CORRECTION AND RETRACTION POLICY

Afeksi: Jurnal Penelitian dan Evaluasi Pendidikan is committed to maintaining the accuracy, transparency, and integrity of all published articles. If an error or ethical concern is identified after publication, the journal may issue a correction, publish an expression of concern, or retract the article, depending on the seriousness of the issue.

1. Article Corrections

A correction will be issued when an article contains an error that does not invalidate the main findings or conclusions of the research.

Corrections may address errors involving:

authors’ names or affiliations;
numbers, tables, figures, or captions;
descriptions of methods or results;
references, DOIs, or links;
funding information;
conflict-of-interest statements; or
editing, formatting, or production.

Minor errors that do not alter the meaning of the article may be corrected directly. Errors that may affect the reader’s understanding will be accompanied by a formal correction notice.

Erratum

An erratum is issued when an error was introduced by the journal, editor, publisher, or production process.

Corrigendum

A corrigendum is issued when an error was made by the authors, but the article as a whole remains reliable.

Addendum

An addendum may be published to provide important information that was omitted from the original article without changing its main conclusions.

All correction notices will be openly available and linked to the original article.

2. Expression of Concern

The journal may publish an Expression of Concern when serious questions have been raised about the reliability or integrity of an article, but the investigation has not yet been completed.

An Expression of Concern may be issued in cases involving suspected:

data manipulation;
plagiarism;
research ethics violations;
undisclosed conflicts of interest;
authorship problems; or
unreliable research findings.

After the investigation is completed, the Expression of Concern may be followed by a correction, retraction, or notice confirming that the article remains valid.

3. Article Retraction

An article may be retracted when its findings or conclusions are unreliable or when a serious ethical violation has occurred.

Reasons for retraction may include:

fabrication or falsification of data;
manipulation of data or images;
plagiarism;
duplicate or redundant publication;
serious copyright infringement;
research conducted without appropriate ethical approval;
manipulation of the peer-review process;
serious undisclosed conflicts of interest;
authorship misconduct affecting the integrity of the article; or
major errors that invalidate the research findings.

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

A retracted article will not normally be deleted. It will remain accessible, clearly marked as RETRACTED, and linked to the retraction notice.

4. Review Procedure

Reports of errors or suspected misconduct may be submitted by authors, reviewers, editors, readers, institutions, or other parties.

The journal’s review process may include:

an initial assessment by the editor;
a request for clarification from the authors;
examination of supporting evidence or research data;
consultation with experts or the relevant institution, when necessary;
an editorial decision; and
publication of a correction, Expression of Concern, or retraction notice.

Authors will be given a reasonable opportunity to provide an explanation and supporting evidence. However, failure to respond will not prevent the journal from making a decision based on the available evidence.

5. Retraction Notice

A retraction notice will include:

the title and identity of the article;
the authors’ names;
the DOI or publication details;
the reason for retraction;
the party responsible for issuing the retraction; and
whether the authors agreed with the decision.

The retraction notice will be openly accessible and linked to the original article.

6. Article Removal

Published articles will not normally be removed.

Removal may only occur in exceptional circumstances, such as:

a court order;
a serious violation of privacy;
an immediate risk to personal safety;
unlawful content;
serious copyright infringement; or
unauthorized disclosure of confidential information.

Where removal is necessary, the journal will retain a notice explaining the reason for removal, as far as legally permitted.

7. Authorship Changes

Requests to add, remove, or change the order of authors after publication must:

be submitted in writing;
include a clear explanation;
be approved by all authors; and
include information about each author’s contribution.

Where an authorship dispute cannot be resolved, the journal may request an investigation by the relevant institution.

8. Appeals

Authors may appeal a correction or retraction decision.

An appeal must:

be submitted in writing;
explain the grounds for disagreement;
identify a procedural error or provide substantial new evidence; and
be sent through the journal’s official contact address.

Where possible, the appeal will be reviewed by an editor or independent party who was not directly involved in the original decision.

9. Core Principles

In handling corrections and retractions, the journal follows the principles of:

fairness;
transparency;
objectivity;
proportionality;
confidentiality;
avoidance of conflicts of interest; and
no silent alteration of published articles.

This policy is based on the guidance of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) concerning corrections, expressions of concern, and article retractions.