Article policy

EduRE is committed to maintaining the integrity, transparency, and permanence of the scholarly record. Published articles form part of the permanent academic record and should remain accessible, citable, and clearly documented. When necessary, EduRE may issue a Correction, Expression of Concern, Withdrawal, Retraction, Removal, or Replacement in accordance with editorial policy, COPE guidance, and applicable legal requirements.

The Editor-in-Chief has independent responsibility for editorial decisions concerning post-publication updates and record correction. All formal notices are published permanently and clearly linked to the affected article.

1) Reporting an Error or Concern

Authors, readers, reviewers, or third parties who identify a significant error, ethical concern, or reliability issue in a published article are encouraged to contact the journal promptly using the official contact details. The journal may request supporting documentation, clarification, or additional expert review before determining an appropriate course of action.

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 in order to maintain accuracy and transparency.

  • Corrigendum: issued when the error originated from the author(s).
  • Erratum: issued when the error originated during the journal’s editorial, production, or publication process.

All corrections are published as formal notices and are permanently linked to the original article. Where appropriate, the article may be updated with clear notice of the correction while preserving transparency regarding what has changed.

3) Expression of Concern

An Expression of Concern may be issued when potentially serious concerns have been raised about a published article but the available evidence is inconclusive or an investigation is ongoing. This may occur, for example, when:

  • evidence of misconduct or unreliability is inconclusive but warrants reader awareness,
  • an investigation is underway and a final decision is not yet available, or
  • there are credible concerns that the available process or evidence may not yet support a definitive outcome.

An Expression of Concern may later be updated, replaced, or resolved through a Correction, Retraction, Editor’s Note, or other formal notice.

4) Withdrawal (Pre-publication or Early Online Items)

Items that have been accepted for publication but are not yet assigned to a final issue or version of record may be withdrawn in limited circumstances, such as substantial error, accidental duplication, or serious publication ethics concerns (for example, plagiarism, duplicate submission, fabricated data, or authorship irregularities).

When a withdrawal occurs, the item is replaced with a formal withdrawal notice stating the reason for withdrawal and the date of the action, while preserving the bibliographic record where possible.

5) Retraction

A Retraction may be issued when a published article is found to be unreliable or seriously compromised. Grounds may include major error, fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, redundant publication without disclosure, unethical research or publication practices, compromised peer review, undisclosed conflicts of interest, authorship manipulation, citation manipulation, or other major integrity concerns.

  • A formal notice titled “Retraction: [Article Title]” is published.
  • The notice is permanently linked to the original article.
  • The article is clearly marked as retracted to protect readers and preserve the scholarly record.
  • The original article remains accessible to the extent legally and ethically appropriate.

6) Removal (Exceptional Legal Circumstances)

In extremely rare cases, an article may be removed from the journal website only when retraction is legally insufficient, such as when:

  • the content is defamatory or violates legal rights,
  • 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 bibliographic metadata such as title, authors, and DOI are retained wherever possible.

7) Replacement

If a published article poses a serious risk and a corrected version must be made available urgently, the original article may be formally replaced. In such cases, the relationship between the original and corrected versions will be clearly documented through linked notices and transparent version history.

8) Communication and Transparency

EduRE is committed to communicating all post-publication actions clearly and permanently. Formal notices are linked to the relevant article, published as part of the scholarly record, and presented in a way that enables readers to understand what changed, why the action was taken, and how the article should now be interpreted.