International Journal of Business, Law, and Education

Correction and Retraction Policy

International Journal of Business, Law, and Education (IJBLE)

e-ISSN: 2747-139X
Publisher: IJBLE Scientific Publications Community Inc.
Official Website: https://ijble.com/index.php/journal/index

1. Policy Statement

The International Journal of Business, Law, and Education (IJBLE) is committed to maintaining the accuracy, reliability, transparency, and integrity of the scholarly record.

IJBLE recognizes that errors, omissions, methodological concerns, and ethical issues may be identified after an article has been published. The journal therefore establishes procedures for addressing such concerns through corrections, expressions of concern, retractions, and other appropriate editorial actions.

This policy is informed by the principles and recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), including its 2025 Retraction Guidelines, and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).

The primary purpose of corrective editorial action is to preserve the integrity and reliability of the scholarly literature, rather than to punish authors.

2. Scope of the Policy

This policy applies to all scholarly content published by IJBLE, including:

Original Research Articles.
Review Articles.
Conceptual and Theoretical Studies.
Comparative and Interdisciplinary Research.
Case Studies and Legal or Policy Analyses.
Other scholarly content accepted and published by the journal.

The policy applies regardless of the authors' nationality, academic position, institutional affiliation, or funding source.

3. Corrections (Errata and Corrigenda)

IJBLE may publish a correction when an error is identified in a published article but the overall findings, conclusions, and scholarly contribution remain reliable.

Corrections may be appropriate for:

Errors in author names, affiliations, or contributor information.
Incorrect bibliographic details or references.
Errors in tables, figures, captions, or supplementary materials.
Statistical or numerical inaccuracies that do not invalidate the principal findings.
Misstatements requiring clarification.
Inadvertent omissions of relevant disclosures.
Other errors that can be adequately resolved through a transparent correction notice.

Corrections should clearly describe the error and provide the accurate information.

A correction notice should be published separately or otherwise made permanently identifiable, linked to the original article, and accessible to readers.

The original scholarly record must not be silently altered in ways that conceal material changes.

4. Retraction of Published Articles

IJBLE may retract an article when reliable evidence demonstrates that its findings, conclusions, or publication integrity are seriously compromised.

Grounds for retraction may include:

4.1 Data Fabrication or Falsification

Evidence that research data, observations, results, or other research materials were fabricated or intentionally manipulated.

4.2 Unreliable Research Findings

Serious methodological, analytical, or reporting errors that render the principal findings or conclusions unreliable, regardless of whether the errors were intentional.

4.3 Substantial Plagiarism

Unauthorized reproduction of significant intellectual content, data, or scholarly material without appropriate attribution.

4.4 Duplicate or Redundant Publication

Substantial republication of previously published research without adequate disclosure, justification, or appropriate cross-referencing.

4.5 Unethical Research

Serious violations involving research participants, informed consent, research ethics approval, privacy, or other applicable ethical requirements.

4.6 Peer-Review Manipulation

Fabricated reviewer identities, compromised peer-review processes, fraudulent evaluations, or systematic manipulation that materially undermines confidence in the published article.

4.7 Other Serious Publication Misconduct

Evidence of paper-mill involvement, fraudulent research documentation, or other substantial breaches of research and publication integrity that justify retraction.

Retraction decisions must be based on the available evidence and the reliability of the published scholarly record.

5. Expressions of Concern

IJBLE may issue an Expression of Concern when substantial questions arise regarding a published article but the available evidence is inconclusive or an investigation remains unresolved.

An Expression of Concern may be appropriate when:

Credible allegations of serious research misconduct have been received.
Significant doubts about the reliability of published findings require further investigation.
An institutional investigation is pending or experiencing substantial delays.
Important evidence is unavailable or contradictory.
The editorial team considers it necessary to alert readers while relevant concerns remain unresolved.

An Expression of Concern is not equivalent to a retraction and does not establish that misconduct has occurred.

When an investigation is concluded, IJBLE may publish a correction, a retraction, a follow-up notice resolving the concern, or another appropriate editorial statement.

6. Procedures for Reporting Errors and Misconduct

Authors, readers, reviewers, institutions, and other members of the scholarly community may report concerns regarding published articles.

Reports should be submitted through the journal's official editorial communication channels and should include, where possible:

The title of the article.
Author names.
DOI or publication URL.
A description of the suspected error or ethical concern.
Supporting evidence or documentation.
Contact information for follow-up communication.

IJBLE may consider anonymous reports when sufficient verifiable information is provided.

All credible concerns will be evaluated fairly and objectively.

7. Editorial Investigation Procedure

When a potential correction or retraction issue is identified, IJBLE will apply an evidence-based assessment process.

Step 1: Preliminary Assessment

The Editor-in-Chief or designated editor reviews the reported concern and assesses whether further investigation is warranted.

Step 2: Author Notification

The corresponding author and, where appropriate, all co-authors are informed of the concerns and invited to provide clarification or supporting documentation.

Step 3: Evidence Evaluation

The editorial team examines the available evidence, which may include research data, statistical analyses, manuscript records, ethics documentation, and relevant correspondence.

Step 4: Independent Consultation

When necessary, the journal may consult independent subject experts, research integrity officers, or relevant institutions.

Step 5: Editorial Decision

The Editor-in-Chief or an appropriately independent editor determines whether a correction, Expression of Concern, retraction, or other action is justified.

Step 6: Publication of Notice

Where corrective action is required, the journal publishes an appropriately labelled notice explaining the decision.

The journal will maintain relevant records of the investigation and editorial determination.

8. Author Rights and Responsibilities

Authors are responsible for promptly informing IJBLE when they discover significant errors or ethical concerns affecting their published work.

Authors must cooperate with reasonable editorial requests for clarification, documentation, or correction.

Before an editorial decision is finalized, affected authors should ordinarily be given a reasonable opportunity to respond.

However, disagreement among authors or refusal to cooperate does not automatically prevent the journal from issuing a justified correction or retraction.

Where appropriate, IJBLE will seek clarification from all relevant authors and affiliated institutions.

9. Publication and Identification of Retraction Notices

When an article is retracted, IJBLE will seek to ensure that the retraction is transparent, clearly documented, and discoverable.

A retraction notice should:

Be clearly titled "Retraction" or "Retraction Notice."
Identify the original article, including its title, authors, publication details, and DOI where available.
Explain the reasons for the retraction accurately and objectively.
Identify the party issuing the retraction.
State the effective date of the editorial action.
Be publicly accessible.
Be linked to the original article, with a reciprocal link from the article to the notice.
Be reflected in relevant article metadata and indexing records where supported.

Retracted articles should ordinarily remain accessible with a prominent "RETRACTED" label on the article landing page and its full-text versions.

Retraction notices should be preserved as part of the permanent scholarly record.

10. Article Removal

IJBLE distinguishes retraction from permanent removal.

Retracted articles should generally remain available to preserve transparency and the integrity of the scientific record.

Complete removal may be considered only in exceptional circumstances, including:

Binding legal requirements.
Serious privacy or confidentiality violations.
Material presenting a substantial risk of harm.
Other exceptional circumstances where continued public access is legally or ethically inappropriate.

Where removal is necessary, IJBLE should retain an appropriate bibliographic record and explanatory notice to the extent permitted.

11. Partial Corrections and Replacement of Content

Minor errors that do not affect research conclusions may be addressed through formal corrections.

IJBLE will assess whether an error can be corrected without misleading readers or compromising the integrity of the original publication.

Substantial changes to research findings must not be introduced through undisclosed replacement of published files.

When a corrected version is provided, the journal should maintain a clear record of the changes and link the correction information to the relevant publication.

12. Notification to Indexing Services and Metadata Providers

When corrections, expressions of concern, or retractions are issued, IJBLE will seek to update the relevant publication metadata and notify appropriate indexing or registration services where applicable.

This may include:

Crossref or another relevant DOI registration agency.
Google Scholar, through updated publicly accessible article records.
Other databases and indexing services in which the affected article is included.
Institutional repositories or preservation services where feasible.

IJBLE recognizes that timely and accurate metadata updates are essential for preserving the reliability of scholarly citations and bibliographic records.

13. Editorial Independence and Conflicts of Interest

Decisions regarding corrections, expressions of concern, and retractions must be based on research integrity, evidence, and established publication ethics principles.

Editorial decisions must remain independent of commercial interests, institutional pressure, or personal relationships.

Where the Editor-in-Chief or another responsible editor has a relevant conflict of interest, an independent editor should oversee the matter.

The publisher may provide administrative and procedural support while respecting the independence of editorial decisions.

14. Appeals and Reconsideration

Authors or other affected parties may request reconsideration of an editorial decision when they can provide substantial new evidence or identify significant procedural errors.

Appeals should be submitted in writing and explain the specific grounds for reconsideration.

Where practicable, appeals will be evaluated by an editor or qualified individual not directly responsible for the original determination.

An appeal does not automatically suspend a necessary correction, retraction, or other action intended to protect the scholarly record.

15. Transparency and Preservation of the Scholarly Record

IJBLE is committed to preserving the accessibility and traceability of published academic content.

Corrections, retraction notices, and expressions of concern should remain permanently available through the journal's online publishing platform.

The journal seeks to ensure that published notices are clearly associated with the relevant articles and that readers can distinguish valid research findings from content affected by significant editorial concerns.

The journal will not silently delete articles or conceal material publication changes.

16. Policy Review and Continuous Improvement

IJBLE will periodically review its correction and retraction procedures to remain consistent with developments in research integrity and scholarly publishing standards.

The journal recognizes its continuing responsibility to protect the reliability, transparency, and credibility of published research in business, law, education, and related interdisciplinary disciplines.

17. Ethical Guidelines and References

This policy is informed by internationally recognized publication ethics standards:

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

COPE Core Practices
https://publicationethics.org/core-practices

International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE)
Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work.
https://www.icmje.org/recommendations/

International Journal of Business, Law, and Education (IJBLE)

Committed to Research Integrity, Transparency, Accountability, and the Preservation of the Scholarly Record.

Official Website: https://ijble.com/index.php/journal/index

Journal Archives: https://ijble.com/index.php/journal/issue/archive