Retraction Policy

E-ISSN: 2277-7547

The International Journal of Behavioral Social and Movement Sciences (IJOBSMS) is committed to maintaining the integrity, transparency, accuracy, and reliability of the scholarly record. The journal recognizes that published research forms an important part of the scientific literature and must remain trustworthy, verifiable, and ethically sound.

Retractions are issued when a published article is found to contain significant errors, ethical violations, or research misconduct that substantially affect the validity, reliability, or integrity of the work. The primary purpose of a retraction is to correct the scholarly record and inform readers that the findings or conclusions of an article should no longer be considered reliable.

The journal follows internationally recognized publication ethics standards and the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) when evaluating and processing retractions.

Purpose of Retraction

Retractions are intended to:

  • Correct the scholarly record.
  • Protect the integrity of published research.
  • Alert readers to unreliable or misleading findings.
  • Maintain transparency in scholarly communication.
  • Promote ethical publishing practices.

Retractions are not intended as a punitive action against authors but as a mechanism for preserving confidence in the academic literature.

Grounds for Retraction

A published article may be retracted under circumstances including, but not limited to:

  • • Evidence of data fabrication or falsification.
  • • Significant methodological or analytical errors that invalidate the findings.
  • • Plagiarism or substantial unattributed content overlap.
  • • Duplicate or redundant publication.
  • • Fraudulent peer review practices.
  • • Image manipulation that affects the interpretation of results.
  • • Serious ethical violations involving human participants or animal research.
  • • Undisclosed conflicts of interest that materially affect the credibility of the publication.
  • • Authorship misconduct or significant misrepresentation of contributions.
  • • Any form of publication misconduct that compromises the reliability or integrity of the scholarly record.
Retraction Assessment Process

When concerns are raised regarding a published article, the Editorial Office and Editor-in-Chief will undertake an assessment in accordance with the journal’s publication ethics policies. The assessment process may include:

Preliminary evaluation of the concern.
Communication with the corresponding author.
Requests for clarification, supporting documentation, or original research data.
Consultation with reviewers, editors, subject experts, or institutional representatives where appropriate.
Consideration of relevant ethical guidelines and available evidence.

The journal is committed to conducting investigations fairly, objectively, and confidentially.

Author Response

Authors will normally be provided an opportunity to respond to concerns raised regarding their published work.

The journal will consider author explanations, supporting evidence, and relevant documentation before making a final editorial decision.

Failure to respond to reasonable requests for clarification may be considered during the investigation process.

Expression of Concern

Where serious concerns have been identified but conclusive evidence is not yet available, the journal may publish an Expression of Concern.

An Expression of Concern serves to notify readers that questions have been raised regarding the reliability or integrity of a publication while further investigation is underway.

Retraction Notice

When a retraction is considered necessary:

  • • A formal Retraction Notice will be published.
  • • The notice will clearly identify the affected article.
  • • The reasons for retraction will be stated transparently.
  • • The notice will remain permanently available.
  • • The notice will be linked directly to the original article.

The journal aims to provide sufficient information to readers while respecting legal, ethical, and confidentiality considerations.

Post-Retraction Record

To preserve the integrity and transparency of the scholarly record:

  • • Retracted articles will remain accessible whenever possible.
  • • The article will be clearly marked as retracted.
  • • Relevant metadata will be updated.
  • • The article DOI will remain active.
  • • Indexing and abstracting services may be notified where appropriate.

The journal will not normally remove published articles from its archive except in exceptional legal circumstances.

Author-Initiated Retractions

Authors may request retraction of their published work when significant errors, inaccuracies, or ethical concerns are identified after publication.

Such requests will be reviewed by the Editorial Board and evaluated in accordance with the journal’s publication ethics policies.

The final decision regarding retraction remains the responsibility of the Editor-in-Chief.

Editorial Responsibility

The Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Board are responsible for safeguarding the integrity of the journal and the scholarly record.

The journal reserves the right to issue retractions, corrections, expressions of concern, or other editorial notices whenever necessary to protect research integrity and ensure transparency.

COPE Compliance

IJOBSMS follows the principles and best practice guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and supports ethical, transparent, and responsible scholarly publishing.

Commitment to Research Integrity

The journal is dedicated to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and research integrity. Retraction decisions are made solely to preserve the accuracy, reliability, and trustworthiness of the scholarly literature.

Policy Review Notice: This policy may be reviewed and updated periodically to reflect developments in publication ethics, research integrity standards, scholarly communication, and international publishing practices.