Corrections, Withdrawal, Retraction, and Removal Policy

The Journal of Economic Development and Village Building (JEDVB) is committed to maintaining the integrity and permanence of the scholarly record. The published version of an article is intended to be a permanent and unaltered record; changes are made only in the limited circumstances set out below, and always through a transparent, documented process. All corrections, retractions, and related actions follow the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), and the editor is solely responsible for these decisions, constrained only by legal requirements concerning defamation, copyright, and plagiarism.

Corrections

Where a published article contains an error that should be recorded, JEDVB issues a correction notice that is linked to the original article, while the original article itself remains available. The type of notice depends on the nature of the error:

  • Corrigendum: for an error introduced by the author(s) that affects the record but not the overall findings (for example, an incorrect figure, table value, or author affiliation).
  • Erratum: for an error introduced by the editor or publisher during production.

Minor errors that do not affect the readability or scholarly meaning of the article (such as minor typographical errors) may not warrant a formal notice. Requests for correction should be sent to the editorial office with a clear description of the error.

Expressions of Concern

If a credible concern is raised about a published article, for example, regarding the integrity of the data or the conduct of the research, and the matter is still under investigation or unresolved, the editors may publish an Expression of Concern linked to the article to alert readers while inquiries continue. It is replaced by a correction, a retraction, or a notice of resolution once the investigation concludes.

Withdrawal of a submitted manuscript

Authors may request to withdraw a manuscript at any stage before publication. Because peer review commits significant time from editors and reviewers, authors are asked to consider such requests carefully and to submit them as early as possible.

To withdraw a manuscript, the corresponding author must send a signed Article Withdrawal Request, stating the reason on behalf of all authors, to the editorial office. The withdrawal is effective only once the editorial office confirms it in writing; until then, the manuscript remains under consideration. It is not permissible to withdraw a manuscript from JEDVB because it has been accepted elsewhere, as submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal simultaneously is a breach of publication ethics.

Manuscripts that have been accepted but not yet formally published (articles in press) may also be withdrawn by the editors if they are found to contain errors, to be accidental duplicate submissions, or to violate publication ethics. In such cases the article file is removed and replaced with a page noting that the article has been withdrawn in accordance with this policy.

Retraction

Retraction is used to correct the published record when an article's findings are seriously unreliable or the work breaches publication ethics. JEDVB will retract a published article where, for example:

  • there is clear evidence that the findings are unreliable due to misconduct (such as data fabrication or falsification) or honest error;
  • the work constitutes plagiarism or redundant (duplicate) publication;
  • the research is unethical, or authorship or competing interests were seriously misrepresented.

Retractions follow the COPE Retraction Guidelines and the following mechanics:

  • a retraction note titled "Retraction: [article title]," signed by the authors and/or the editor, is published in a subsequent issue and listed in its table of contents;
  • the note is linked to the retracted article and states the reason for retraction;
  • the original article is retained but clearly watermarked as "retracted" on every page of the PDF, so that the record remains transparent;
  • the retraction notice remains permanently and freely accessible.

Authors are informed and given the opportunity to respond before a retraction decision is finalized, and in serious cases the editors may notify the authors' institutions.

Removal for legal reasons

In rare cases an article may need to be removed from the online record entirely, for example, where it is defamatory, infringes legal rights, is subject to a court order, or would otherwise create a serious legal or safety risk. In these cases the article's metadata (title and authors) is retained, but the full text is replaced with a notice explaining that the article has been removed for legal reasons.

Replacement

Where a published article could, if acted upon, pose a serious risk, the authors may retract the original and replace it with a corrected version. The retraction procedure above is followed, with the retraction notice additionally linking to the corrected, republished article and documenting its history.

Contact

Requests and concerns relating to any of the above should be directed to the editorial office through the journal's contact page. All requests are acknowledged, and the outcome is communicated to the parties involved.