Retraction, Withdrawal and Correction Policy

Islamic Accounting Journal (IAJ) treats the integrity of the scholarly record seriously. Once published, an article is considered part of the permanent record and will not be removed or altered except under the conditions described below. This policy follows the COPE Retraction Guidelines.

1. Article Retraction

An article may be retracted when:

  • There is clear evidence that the findings are unreliable, whether due to misconduct (data fabrication or falsification) or honest error;
  • The findings have been published previously elsewhere without proper cross-referencing, permission, or justification (redundant publication);
  • The article constitutes plagiarism;
  • The article reports unethical research.

Retraction procedure:

  1. A concern about a published article is brought to the attention of the Editor-in-Chief.
  2. The editor evaluates the concern according to the relevant COPE flowcharts and gives the author an opportunity to respond.
  3. Where necessary, the editor consults the editorial board and/or the author's institution.
  4. The final decision is communicated to the author and, where relevant, to the author's institution.
  5. A retraction notice titled "Retraction: [article title]" is published in the next available issue and linked to the original article.

The original article remains online, but every page is clearly watermarked "RETRACTED". The article's metadata and DOI are retained so that the record remains traceable. The retraction notice states the reason for retraction and who initiated it.

Authors do not have the right to retract an article unilaterally after publication; retraction is an editorial decision made to protect the integrity of the record.

2. Article Withdrawal

Withdrawal applies to manuscripts that are still under the editorial process (before publication). Authors are discouraged from withdrawing a manuscript after submission because of the time and effort invested by editors and reviewers.

  • Authors who wish to withdraw must submit a formal written request to the editor, signed by all authors, stating the reasons for withdrawal.
  • A manuscript is considered withdrawn only after the editor confirms the request in writing.
  • Authors may not submit the same manuscript to another journal until the withdrawal has been confirmed.
  • Withdrawal after acceptance is allowed only for strong reasons and may affect the journal's consideration of future submissions by the same authors.

3. Correction (Erratum/Corrigendum)

A correction is published when a small part of an otherwise reliable article is found to be inaccurate or misleading, for example an error in data presentation, an author's name or affiliation, or a reference.

  • Erratum: correction of an error introduced by the journal during production.
  • Corrigendum: correction of an error made by the author(s).

Corrections are published in the next available issue as a separate notice linked to the original article.

4. Expression of Concern

Where there is inconclusive evidence of misconduct, or an investigation is still underway, the editor may publish an expression of concern to alert readers until the matter is resolved.

Questions about this policy may be directed to the Editor-in-Chief via the Contact page.

5. Post-publication Discussion

Readers may raise questions, comments, or concerns about a published article by emailing the editor at [email protected], stating the article title and DOI. The editor will review each comment, forward relevant comments to the authors, and may publish a response or a correction where appropriate. Concerns about possible misconduct are handled according to the Allegations of Research Misconduct policy.