Retraction Policy

Lingkasa is committed to preserving the accuracy, integrity, and completeness of the scholarly record. Articles may be retracted, corrected, or otherwise marked if serious issues are identified after publication. This policy follows best practices recommended by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

1. When Retraction Is Considered

An article may be retracted if:

  • Plagiarism (including duplicate publication or significant unattributed text/data).

  • Data fabrication or falsification (including manipulated images, invented data).

  • Unethical research (e.g., lacking required ethical clearance for human/animal subjects).

  • Major errors that invalidate the findings or conclusions (e.g., serious methodological flaw discovered post-publication).

  • Copyright violation or unauthorized use of third-party content.

  • Undisclosed conflicts of interest affecting the integrity of the work.

  • Compromised peer review or publication fraud.

2. Withdrawal vs Retraction

  • Withdrawal: Used before publication (e.g., manuscript accepted but issue discovered; author request with editorial approval).

  • Retraction: Used after an article has been officially published online.

3. Who Can Raise a Concern?

  • Authors of the article

  • Readers or researchers

  • Reviewers

  • Editorial board members

  • Institutional or ethics bodies

All allegations must be supported with evidence (documents, similarity reports, data concerns, etc.).

4. Investigation Process

  1. Report Received – Concern logged by the Editorial Office.

  2. Preliminary Assessment – Editors review the claim and supporting evidence.

  3. Author Notification – Authors are asked to respond in writing within a stated timeframe.

  4. Evidence Review – Editors may consult reviewers, subject experts, or institutional ethics committees.

  5. Decision – Editorial Board determines outcome (correction, expression of concern, retraction, or no action).

5. Possible Outcomes

  • Erratum / Corrigendum – Minor errors that do not affect findings.

  • Addendum – Additional information needed for clarity.

  • Expression of Concern – Posted when investigation is ongoing but unresolved concerns exist.

  • Retraction – Used when findings are unreliable or misconduct is confirmed.

  • Article Removal – Rare; used only for legal reasons (defamation, court order, severe privacy breach).

6. Retraction Notice

If retracted, Lingkasa will publish a clearly labeled Retraction Notice that includes:

  • Article title, authors, citation details

  • Reason(s) for retraction (brief, factual)

  • Who is retracting (author, editor, both)

  • Link to the original article

The original article PDF will remain online but be watermarked or header-marked “RETRACTED.”

7. Indexing & Metadata

  • Article metadata in the journal system will be updated to indicate Retracted status.

  • Notice sent to abstracting and indexing services (e.g., SINTA, Garuda, Google Scholar, Crossref) as applicable.

  • DOI remains active and links to the retraction notice.

8. Author Cooperation

Authors are expected to cooperate in investigating concerns. Failure to respond may result in editor-led retraction.

9. Appeals

If authors disagree with a retraction decision, they may submit a formal written appeal with new evidence. Appeals are reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief and may involve the Editorial Board or external advisors.