R-W-C Policy

Policy Statement

We understand that the authors have worked carefully in preparing manuscripts, and we have carried out peer-review processes. However, sometimes there is the potential for published articles to be withdrawn or even deleted for scientific reasons. It should not be done lightly and can only occur under extraordinary circumstances. Therefore, corrections, clarifications, retractions, and apologies when needed will be carried out with strict standards to maintain confidence in the authority of its electronic archives. It is our commitment and policy to maintain the integrity and completeness of important scientific records for researchers and librarians archives.

Content Integrity and Maintenance

Applying the CrossMark icon is a commitment by Journal of Social Studies (JSS)  to maintain the content published and alert readers to changes if and when they occur. CrossMark, a multi-publisher initiative from CrossRef, provides a standard way for readers to locate the authoritative version of a document. Journal of Social Studies (JSS) recognizes the importance of the integrity and completeness of the scholarly record to researchers and librarians and attaches the highest importance to maintaining trust in the authority of its electronic archive. Clicking on the CrossMark icon will inform the reader of the current status of a document and may also provide additional publication record information about the document.

Article Retraction

Journal of Social Studies (JSS) is committed to playing its part in maintaining the integrity of the scholarly record, therefore on occasion, it is necessary to retract articles. Articles may be retracted if:

  • There is major scientific error that would invalidate the conclusions of the article, for example where there is clear evidence that findings are unreliable, either as a result of misconduct (e.g. data fabrication) or honest error (e.g. miscalculation or experimental error).
  • The findings have previously been published elsewhere without proper cross-referencing, permission, or justification (i.e. cases of redundant publication).
  • There are ethical issues such as plagiarism (appropriation of another person's ideas, processes, results, or words without giving appropriate credit including those obtained through confidential review of others' manuscripts) or inappropriate authorship.

In order to ensure that retractions are handled according to publication best practice, and in accordance with COPE retraction guidelines, Journal of Social Studies (JSS) adopts the following retraction process:

  • An article requiring potential retraction is brought to the attention of the journal editor.
  • The journal editor should follow the step-by-step guidelines according to the COPE flowcharts (including evaluating a response from the author of the article in question).
  • Before any action is taken, the editor's findings should be sent to the Ethics Advisory Board. The purpose of this step is to ensure a consistent approach in accordance with industry best practices.
  • The final decision as to whether to retract is then communicated to the author and, if necessary, any other relevant bodies, such as the author's institution on occasion.
  • The retraction statement is then posted online and published in the next available issue of the journal (see below for more details of this step). 

Note that if authors retain copyright for an article this does not mean they automatically have the right to retract it after publication. The integrity of the published scientific record is of paramount importance and COPE’s Retraction Guidelines still apply in such cases.

Article Withdrawal

The author is not allowed to withdraw submitted manuscripts, because the withdrawal is a waste of valuable resources that editors and referees spent a great deal of time processing submitted manuscript, and works invested by the publisher. For attention, before the author submits the manuscript through our OJS, the author is obliged to approve the checklist that we provide.

  • If the author requests the withdrawal of his/her manuscript when the manuscript is still in the peer-reviewing process, the author will be punished by paying $200 USD per manuscript.
  • If the withdrawal of the manuscript after the manuscript is accepted for publication; the author will be punished by paying $250 USD per manuscript.
  • If an article has been published as "Article in Press" (articles that have been accepted for publication but which has not been formally published and will not have the complete volume/issue/page information) that include errors, or are discovered to be accidental duplicates of other published article (s), or are determined to violate our journal publishing ethics guidelines in the view of the editors (such as multiple submissions, bogus claims of authorship, plagiarism, fraudulent use of data or the like), maybe "Withdrawn "From the Journal of Social Studies (JSS) website. Withdrawing means that the article content (HTML and PDF) is deleted and replaced with an HTML page and PDF simply states that the article has been withdrawn. In this case, the author will be punished by paying $300 USD per manuscript.
  • If the author doesn't agree to pay the penalty, the author and his/her affiliation will be blacklisted for publication in this journal (3 years).
  • If the author request to withdraw a manuscript, an official letter signed by the corresponding author and agency leader must be sent to the Principal Editor.

 Article Correction

Journal of Social Studies (JSS) should consider issuing a correction if:

  • A small part of an otherwise reliable publication reports flawed data or proves to be misleading, especially if this is the result of honest error.
  • The Author or Contributor list is incorrect (e.g. a deserving Author has been omitted or someone who does not meet authorship criteria has been included).

Corrections to peer-reviewed content fall into one of three categories:

  • Publisher correction (erratum): to notify readers of an important error made by publishing/journal staff (usually a production error) that has a negative impact on the publication record or the scientific integrity of the article, or on the reputation of the Authors or the journal.
  • Author correction (corrigendum): to notify readers of an important error made by the Authors which has a negative impact on the publication record or the scientific integrity of the article, or on the reputation of the Authors or the journal.
  • Addendum: an addition to the article by its Authors to explain inconsistencies, to expand the existing work, or otherwise explain or update the information in the main work.

The decision whether a correction should be issued is made by the Editor(s) of a journal, sometimes with advice from Reviewers or Editorial Board members. Handling Editors will contact the Authors of the paper concerned with a request for clarification, but the final decision about whether a correction is required and if so which type rests with the Editors.

Article Removal

In an extremely limited number of cases, it may be necessary to remove a published article from our online platform. This will only happen if an article is clearly defamatory, or infringes others’ legal rights, or where the article is, or we have good reason to expect that it will be, the subject of a court order, or where the article, if acted upon, may pose a serious health risk. In such circumstances, while the metadata (i.e. title and author information) of the article will be retained, the text will be replaced with a screen indicating that the article has been removed for legal reasons.

 Article Replacement

In cases where an article, if acted upon, may pose a serious health risk, the Authors of the original paper may wish to retract the flawed original and replace it with a corrected version. Under such circumstances, the above procedures for retraction will be followed with the difference that the article retraction notice will contain a link to the corrected re-published article together with a history of the document.