Correction &
Retraction Policy.

Escalate: Economics and Business Journal recognizes its responsibility to ensure that published scholarly content remains accurate, reliable, and appropriately documented. Post-publication corrections and retractions form an essential part of the self-correcting nature of scholarly communication.

The policy applies to published research articles, review articles, case study articles, methodological articles, and other scholarly content officially disseminated by the journal.

Concerns may be raised by authors, editors, reviewers, readers, research institutions, publishers, or other individuals who identify potential errors or integrity problems in published materials.

The Editorial Team evaluates each concern according to its nature, available evidence, potential effects on the validity of the publication, and applicable scholarly publishing standards.

EDITORIAL ACTION / CORRECTION

What Is a Correction?

A Correction is a formal editorial notice intended to amend an error, omission, or inaccurate statement in a published article when the problem can be resolved without invalidating the article's principal findings and conclusions.

Corrections may be initiated by authors, editors, readers, or other parties and are subject to editorial verification. The original article ordinarily remains available, with appropriate documentation and links to the correction notice where the change is editorially significant.

A. Minor Corrections

Minor corrections concern typographical, formatting, bibliographic, or production errors that do not materially alter the scholarly findings or interpretation of the research.

The Editorial Team determines whether a minor correction requires a separate formal notice or may be addressed through a documented technical update, taking into account its significance for interpretation, attribution, and indexing.

B. Substantive Corrections

Substantive corrections address errors that affect readers' understanding of specific aspects of the research but do not undermine the overall reliability of its principal findings.

Publication of Correction Notices

A formal correction notice should clearly identify the original article, describe the error, explain the correction, and state whether the findings or conclusions are affected.

Where appropriate, the notice should be freely accessible and linked to the original publication. Significant updates should be reflected consistently in the journal website, downloadable files, and relevant publication metadata.

EDITORIAL ACTION / RETRACTION

What Is a Retraction?

A Retraction is a formal editorial action that alerts readers when a published article contains serious problems that compromise the reliability of its findings or conclusions, or when significant publication ethics violations justify withdrawal of confidence in the publication.

Retraction does not ordinarily involve deleting the article from the scholarly record. Instead, the article should remain identifiable, clearly marked as retracted, and connected to an explanatory retraction notice. The decision may be appropriate whether the underlying problem results from serious honest error or research misconduct.

Grounds for Considering Retraction

Retraction Is Not an Automatic Penalty

Not every error, authorship dispute, similarity finding, or undisclosed competing interest warrants retraction. The Editorial Team must consider the significance of the problem, the reliability of the research findings, available supporting evidence, and whether a correction or another editorial action would be sufficient.

Information Required in a Retraction Notice

An Expression of Concern is a formal editorial notice used when credible and potentially serious questions have arisen regarding a published article, but the available evidence is insufficient to justify a definitive correction or retraction.

The notice is intended to alert readers to unresolved concerns while allowing appropriate evaluation, clarification, or investigation to continue.

Circumstances That May Warrant an Expression of Concern

The publication of an Expression of Concern does not constitute a finding of misconduct. When further evidence becomes available, the journal may update the notice, issue a correction or retraction, or clarify that the concerns have been resolved.

Manuscript Withdrawal refers to the discontinuation of editorial consideration of a manuscript before it has been published. Withdrawal differs from retraction because a withdrawn manuscript has not entered the journal's published scholarly record.

Authors who wish to withdraw a manuscript should submit a formal written request to the Editorial Office, explaining the reasons for withdrawal and identifying the relevant manuscript.

Requests may arise from the identification of serious research errors, ethical concerns, changes in authorship circumstances, or other legitimate considerations. The Editorial Team will review each request according to the manuscript's editorial status and the journal's applicable policies.

Withdrawal Request Procedure

01. The corresponding author submits a formal withdrawal request through the journal's official communication channel.

02. The request identifies the manuscript title, submission ID, author names, and reasons for withdrawal.

03. The corresponding author confirms that all co-authors have been informed and agree to the request.

04. The Editorial Team reviews the request and any relevant ethical or administrative issues.

05. The journal communicates the outcome and updates the manuscript's editorial status where appropriate.

Important Distinction

A manuscript that has been accepted but has not yet been published is not automatically treated as a retracted article. However, once an article has been formally published online, including publication ahead of issue assignment, subsequent removal of confidence in the work must ordinarily be addressed through an appropriate post-publication procedure rather than a routine manuscript withdrawal.

Fairness and Editorial Independence

The journal seeks to manage post-publication concerns objectively and without unnecessary delay. Individuals responsible for assessing a case must disclose relevant conflicts of interest and should not participate in decisions where their impartiality is reasonably in question.

Formal correction, retraction, and Expression of Concern notices should provide readers with sufficient information to understand the issue, the relevant editorial action, and the status of the original publication.

Where appropriate, editorial notices should be separately identifiable, freely accessible, and linked to the original published article. The original article should also provide a visible link to the relevant notice.

ILLUSTRATIVE TEMPLATE / CORRECTION NOTICE

Correction to: [Original Article Title]

"This notice corrects an error identified in the previously published article entitled [Article Title], authored by [Author Names], DOI: [DOI]. The correction concerns [Description of Error]. The corrected information is [Description of Correction]. The principal findings and conclusions of the article remain unchanged."

ILLUSTRATIVE TEMPLATE / RETRACTION NOTICE

Retraction: [Original Article Title]

"The Editorial Team of Escalate: Economics and Business Journal has retracted the article entitled [Article Title], authored by [Author Names], DOI: [DOI]. The retraction follows an editorial assessment concerning [Factual Explanation of the Issue]. The identified problems materially affect the reliability or integrity of the publication. The article remains available in the journal archive and is clearly identified as retracted."

ILLUSTRATIVE TEMPLATE / EXPRESSION OF CONCERN

Expression of Concern: [Original Article Title]

"The Editorial Team wishes to inform readers that concerns have been raised regarding [Description of Concern] in the article entitled [Article Title], DOI: [DOI]. The relevant matters are under assessment, and no final determination has been reached. The journal will provide further information or take appropriate editorial action when sufficient evidence becomes available."

Note: The templates above are illustrative. Actual notices must accurately reflect the findings of the case, the decision-making authority, and any relevant evidence. They must not imply misconduct where no such finding has been established.

Preservation of Retracted Articles

Retracted articles should ordinarily remain accessible in the journal's digital archive to preserve the historical record of scholarly publication. Their retracted status should be clearly displayed on the article landing page and, where technically feasible, within the full-text and PDF versions.

The article may be identified using a prominent RETRACTED label or watermark. The retraction notice should remain accessible and be clearly linked to the original publication.

The journal should ensure that the status of corrected or retracted articles is accurately represented in relevant publication metadata and indexing records where supported.

Exceptional Article Removal

Complete removal of published article content should be considered only in exceptional circumstances involving serious legal, privacy, confidentiality, or safety concerns that cannot be adequately addressed through less restrictive measures. Where content must be removed, the journal should preserve appropriate bibliographic information and publish an explanatory notice to the extent legally and ethically permissible.

DOI and Publication Metadata

When significant post-publication actions occur, the journal should seek to maintain accurate metadata through its DOI registration and publication systems.

Where supported, corrections and retractions should be registered as linked updates to the original scholarly work, following relevant Crossref guidance on version control and publication status.

Authors

Authors are responsible for identifying and promptly reporting significant errors in their published work, providing accurate explanations and supporting evidence when requested, and cooperating in appropriate correction or retraction procedures.

Editors

Editors are responsible for evaluating legitimate concerns objectively, maintaining editorial independence, allowing appropriate responses, determining corrective actions, and ensuring that significant publication notices are transparent and accessible.

Research Institutions

Research institutions are generally responsible for formal investigations of research misconduct involving their affiliated researchers and are encouraged to cooperate with journals in resolving serious research integrity concerns.

Publisher

The publisher should support editorial independence, facilitate the accurate publication and preservation of formal notices, and assist with appropriate technical and administrative measures without improperly influencing editorial determinations.

OFFICIAL EDITORIAL CONTACT

Escalate: Economics and Business Journal

Authors, readers, and other concerned parties may submit requests for corrections, clarification of published research, or concerns regarding possible retractions through the journal's official editorial email.

Please identify the relevant article, include its DOI or publication URL where available, and explain the concern with appropriate supporting information. Confidential research data should only be transmitted using a suitable secure method agreed with the Editorial Office.

Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)

COPE Council. Retraction Guidelines, Version 3, August 2025. Guidance on when to retract, editorial responsibilities, retraction notices, and the preservation of the scholarly record.

International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE)

Recommendations concerning scientific misconduct, expressions of concern, and retraction.

Crossref

Version Control, Corrections, and Retractions: Best practices for documenting publication changes, managing DOI records, and linking post-publication updates.