Retraction and Correction Policy

TechComp Innovations: Journal of Computer Science and Technology is committed to maintaining the integrity, accuracy, transparency, and reliability of the scholarly record. The journal recognizes that despite rigorous editorial evaluation and peer-review procedures, errors, ethical concerns, or scientific inaccuracies may be identified after an article has been published.

To preserve the credibility of scientific publications, the journal provides appropriate mechanisms for correcting, clarifying, retracting, or, in exceptional circumstances, removing published content. All post-publication actions are conducted transparently, fairly, and responsibly, with due consideration for the rights of authors, readers, reviewers, and other relevant stakeholders.

This policy is guided by the principles and recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), particularly the COPE Retraction Guidelines (2025), and internationally recognized standards for maintaining the scholarly record.

The primary objective of these procedures is to correct the scientific literature, safeguard the reliability of published research, and preserve the integrity of the scholarly record rather than to penalize authors.

1. Article Retraction

Article retraction is a formal mechanism for notifying the academic community that a previously published article contains serious errors, unreliable findings, or substantial violations of research and publication ethics that undermine its scientific validity or publication integrity.

1.1. Grounds for Article Retraction

TechComp Innovations may consider retracting a published article under the following circumstances:

  1. Unreliable Research Findings: There is clear evidence that the results or conclusions are substantially unreliable because of data fabrication, falsification, serious methodological errors, incorrect statistical analyses, computational errors, or experimental inaccuracies.

  2. Plagiarism and Copyright Violations: The article contains substantial plagiarism, unauthorized reproduction of copyrighted material, or serious misappropriation of intellectual property.

  3. Duplicate or Redundant Publication: The same research findings have previously been published elsewhere without appropriate disclosure, acknowledgment, cross-referencing, permission, or scientific justification.

  4. Research Ethics Violations: The research involves serious ethical concerns, including unauthorized collection or use of personal data, violations of confidentiality, or noncompliance with applicable research ethics requirements.

  5. Authorship and Publication Misconduct: There is substantiated evidence of serious authorship misconduct, fraudulent peer review, manipulated editorial processes, or systematic manipulation of the publication process that compromises the article's integrity.

  6. Manipulation of Computational Research: The article contains fabricated datasets, falsified experimental results, manipulated benchmark evaluations, misleading algorithmic performance claims, or other serious integrity violations involving software, artificial intelligence, machine learning, cybersecurity, or computational research.

Retraction may be necessary regardless of whether the underlying problem resulted from intentional misconduct or an honest error. However, retraction will not ordinarily be pursued when the identified issues can be adequately resolved through a correction without compromising the reliability of the article's principal findings.

1.2. Retraction Procedure

The journal implements the following procedure in accordance with relevant COPE recommendations:

  1. Reporting: A concern regarding a published article may be submitted by authors, reviewers, readers, researchers, institutions, or other relevant parties to the journal's editorial office.

  2. Preliminary Assessment: The Editor-in-Chief or an appointed editor evaluates the concern and determines whether sufficient evidence exists to warrant further examination.

  3. Investigation: The editorial team reviews the available evidence, which may include the manuscript, research data, source code, methodological documentation, supplementary materials, and relevant correspondence.

  4. Author Response: The corresponding author and, where appropriate, all co-authors are notified of the concerns and given a reasonable opportunity to provide explanations or supporting evidence.

  5. Independent Consultation: The editor may consult independent experts, members of the Editorial Board, the publisher, or relevant research institutions when additional expertise or investigation is required.

  6. Editorial Decision: The Editor-in-Chief, or an independent editor without a conflict of interest, makes the final editorial decision based on the available evidence and relevant publication ethics guidelines. An editorial decision may be taken without unanimous agreement from the authors when the evidence justifies such action.

  7. Notification: The decision is communicated to the authors and, where appropriate, relevant institutions or other affected parties.

  8. Publication of Retraction Notice: When retraction is warranted, a formal retraction notice is published promptly and permanently linked to the original article.

The journal will make reasonable efforts to complete its assessment without unnecessary delay. However, the duration of an investigation may vary depending on the complexity of the concerns and the availability of supporting evidence.

1.3. Publication and Visibility of Retraction Notices

A retraction notice shall:

  1. Clearly identify the retracted article, including its title, authors, publication details, and Digital Object Identifier (DOI), where available.

  2. Explicitly state the reasons for retraction and identify the party issuing the notice.

  3. Distinguish documented research misconduct from honest errors whenever the available evidence permits.

  4. Be publicly accessible without subscription or payment barriers.

  5. Be published as a separate editorial notice with its own DOI, where applicable.

  6. Be permanently linked to the original article and reflected in relevant bibliographic and indexing metadata, where technically supported.

  7. Provide sufficient information to prevent readers from continuing to rely on invalid or unreliable findings.

The original article will normally remain accessible in the journal's electronic archive but will be prominently identified as "RETRACTED" on the article's landing page and published document.

This approach preserves transparency, traceability, and the historical integrity of the scholarly record.

Authors do not possess an automatic right to retract or delete an article after publication solely because they retain its copyright. Such requests remain subject to the journal's editorial assessment and publication ethics procedures.

2. Article Correction

TechComp Innovations recognizes that errors may be discovered after publication without necessarily invalidating the scientific contribution of an article.

A correction may be issued when the reported findings remain substantially reliable but specific elements require amendment or clarification to ensure scientific accuracy and transparency.

2.1. Grounds for Article Correction

Corrections may be considered under the following circumstances:

  1. Minor Scientific or Technical Errors: Errors in calculations, statistical analyses, experimental descriptions, tables, figures, or computational results that do not fundamentally alter the article's principal findings and conclusions.

  2. Authorship and Affiliation Errors: Incorrect or incomplete author information, institutional affiliations, funding acknowledgments, or contributor statements that require formal clarification or amendment.

  3. Data and Methodological Inaccuracies: Errors in the presentation or interpretation of research data, algorithms, software configurations, or experimental procedures that require correction without invalidating the study's overall findings.

  4. Reference and Citation Errors: Inaccurate references, citations, or methodological descriptions that may affect the interpretation, attribution, or reproducibility of the research.

  5. Other Significant Inaccuracies: Errors considered sufficiently important to warrant a formal amendment to the published scholarly record.

Minor typographical or formatting errors that do not affect scientific interpretation, author attribution, or the integrity of the publication record may be addressed through routine editorial updates, where appropriate.

2.2. Types of Corrections

The journal recognizes three principal categories of post-publication corrections:

2.2.1. Erratum (Publisher Correction)

An erratum is issued to correct an error introduced during the journal's editorial, formatting, typesetting, or production process.

Such errors may include incorrect metadata, formatting inaccuracies, omitted text, misplaced figures, or other production-related mistakes that affect the accuracy, interpretation, or presentation of the publication.

2.2.2. Corrigendum (Author Correction)

A corrigendum is issued when the authors identify or acknowledge an important error in their published work.

Examples include inaccurate numerical results, incorrectly labeled figures, computational mistakes, errors in research descriptions, or omissions that require correction but do not invalidate the study's overall conclusions.

2.2.3. Addendum

An addendum provides additional information or clarification necessary to improve readers' understanding of a previously published article.

It may include supplementary methodological explanations, additional disclosures, clarification of specific findings, or information essential to the interpretation of the original research.

An addendum must not be used to introduce substantial new research findings that would otherwise require independent editorial evaluation and peer review.

2.3. Correction Procedure

The journal follows the procedure below when evaluating requests for post-publication corrections:

  1. Submission of Correction Request: Authors, readers, or other interested parties notify the editorial office of the identified error and provide relevant supporting information.

  2. Editorial Assessment: The editor evaluates the nature, significance, and potential consequences of the error for the reliability and interpretation of the published article.

  3. Author Clarification: The authors are invited to explain the issue and propose an appropriate correction supported by relevant evidence.

  4. Expert Evaluation: The editor may consult reviewers, members of the Editorial Board, or independent experts when additional assessment is necessary.

  5. Editorial Decision: The Editor-in-Chief determines whether an erratum, corrigendum, addendum, or another editorial action is appropriate.

  6. Publication of Correction Notice: An approved correction notice is published and permanently linked to the original article, with a clear explanation of the changes made.

Significant corrections will be documented transparently, including the nature of the correction and its publication date.

The original publication record will be preserved, and corrections will not be implemented in a manner that conceals substantial changes or misrepresents the original research findings.

3. Expression of Concern

An Expression of Concern is an official editorial notice intended to inform readers of serious concerns about the reliability, integrity, or ethical compliance of a published article when sufficient evidence is not yet available to justify retraction or another definitive editorial action.

The journal may publish an Expression of Concern under the following circumstances:

  1. Credible allegations of research or publication misconduct have been raised but remain unresolved.

  2. An investigation is ongoing and a final determination is unlikely to be reached promptly.

  3. Available evidence suggests potential problems with the research findings, but the information remains insufficient or inconclusive.

  4. Relevant institutions or other responsible parties are unable or unwilling to conduct an appropriate investigation.

  5. The editorial team determines that readers should be informed of potentially significant concerns while further clarification is sought.

An Expression of Concern will clearly identify the affected article and explain the nature of the concerns without making unsupported allegations or prematurely determining responsibility.

The notice will be publicly accessible and permanently linked to the original article.

An Expression of Concern does not automatically constitute a finding of misconduct or imply that the article must ultimately be retracted.

Following further investigation, the journal may issue a correction, publish a retraction, or release an editorial statement clarifying that the concerns have been resolved.

The outcome will be transparently documented and linked to the relevant publication record.

4. Article Removal

TechComp Innovations recognizes that removing published scientific content from the scholarly archive may compromise the transparency, accessibility, and permanence of the academic record.

Therefore, article removal will only be considered under exceptional circumstances when continued public availability presents a compelling legal, ethical, privacy, or safety concern that cannot be adequately addressed through retraction or correction.

Article removal may be considered when:

  1. The article contains defamatory material or infringes intellectual property rights in a manner requiring removal.

  2. A legally enforceable court order or applicable legal obligation requires the removal of the content.

  3. The article discloses sensitive personal information, confidential data, or protected information without appropriate authorization.

  4. Publication creates a serious and demonstrable risk to public safety, information security, or individual privacy that cannot be adequately mitigated through other editorial measures.

If removal is necessary, the journal will normally retain the article's bibliographic metadata, including its title, authors, publication date, and DOI, where legally permissible.

The original content will be replaced by an explanatory notice stating that the article has been removed and providing the reason to the extent legally and ethically appropriate.

The journal will make reasonable efforts to preserve the integrity of the archival record while complying with applicable legal and ethical requirements.

5. Article Replacement and Republication

In exceptional circumstances, a published article may contain fundamental errors that invalidate its original findings, while the underlying research may still be scientifically valuable after substantial correction.

Under such conditions, TechComp Innovations may consider a retraction and republication procedure.

This mechanism may be considered when:

  1. The original publication contains fundamental errors that cannot be adequately addressed through a conventional correction.

  2. The authors provide a substantially corrected manuscript supported by reliable evidence, validated data, or revised analyses.

  3. The corrected manuscript undergoes appropriate editorial assessment and, where necessary, independent peer review.

  4. The Editor-in-Chief determines that republication serves the interests of scientific accuracy, transparency, and scholarly integrity.

When retraction and republication are approved:

  1. The original article will be formally retracted and remain identifiable in the scholarly record, except where removal is legally necessary.

  2. The corrected article will be treated as a distinct publication, with its own publication record and DOI, where applicable.

  3. A transparent explanation of the relationship between the original and corrected publications will be provided.

  4. The retraction notice and republished article will be linked to each other to preserve the publication history.

  5. The revised publication will clearly acknowledge the retraction and republication of the original article.

A corrected article must not silently replace the original version or conceal the reasons for its retraction.

Republication is not automatic and remains subject to the journal's editorial standards, scientific evaluation, and ethical requirements.

6. Reporting Concerns and Editorial Responsibility

TechComp Innovations encourages authors, reviewers, researchers, readers, institutions, and other stakeholders to report potential errors, research misconduct, or ethical concerns regarding published articles.

Reports should include sufficient information to facilitate an objective assessment, such as the article title, DOI or URL, a description of the concern, and relevant supporting evidence.

All correspondence concerning article retraction, correction, expressions of concern, or other post-publication issues should be directed to the journal's editorial office.

Editorial Contact

Journal: TechComp Innovations: Journal of Computer Science and Technology

Email: techcompinnovations@gmail.com

Website: https://mabadiiqtishada.org/index.php/TechCompInnovations/index

All reports will be evaluated objectively and handled with appropriate confidentiality. The journal will seek to protect the rights and reputations of the parties involved and will avoid making allegations unsupported by evidence.

The Editor-in-Chief retains responsibility for final editorial decisions concerning corrections, expressions of concern, and retractions, except where a conflict of interest requires the matter to be assigned to an independent editor.

Editorial decisions will be guided by scientific evidence, publication ethics, due process, and editorial independence, without inappropriate influence from authors, institutions, sponsors, or commercial interests.

The journal is committed to taking appropriate corrective action promptly once sufficient evidence is available and ensuring that significant post-publication amendments are communicated transparently to the academic community.

7. Policy References

This policy is informed by internationally recognized guidelines and best practices for research and publication ethics:

1. Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). (2025). COPE Guidelines: Retraction Guidelines. https://doi.org/10.24318/cope.2019.1.4

2. Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). (2025). Expressions of Concern. https://publicationethics.org/guidance/guideline/expressions-concern

3. Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). COPE Flowcharts and Guidance. https://publicationethics.org/guidance/flowcharts

4. Crossref. Version Control, Corrections, and Retractions. https://www.crossref.org/documentation/principles-practices/best-practices/versioning/

TechComp Innovations: Journal of Computer Science and Technology is dedicated to safeguarding the integrity, credibility, transparency, and accessibility of scholarly publications and supporting responsible research practices in computer science and technology.