Retraction, Withdrawal, and Correction Policy

International Journal of Innovation in Teaching and Learning Technology is committed to maintaining the accuracy, integrity, transparency, and reliability of the scholarly record. The journal recognizes that, in certain circumstances, a submitted or published article may require withdrawal, correction, retraction, or other appropriate editorial action.

All decisions concerning withdrawal, correction, and retraction are made by the Editorial Board based on the nature and severity of the issue and in accordance with recognized principles of publication ethics.

1. Article Withdrawal

Article withdrawal refers to the removal of a manuscript before its formal publication. Authors may request withdrawal of a manuscript during the editorial or peer review process by submitting a formal written request to the Editorial Office.

A manuscript may be withdrawn when:

  • duplicate or simultaneous submission is identified;

  • substantial errors are discovered that cannot reasonably be corrected during the editorial process;

  • serious ethical concerns arise regarding the research or manuscript;

  • plagiarism or other forms of publication misconduct are identified;

  • authorship disputes arise that cannot be resolved appropriately;

  • the manuscript is found to violate the journal's submission or publication policies; or

  • withdrawal is otherwise considered necessary to protect the integrity of the publication process.

Once a manuscript has entered an advanced stage of review or production, withdrawal requests may be subject to editorial consideration.

Authors should not withdraw a manuscript simply because they disagree with reviewer comments or editorial decisions.

2. Article Retraction

Retraction applies to an article that has already been formally published but is subsequently determined to contain serious problems that invalidate its reliability, integrity, or ethical standing.

An article may be retracted for reasons including, but not limited to:

  • plagiarism or substantial unauthorized use of another person's work;

  • fabrication or falsification of research data;

  • serious research or publication misconduct;

  • unethical research or failure to obtain required ethical approval;

  • duplicate or redundant publication;

  • substantial undisclosed conflicts of interest that materially affect the research;

  • serious methodological or analytical errors that invalidate the findings or conclusions;

  • manipulation of the peer review or publication process;

  • serious authorship misconduct;

  • copyright infringement or unauthorized use of protected material; or

  • other circumstances that substantially compromise the integrity or reliability of the published article.

Retraction is intended to correct the scholarly record, not to punish authors.

3. Retraction Procedure

When potential grounds for retraction are identified, the Editorial Board will assess the available evidence and may contact the authors for clarification.

Where appropriate, the journal may:

  1. conduct an internal editorial assessment;

  2. request an explanation or supporting documentation from the authors;

  3. consult independent experts or reviewers;

  4. contact the authors' affiliated institution or relevant authority where necessary;

  5. issue an Expression of Concern while an investigation is ongoing; and

  6. publish a formal retraction notice when retraction is justified.

A retraction decision will be documented transparently and will identify the reason for the retraction.

4. Retracted Articles and Scholarly Record

Retracted articles will remain accessible in the journal archive where possible in order to preserve the integrity and continuity of the scholarly record.

The original article will be clearly identified as “RETRACTED” on the article page and, where technically possible, on the article PDF. A separate retraction notice will explain the reason for the retraction and will be permanently linked to the original article.

The article will remain part of the scholarly record but should not be treated as reliable research evidence after retraction.

5. Article Corrections

Corrections are issued when an error is identified in a published article but the error does not invalidate the overall findings or conclusions of the research.

Corrections may address, among other matters:

  • typographical or formatting errors;

  • incorrect author information;

  • minor factual inaccuracies;

  • errors in tables or figures that do not affect the main conclusions;

  • incomplete or inaccurate references;

  • minor methodological or textual errors; or

  • other errors that can be corrected without fundamentally changing the scholarly interpretation of the article.

Where appropriate, corrections will be published as a Correction Notice and linked to the original article.

6. Major Corrections

If an error has a significant impact on the interpretation of the research but does not justify full retraction, the Editorial Board may require a substantive correction.

The corrected version will clearly indicate what has been changed, and an appropriate correction notice will be published to maintain transparency.

If the error substantially undermines the validity or reliability of the article, the Editorial Board may instead consider retraction.

7. Expression of Concern

An Expression of Concern may be published when serious questions have arisen regarding the integrity, reliability, or ethics of a published article, but the available evidence is not yet sufficient to justify immediate retraction.

An Expression of Concern may be issued while the journal conducts further investigation or awaits the outcome of an investigation by the authors' institution or another appropriate authority.

If the investigation establishes that retraction or correction is necessary, the journal will take the appropriate editorial action.

8. Authorship Corrections

Requests to add, remove, or change authors after submission or publication must be supported by an explanation and, where applicable, written agreement from all affected authors.

Authorship changes after publication will only be made when the Editorial Board is satisfied that the requested change is justified and complies with the journal's authorship and publication ethics requirements.

9. Copyright and Legal Issues

If an article is found to infringe copyright or contain unauthorized third-party material, the Editorial Board may take appropriate action, including correction, removal of the affected material, withdrawal, or retraction, depending on the nature and severity of the infringement.

The journal will consider applicable copyright and legal requirements when determining the appropriate course of action.

10. Editorial Independence

Decisions concerning withdrawal, correction, retraction, or expressions of concern are made independently of commercial considerations, including Article Processing Charges (APCs).

Payment or non-payment of publication fees does not determine whether an article is corrected, withdrawn, or retracted.

11. Preservation of the Scholarly Record

International Journal of Innovation in Teaching and Learning Technology is committed to preserving a transparent and reliable scholarly record. Editorial actions taken after publication will be documented and linked to the affected article whenever possible.

The journal will avoid silently removing or altering published content except where removal is required by applicable legal or ethical obligations.

All withdrawal, correction, retraction, and expression-of-concern decisions are undertaken with the primary objective of protecting academic integrity, research reliability, and the interests of the scholarly community.