author Clarification
The corresponding author and, when necessary, all co-authors are informed in neutral terms and invited to respond and provide supporting evidence.
4
Evidence and Expert Review
The journal may request original data, ethics documents, permissions, independent expert advice, or findings from an institutional investigation.
5
Editorial Determination
The editor determines whether no action, clarification, correction, expression of concern, retraction, or another response is appropriate.
6
Notice and Metadata Update
A notice is published, linked to the affected article, and reflected in article and DOI metadata as appropriate.
Author Agreement Is Not Always Required
JATL will seek comments from the authors and will identify whether they agree with a retraction whenever appropriate. However, the journal may correct or retract an article without the agreement of every author when reliable evidence demonstrates that action is necessary to protect the scholarly record.
Content Removal
Complete removal of published content is exceptional. It may be considered only when continued availability:
- violates a final legal or regulatory requirement;
- contains unlawfully disclosed confidential or personal information;
- creates a serious and immediate risk to health, safety, or welfare; or
- infringes rights in a manner that cannot be adequately addressed through correction or retraction.
When content must be removed, the article URL and bibliographic record will ordinarily remain available with a notice explaining why the content is no longer accessible, except where such a notice is legally prohibited.
Manuscript Withdrawal Before Publication
Withdrawal of an unpublished manuscript is different from retraction. Authors requesting withdrawal must provide a clear reason and agreement from all authors. Once an article has been formally published as the version of record, an identified problem will be handled through this correction and retraction policy rather than by silently deleting the article.
Version Control and Metadata
Each substantive post-publication notice should have its own identifiable bibliographic record and, when technically available, its own DOI. The notice and affected article will link to each other. Relevant Crossref metadata will be updated so indexing services and readers can identify the article's current status.
When an updated article file is provided, it will be clearly identified as an updated version. Previous versions will be preserved in the journal's records and may remain accessible or be provided on reasonable request.
Appeals
A directly affected person may appeal by identifying a significant factual or procedural error and providing relevant evidence. Whenever practicable, the appeal will be evaluated by an authorized person who was not solely responsible for the original decision.
An appeal does not automatically delay a correction, expression of concern, or retraction that the journal considers necessary to prevent readers from being misled.
