Correction and Retraction Policy

1. Types of Post-Publication Action

a. Correction (Erratum / Corrigendum)
A correction is issued when a significant part of the article contains an error that does not invalidate its main findings or conclusions.

  • Erratum: an error introduced by the journal during editing, layout, or publication (e.g. a misplaced figure, a typesetting error in a table or equation, an incorrect author affiliation added by the journal).
  • Corrigendum: an error made by the authors (e.g. incorrect values in a table, a mislabelled figure, a missing reference, an error in a calculation that does not change the conclusions, or an incorrect author name or affiliation).

Minor errors that do not affect the meaning, reliability, or citation of the article (such as spelling or grammar mistakes) are generally not corrected.

b. Retraction
A retraction is issued when an article’s findings or conclusions can no longer be relied upon, or when serious ethical misconduct has occurred. Reasons include:

  • data fabrication or falsification, or a major error (e.g. in laboratory testing, field measurement, or structural analysis) that invalidates the conclusions;
  • plagiarism, including self-plagiarism, beyond the journal’s similarity limit;
  • duplicate or redundant publication of the same work in another journal;
  • use of data, figures, or project information without authorization;
  • serious undisclosed conflicts of interest that affected the interpretation of the results;
  • authorship disputes involving the inclusion of individuals without their knowledge or consent;
  • compromised or manipulated peer review.

c. Expression of Concern
When there are serious doubts about an article but the evidence is still inconclusive, or an investigation by the author’s institution is ongoing, the editor may publish an Expression of Concern. Depending on the outcome of the investigation, it may later be followed by a correction or retraction, or be withdrawn.

d. Article Removal
In very rare cases, an article may be removed from the website. This applies only when the content is defamatory, infringes legal rights, is subject to a court order, or poses a serious risk if acted upon. The article’s metadata (title and authors) will remain, together with a notice explaining that it has been removed for legal reasons.

2. Withdrawal Before Publication

Authors may withdraw a manuscript at any stage before acceptance by sending a written request with reasons to the editor. Withdrawal after acceptance and before publication requires a strong justification and the agreement of all authors. Withdrawing a manuscript in order to submit it to another journal while it is under review at JURMATEKS is considered unethical.

3. How to Report an Error or Concern

Anyone (authors, readers, reviewers, or institutions) may report a suspected error or ethical issue in a published article by emailing jurmateks@unik-kediri.ac.id. The report should include:

  • the article title, volume, issue, and DOI;
  • a clear description of the problem;
  • supporting evidence, where available.

Requests for correction from authors must be submitted by the corresponding author with the agreement of all co-authors.

4. Handling Procedure

  1. Initial assessment: the Editor-in-Chief reviews the report and decides whether further investigation is needed.
  2. Contacting the authors: the authors are informed of the concern and given the opportunity to respond, normally within 14 days.
  3. Investigation: the editor may consult reviewers, members of the editorial board, or independent experts. Where necessary, the editor may contact the authors’ institution, following COPE flowcharts.
  4. Decision: the Editor-in-Chief decides on the appropriate action (no action, correction, expression of concern, or retraction) and informs the authors of the decision and its reasons.
  5. Publication of the notice: the notice is published in the next available issue of JURMATEKS.

JURMATEKS aims to complete this process promptly. The time required depends on the complexity of the case and on the responsiveness of the authors and their institutions.

5. How Notices Are Published

  • Each notice is published as a separate item titled “Correction to: [article title]”, “Retraction: [article title]”, or “Expression of Concern: [article title]”. It is listed in the table of contents of the issue in which it appears.
  • The notice states who issued it and gives a clear explanation of the reason, written to avoid defamation.
  • The notice and the original article are linked to each other, and the update is registered with Crossref so that the change is visible to indexing databases and readers.
  • Corrections: the corrected version of the article replaces the original, and the corrigendum or erratum notice remains linked to it.
  • Retractions: the original article remains available, but each page of the PDF is clearly marked “RETRACTED”and the article page links to the retraction notice. The article title is preceded by “RETRACTED:”.

6. Changes in Authorship

Requests to change authorship after publication follow the journal’s Authorship and Contributorship policy. If approved, they are made only through a formal correction notice.

7. Related Policies

This policy should be read together with the journal’s Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement, Plagiarism Policy, and Authorship and Contributorship policy.