Correction and Reaction

POST-PUBLICATION CORRECTIONS AND RETRACTIONS

INSPIRE: Journal of Innovation in Social Learning is committed to preserving the accuracy, integrity, transparency, and completeness of the scholarly record. Once an article has been published, any modification to the published version will only be considered when there is a clear and justified reason. INSPIRE follows established principles of publication ethics and recognized correction and retraction practices to ensure that the published literature remains reliable and transparent.

Corrections

A correction may be published when an article contains an error, omission, or inaccurate information that does not substantially affect the validity of the research findings but should be amended to maintain accuracy and clarity. Corrections may concern factual information, author details, institutional affiliations, data presentation, references, or other elements of the published article.

When a correction is necessary:

  • the original article will remain part of the journal’s published record;

  • a formal correction notice will be issued;

  • the correction notice will be electronically linked to the original article; and

  • the nature and reason for the correction will be clearly explained.

If a correction has an impact on the interpretation, discussion, or conclusions of the article, this effect will be explicitly described in the correction notice.

Retractions

A retraction may be issued when an article is found to contain information or findings that can no longer be considered sufficiently reliable for inclusion in the scholarly literature. Retraction may be considered in circumstances including, but not limited to:

  • substantial evidence that the reported findings are unreliable due to research misconduct or significant error;

  • plagiarism or substantial unattributed reproduction of previously published material;

  • duplicate or redundant publication;

  • unauthorized use of data, research materials, or other protected content;

  • serious ethical violations involving human participants, animals, or other protected research subjects; and

  • significant violations concerning authorship, data integrity, research ethics, or publication ethics.

When an article is retracted:

  • the original article will normally remain accessible as part of the scholarly record;

  • a formal retraction notice will be published and linked to the original article;

  • the reason for the retraction will be clearly stated; and

  • the notice will indicate whether the retraction was initiated by the authors, editors, or publisher.

A retracted article will generally not be removed from the journal website. Removal will only be considered in exceptional circumstances, such as serious legal, ethical, or safety concerns. Where removal is necessary, the article’s bibliographic information will be retained whenever possible to preserve the transparency and continuity of the scholarly record.

Publisher Corrections

A publisher correction may be issued when an error originates from the journal’s editorial, typesetting, or production process. Such errors may involve article metadata, the title, author names, affiliations, pagination, or other publication information that could affect citation accuracy, indexing, discoverability, or readers’ understanding of the article.

In such cases, INSPIRE may amend the online article and publish an appropriate notice explaining the correction. Minor typographical, spelling, or formatting errors that do not affect the meaning, interpretation, discoverability, or citation of the article may be corrected by the editorial team without issuing a separate formal notice.

Article Replacement

In exceptional circumstances, an article may be replaced by a corrected version when a substantial publication or production error has occurred and replacement is considered necessary to protect the accuracy of the scholarly record.

If article replacement is approved:

  • the corrected version will be clearly identified;

  • the date on which the correction or replacement was made will be recorded; and

  • a correction notice or publisher’s note will explain the reason for the replacement.

Article replacement will only be undertaken when there is a clear editorial justification and when the procedure is consistent with accepted publication ethics.

Post-Publication Concerns and Responsibilities

Authors are expected to inform the Editor-in-Chief or Editorial Office as soon as possible if they identify a significant error or inaccuracy in their published article. Concerns may also be raised by editors, reviewers, readers, research institutions, or other relevant parties.

INSPIRE will evaluate reported concerns carefully and, where necessary, may request explanations, supporting evidence, relevant documentation, or input from the authors’ institutions before determining whether a correction, retraction, or other editorial action is appropriate.

Editorial Principles

All decisions concerning corrections, retractions, article replacement, or other post-publication actions are made with the primary objective of protecting the accuracy, transparency, reliability, and integrity of the scholarly record.

INSPIRE follows recognized standards of publication ethics and may refer to relevant guidance from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) when assessing post-publication concerns and determining appropriate editorial action.