Corrections, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern Policy

Journal of Language Education and Literacy (JLEL) is committed to maintaining the accuracy, integrity, transparency, and reliability of the scholarly record. When errors, ethical concerns, or research-integrity issues are identified in published work, JLEL will take appropriate editorial action according to the nature, seriousness, and effect of the issue on the scholarly record.

JLEL may issue Corrections, Retractions, Expressions of Concern, or other appropriate editorial notices when necessary to ensure that readers have access to an accurate and transparent scholarly record.

Corrections

A Correction may be published when an error is identified in a published article but the error does not invalidate the article's overall findings, conclusions, or scholarly contribution.

Corrections may be considered for significant errors involving, for example:

  • Author names, affiliations, or other author information;

  • Data, figures, tables, or supplementary materials;

  • Factual or textual errors that may affect interpretation;

  • Errors introduced during the editorial or production process;

  • Incorrect or incomplete acknowledgments or funding information; or

  • Other errors that materially affect the accuracy or understanding of the published record.

Minor typographical, grammatical, or formatting errors that do not affect the meaning, interpretation, or scholarly integrity of the article may not require a formal Correction.

When a formal Correction is necessary, JLEL will publish a Correction notice and link it appropriately to the original article. The notice will clearly identify the article concerned and explain the nature of the correction.

Retractions

An article may be considered for Retraction when there is clear evidence that its findings or conclusions are unreliable or when serious research or publication misconduct has compromised the integrity of the work.

Grounds for Retraction may include, but are not limited to:

  • Fabrication or falsification of data;

  • Plagiarism or substantial unattributed use of another person's work;

  • Redundant, duplicate, or unauthorized publication;

  • Serious errors that invalidate the article's findings or conclusions;

  • Unethical research practices;

  • Serious authorship or copyright violations;

  • Manipulation or compromise of the peer-review or publication process; or

  • Other serious breaches of research or publication ethics that undermine the reliability or integrity of the article.

Retraction is intended to correct the scholarly record and alert readers to serious problems with a published work. It is not intended as a mechanism for punishment.

Retraction Notices

When an article is retracted, JLEL will publish a Retraction notice that is clearly linked to the affected article.

Where legally permissible and supported by the available evidence, the notice will:

  • Clearly identify the retracted article;

  • State that the article has been retracted;

  • Explain the reason for the Retraction with sufficient clarity;

  • Identify who is retracting the article, where appropriate; and

  • Avoid statements that are defamatory, speculative, or unsupported by available evidence.

The original scholarly record will normally remain accessible and clearly identifiable as Retracted rather than simply being removed from the journal website.

JLEL will clearly mark the affected article as Retracted and maintain appropriate links between the article and its Retraction notice.

Expressions of Concern

JLEL may publish an Expression of Concern when serious questions have been raised regarding a published article but the available information is insufficient to determine whether a Correction or Retraction is warranted.

An Expression of Concern may be appropriate when:

  • An investigation into alleged misconduct is ongoing;

  • Available evidence concerning the reliability of the article is inconclusive;

  • An institutional investigation has not yet reached a conclusion;

  • There are serious concerns regarding research integrity that cannot yet be resolved; or

  • Obtaining reliable information needed to reach a final editorial decision is expected to take substantial time.

An Expression of Concern does not necessarily mean that misconduct has occurred. It informs readers that significant unresolved concerns exist while further assessment or investigation is undertaken.

When the matter has been resolved, JLEL may supersede the Expression of Concern with an appropriate Correction, Retraction, or other editorial notice while maintaining a transparent record of the actions taken.

Article Withdrawal Before Publication

Authors who wish to withdraw a manuscript that has not yet been formally published must contact the Editorial Office and provide a clear reason for the withdrawal.

Withdrawal requests will be considered in light of the manuscript's stage in the editorial and publication process. A manuscript remains under consideration by JLEL until the journal confirms that the withdrawal has been accepted.

A manuscript may also be withdrawn from further processing by the journal before publication when serious ethical, legal, authorship, duplicate-submission, or publication-integrity concerns make continued processing inappropriate.

Withdrawal of an unpublished manuscript is distinct from the Retraction of a published article.

Removal of Published Content

Complete removal of published content from the journal website will be considered only in exceptional circumstances, particularly when continued availability creates serious legal, privacy, confidentiality, or safety concerns that cannot adequately be addressed through a Correction, Retraction, or other editorial notice.

Where removal is necessary, JLEL will, to the extent legally and ethically permissible, preserve an appropriate bibliographic record and provide an explanatory notice indicating why the content is no longer available.

Published articles will not ordinarily be removed merely because an author later disagrees with the article, wishes to withdraw it after publication, or seeks to eliminate an unfavorable scholarly record.

Version of Record

JLEL recognizes the importance of preserving the integrity of the Version of Record.

Substantive changes to published articles will not be made silently. When a significant post-publication change is necessary, the journal will use an appropriate Correction, Retraction, Expression of Concern, or other editorial notice so that readers can understand what has changed and why.

This approach supports the transparency, traceability, and reliability of the scholarly record.

Requests for Correction, Retraction, or Other Post-Publication Action

Authors, readers, reviewers, editors, institutions, or other concerned parties may report potential errors or integrity concerns involving an article published by JLEL.

Requests should include, where applicable:

  • The title of the article;

  • Author name(s);

  • DOI or other identifying information;

  • A clear description of the error or concern;

  • Relevant evidence or supporting documentation; and

  • Contact information for further communication.

Requests should be submitted through the official contact channel of the Journal of Language Education and Literacy (JLEL).

Editorial Assessment

Reports concerning potential Corrections, Retractions, Expressions of Concern, or other post-publication issues will be assessed by the Editor-in-Chief or an authorized handling editor.

Where necessary, JLEL may seek information from authors, reviewers, Editorial Board members, institutions, research-integrity offices, or other relevant parties.

Editors involved in assessing a case must disclose relevant conflicts of interest and recuse themselves where their impartiality could reasonably be questioned. Where the Editor-in-Chief has a relevant conflict of interest, the matter will be handled independently by another authorized and appropriately qualified person.

The journal will distinguish, as far as reasonably possible, between honest error and potential misconduct. Where an institutional investigation is appropriate, JLEL may refer the matter to the relevant institution or authority while taking any interim editorial action considered necessary to protect the integrity of the scholarly record.

Publication Ethics and COPE Guidance

JLEL handles Corrections, Retractions, Expressions of Concern, and related post-publication matters in accordance with its Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement and relevant guidance from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Editorial actions will be determined according to the available evidence, the seriousness of the issue, and its effect on the reliability and integrity of the published scholarly record.

JLEL is committed to ensuring that post-publication changes are handled transparently, fairly, consistently, and with appropriate documentation so that the integrity of the scholarly record is maintained.