Article policy

EduRE is committed to maintaining the integrity of the scholarly record and preserving trust in the research it publishes. Published articles form part of a permanent scholarly record. In some circumstances, it may be necessary to issue a Correction, Expression of Concern, Retraction, Withdrawal (for Articles-in-Press), or (only in exceptional legal cases) Removal. All post-publication notices are made permanent and clearly linked to the affected article.

The Editor-in-Chief has independent responsibility for editorial decisions and acts in accordance with the journal’s policies and applicable legal requirements (e.g., defamation, copyright, and privacy). This policy is reviewed periodically in line with COPE guidance and recognized best practices.

1) Reporting an Error or Concern

Authors (or readers) who identify a significant error or potential issue are encouraged to contact the journal promptly using the official contact details. The journal will assess the claim and, where appropriate, may request supporting information and/or conduct additional review.

2) Corrections (Corrigendum / Erratum)

A Correction may be issued when an error or omission does not invalidate the main conclusions of the article but requires clarification for accuracy and transparency.

  • Corrigendum: issued when the error originated from the authors.

  • Erratum: issued when the error originated during the journal’s production or publication process.
    All Corrections are published as a formal notice and are permanently linked to the original article.

3) Expression of Concern

An Expression of Concern may be issued when potentially serious issues have been raised but the outcome of an investigation is inconclusive or pending, for example when:

  • evidence of misconduct is inconclusive yet warrants informing readers,

  • an investigation is ongoing and a final decision will not be available in a reasonable time, or

  • there are credible concerns that an investigation may not be fair, impartial, or conclusive.
    An Expression of Concern may be updated or replaced by a subsequent notice (e.g., Correction, Retraction, or an Editor’s Note) once the matter is resolved.

4) Withdrawal (Articles-in-Press / Accepted but Not Yet Assigned to an Issue)

Articles that have been accepted for publication but are not yet formally assigned to an issue may be withdrawn in limited circumstances, such as:

  • substantial errors,

  • accidental duplication, or

  • serious breaches of publication ethics (e.g., duplicate submission, plagiarism, fraudulent data, or false authorship claims).
    When an article is withdrawn, it is replaced with a withdrawal notice indicating the reason for withdrawal and the date of the action, while retaining the bibliographic record.

5) Retraction

A Retraction may be issued when findings are unreliable (e.g., major error, fabrication, falsification), when there is redundant publication without disclosure, unethical research or publication practices, compromised peer review, undisclosed conflicts of interest, or other serious integrity concerns (including authorship manipulation or citation manipulation).
EduRE follows best practices for retractions:

  • a formal notice titled “Retraction: [Article Title]” is published and signed by the Editor (and authors if appropriate),

  • the retraction notice is permanently linked to the original article, and the article is clearly marked as RETRACTED (e.g., watermarking),

  • the original article remains part of the scholarly record to the extent legally possible, with clear status labeling to protect readers.

6) Removal (Exceptional Legal Limitations)

In extremely rare cases, an article may be removed from the journal website only when:

  • the article is defamatory or violates legal rights and retraction is legally insufficient,

  • a court order requires removal, or

  • the article poses a serious and immediate risk if acted upon.
    In such cases, the article text is replaced with a removal statement, while the bibliographic metadata (e.g., title, authors, DOI) are retained.

7) Replacement (Serious Risk Cases)

If an article could pose a significant health or safety risk if acted upon, authors may retract the original article and replace it with a corrected version. In such cases, the retraction notice will link to the corrected article to ensure transparency and traceability.