Retraction, Withdrawal, Correction, Removal, and Replacement Policies
Retraction, Withdrawal, Correction, Removal, and Replacement Policy
Digital Social Sciences is committed to maintaining the accuracy, integrity, and transparency of the scholarly record. When significant concerns arise regarding submitted or published content, the journal may issue corrections, withdrawals, retractions, replacements, removals, or expressions of concern in accordance with accepted publication ethics standards and best practices.
Article Withdrawal
A manuscript may be withdrawn before publication if it was submitted in error, found to be a duplicate submission, contains serious errors, raises ethical concerns, or involves plagiarism, fabricated data, or copyright infringement.
Authors wishing to withdraw a manuscript must submit a written request explaining the reasons for withdrawal. Requests made after acceptance will only be considered under exceptional circumstances.
Corrections and Errata
The journal may publish corrections when a published article contains errors that do not affect the validity of its findings. Examples include typographical mistakes, author information errors, citation inaccuracies, or minor factual and production-related issues.
All corrections will be linked to the original article to ensure transparency.
Retraction Policy
An article may be retracted when there is clear evidence that its findings are unreliable or that serious publication misconduct has occurred. Grounds for retraction may include:
- Plagiarism;
- Data fabrication or falsification;
- Duplicate or redundant publication;
- Unethical research practices;
- Peer review manipulation;
- Major methodological errors;
- Copyright violations; or
- Undisclosed conflicts of interest that compromise the integrity of the work.
Retraction notices will clearly identify the affected article, explain the reason for retraction, and remain permanently linked to the publication. Retracted articles may remain accessible but will be clearly marked as retracted.
Article Replacement
In exceptional cases, an article may be replaced when major inaccuracies resulting from an honest error are identified, or when an incorrect version was published due to technical or production issues. A replacement notice will be issued to document the changes made.
Article Removal
Complete removal of an article will occur only in exceptional circumstances involving legal, ethical, privacy, or public safety concerns. Where removal is necessary, the journal will retain bibliographic information and publish a notice explaining the reason for removal whenever legally permissible.
Expressions of Concern
The journal may issue an Expression of Concern when serious questions have been raised about a publication but an investigation has not yet reached a final conclusion. Such notices will remain associated with the article until the matter is resolved.
Investigation Procedure
Allegations of research misconduct or publication ethics violations are reviewed confidentially by the editorial office. The journal may seek clarification from authors, request supporting documentation, consult independent experts or institutions, and follow established ethical procedures during investigations.
Commitment to Publication Ethics
Digital Social Sciences follows internationally recognized principles of publication ethics and reserves the right to take appropriate editorial action to protect the integrity of scholarly communication. Authors, reviewers, and editors are expected to cooperate fully in resolving any ethical concerns that may arise before or after publication.
