Retraction and Correction policies

Corrections, Expressions of Concern, Retractions, and Article Removal

Management Science Advances (MSA) is committed to preserving the accuracy, integrity, and completeness of the scholarly record. Articles published online form part of the permanent scholarly record. Where a significant error, omission, ethical concern, or other problem is identified after publication, the journal will take appropriate post-publication action in accordance with its Publication Ethics Statement and applicable Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidance.

Post-publication changes will be made transparently and only where necessary to correct the scholarly record, clarify relevant information, or address concerns affecting the reliability or integrity of a published article. The type of action taken will depend on the nature and seriousness of the issue.

Corrections

A correction may be published when an error or omission affects the accuracy, interpretation, presentation, metadata, or completeness of an article but does not invalidate its principal findings or conclusions.

Corrections may relate to text, data, equations, figures, tables, references, author information, affiliations, funding statements, conflict-of-interest disclosures, or other relevant parts of the published record.

Where a correction is required, the journal will normally publish a separate correction notice that clearly identifies the original article, describes the correction, and is linked to the published article. Where appropriate, the online version of the article may also be updated, provided that the change is transparently documented and the integrity of the version of record is preserved.

Minor typographical, grammatical, formatting, or production errors that do not affect the scientific meaning, interpretation, metadata, or integrity of the article may be corrected without publication of a separate formal notice at the journal's discretion. Substantive changes will not be made silently.

Publisher Corrections

A Publisher Correction may be issued when an error was introduced during editorial processing, copyediting, typesetting, metadata preparation, online publication, or another production stage for which the journal or Publisher is responsible.

Such errors may include incorrect author names, affiliations, article titles, bibliographic metadata, figure placement, production-generated formatting errors, or other mistakes that materially affect the accuracy or usability of the published article.

Where appropriate, the published version may be corrected and accompanied by a linked Publisher Correction explaining the nature of the change.

Expressions of Concern

An Expression of Concern may be published when serious concerns have been raised regarding a published article but the available evidence is not yet sufficient to justify a correction or retraction.

An Expression of Concern may be appropriate where an investigation is ongoing, where an institutional or other competent investigation has not yet reached a conclusion, where there is conflicting or inconclusive evidence, or where the journal has reason to believe that the reliability or integrity of the article may be affected but a final determination cannot yet be made.

Expressions of Concern will be clearly identified, made freely available, and linked to the article concerned. They may subsequently be replaced or supplemented by a correction, retraction, or other appropriate notice when additional evidence becomes available.

Retractions

A retraction is a formal notice indicating that the findings or content of a published article should no longer be relied upon as part of the scholarly record. Retraction does not normally involve deletion of the published article. Instead, the article remains accessible and is clearly identified as retracted, with a linked retraction notice.

Retraction may be considered where there is clear evidence that:

• the findings are unreliable because of major error, fabrication, falsification, or other serious problems affecting the validity of the work;
• the article contains plagiarism or substantial unattributed use of material;
• the article substantially duplicates previously published work without appropriate disclosure, justification, citation, or permission where required;
• the research was conducted or reported in a manner that constitutes a serious breach of applicable ethical requirements;
• the article contains material published without the necessary legal rights, permissions, or authorization;
• the peer-review or editorial process was materially compromised or manipulated;
• there is evidence of serious authorship, conflict-of-interest, citation, or other publication misconduct that materially affects the integrity or reliability of the article;
• other circumstances exist in which retraction is necessary to protect the integrity of the scholarly record.

Authors may request retraction where they identify a serious error or other issue that materially affects the reliability of their published work. The journal may also initiate a retraction process following its own assessment or information received from readers, reviewers, institutions, funders, research integrity bodies, or other relevant parties.

The decision to retract an article is an editorial decision based on the available evidence and the integrity of the scholarly record. Scientific Oasis (SCIO), as the Publisher, may provide administrative, procedural, technical, or legal support but will not interfere with independent editorial judgments concerning the scientific reliability of the article.

Retraction Notices

A retraction notice will normally:

• clearly identify the retracted article, including its title and bibliographic information;
• be linked electronically to the original article and vice versa;
• be freely available to readers;
• clearly state that the article has been retracted;
• explain the reason for the retraction in a factual and objective manner, to the extent permitted by legal, ethical, confidentiality, and privacy considerations;
• indicate who initiated or approved the retraction, where appropriate;
• state whether all authors agreed with the retraction where this information is relevant and available.

A retraction may proceed even where one or more authors do not agree, provided that the journal determines that retraction is necessary to protect the integrity of the scholarly record.

Article Removal in Exceptional Circumstances

Complete removal of a published article is an exceptional measure and will not normally be used as a substitute for correction or retraction.

Removal may be considered only in rare circumstances, such as where continued publication would result in a serious legal violation, breach of privacy or confidentiality, court or regulatory requirement, substantial risk to personal safety or public security, or another exceptional situation in which continued public availability cannot reasonably be maintained.

Where an article must be removed, the journal will seek to retain the bibliographic record and DOI and publish an appropriate notice explaining that the content has been removed and, where legally and ethically permissible, the general reason for the removal.

Assessment of Post-Publication Concerns

Authors, readers, reviewers, institutions, and other interested parties are encouraged to contact the Editorial Office if they identify a significant error, omission, integrity concern, or other issue affecting a published article.

An error does not necessarily constitute research or publication misconduct. MSA will distinguish, where reasonably possible, between honest error and concerns involving possible fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, deliberate misrepresentation, manipulation, or other breaches of publication ethics.

Where a post-publication concern raises a credible allegation of research or publication misconduct, its assessment will be conducted in accordance with the journal's Procedures for Dealing with Allegations of Unethical Behaviour.

Specific concerns involving plagiarism will also be considered in accordance with the journal's Plagiarism Policy, while relevant competing-interest matters will be considered under the journal's Conflict of Interests policy.

Timing of Post-Publication Actions

There is no fixed time limit after publication for correcting, clarifying, expressing concern about, retracting, or, where exceptional circumstances require it, removing an article. Appropriate action may be taken whenever reliable information becomes available indicating that the published scholarly record requires correction or other editorial intervention.

Authors are expected to cooperate with reasonable journal requests for information necessary to assess significant post-publication errors or integrity concerns.

Editorial Independence

Decisions concerning corrections, Expressions of Concern, retractions, and other actions affecting the scholarly record will be based on the available evidence and the need to preserve the accuracy and integrity of the published record.

Where an editor responsible for assessing a post-publication matter has an actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest, the matter will be transferred to an appropriately qualified independent editor.

Related Policies and COPE Guidance

This policy should be read together with the journal's Publication Ethics Statement and Procedures for Dealing with Allegations of Unethical Behaviour.

MSA will consider relevant guidance and recommendations provided by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) when determining appropriate post-publication action.