ASKARA journal is committed to safeguarding the integrity of the published scholarly literature. This correction and retraction policy follows the COPE Retraction Guidelines and the related guidance on Expressions of Concern issued by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). The purpose of this policy is to correct the scholarly record in order to preserve the reliability of the literature, not to penalize authors.

Types of Post-Publication Notices

ASKARA journal distinguishes four types of post-publication notice, based on the severity of the issue identified.

1. An Erratum is published when an error occurs as a result of the editorial production process, such as errors in layouting, typesetting, or formatting, and does not affect the scholarly validity of the article.
2. A Corrigendum (correction) is published when the author identifies and corrects an error in a specific part of their own article for example, a minor error in data or calculation that does not alter the study’s overall main conclusions.
3. An Expression of Concern is published when the editorial team receives an inconclusive indication of a publication violation; finds evidence that the reliability of the research findings is in doubt but the author’s institution declines to conduct an investigation; or when an investigation into an alleged violation is ongoing but a final decision will require a considerable amount of time. If further investigation produces conclusive evidence, this notice will be updated to either a retraction or a statement restoring the author’s reputation, depending on the outcome of the investigation.
4. A Retraction is the most serious action and is published when the issues identified affect the overall validity of the article.

Criteria for Retraction

The editorial team of ASKARA journal will consider retracting an article if one or more of the following conditions is found.

1. There is clear evidence that the research findings are unreliable, and that fabrication, falsification, or data manipulation has occurred.
2. The findings have been published previously elsewhere without appropriate cross-referencing, permission, or justification — commonly referred to as redundant or duplicate publication.
3. The article is found to contain plagiarism in any form.
4. The article reports research conducted unethically, including research involving human subjects or sensitive data without valid ethics approval.

Mechanism and Procedure

The editorial team follows up on every allegation that could potentially lead to retraction by conducting a preliminary investigation, requesting clarification from the author and relevant parties, and consulting with peer reviewers or the editorial board where necessary. The final decision regarding a correction or retraction rests entirely with the editor and may still be carried out even if the author refuses to give consent.

Every correction, Expression of Concern, or retraction will be recorded and published openly on the relevant article’s page. Information will be presented factually, objectively, and transparently, explaining the section or reasons underlying the editorial action taken.

Retracted articles remain preserved in the ASKARA journal archive in order to maintain the publication record and the traceability of the article. The retracted status and the reason for retraction will be clearly displayed on the article.