Retraction, Withdrawal and Removal Policy

The Journal of Linguistics, Literature and Language Teaching (JLLLT) is committed to maintaining the integrity, accuracy, and reliability of the scholarly record. The journal recognizes that, in exceptional circumstances, a manuscript or published article may need to be withdrawn, retracted, or removed.

JLLLT follows internationally recognized publication ethics principles, including the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), and applies editorial procedures designed to preserve the integrity of the published scholarly record.

1. Withdrawal of Manuscripts

A manuscript may be withdrawn before publication at the request of the authors or by the Editorial Office under appropriate circumstances.

Authors who wish to withdraw a manuscript must submit a written request to the Editorial Office explaining the reason for withdrawal. Where a manuscript has multiple authors, the withdrawal request should be agreed upon by all authors.

The Editorial Office may refuse a withdrawal request where there are unresolved ethical concerns, suspected research misconduct, or other circumstances requiring further investigation.

Once a manuscript has been formally accepted or entered into production, withdrawal will normally only be permitted in exceptional circumstances.

2. Retraction of Published Articles

A published article may be retracted when there is clear evidence that the article is unreliable or that serious publication or research misconduct has occurred.

Grounds for retraction may include:

major errors that substantially affect the validity of the findings or conclusions;
fabrication or falsification of research data;
substantial plagiarism;
duplicate or redundant publication;
serious authorship misconduct;
unethical research involving human participants;
unauthorized use or disclosure of confidential or personal information;
serious copyright or legal violations;
undisclosed conflicts of interest that materially affect the validity or interpretation of the research;
compromised or manipulated peer review;
systematic manipulation of the editorial or publication process;
fabricated or fictitious authorship;
serious violations of the journal's Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy; or
other circumstances in which the reliability or integrity of the published work can no longer be assured.

Retraction is intended to correct the scholarly record and is not necessarily a disciplinary action against the authors. This approach is consistent with the principle used by Elsevier that retraction is primarily a mechanism for correcting the scholarly record.

3. Retraction Procedure

When a potential basis for retraction is identified, the Editorial Team will conduct an appropriate preliminary assessment.

Where necessary, the authors will be contacted and given an opportunity to respond to the concerns.

The Editorial Team may request supporting documentation, consult reviewers or subject experts, and contact the authors' institution, research ethics committee, funding agency, or other relevant organizations when appropriate.

The Editor-in-Chief will determine whether the available evidence justifies retraction.

Where serious ethical misconduct is suspected, the journal may follow the relevant COPE procedures and may seek institutional investigation or additional expert advice.

4. Retraction Notice

When an article is retracted, JLLLT will publish a Retraction Notice explaining the reason for the retraction.

The notice will:

be clearly identified as a retraction;
identify the original article and its bibliographic information;
explain the reason for the retraction;
be permanently linked to the original article;
remain part of the journal's published record.

The original article should normally remain accessible in the journal archive with a clear "Retracted" marking or watermark, rather than being silently deleted.

This approach is consistent with Elsevier's policy that retracted articles remain part of the scholarly record while being clearly identified as retracted.

5. Removal of Published Articles

Removal of a published article is an exceptional measure and will only be considered when continued online availability creates serious legal, privacy, security, or other substantial risks that cannot reasonably be addressed through correction or retraction.

Possible circumstances may include:

a valid legal requirement or court order;
serious violation of an individual's privacy or confidentiality;
defamatory or unlawful content;
serious risk of harm resulting from continued availability of the article;
other exceptional circumstances in which removal is legally or ethically necessary.

Where an article is removed, the journal will retain the bibliographic metadata and publish an appropriate removal notice explaining that the article has been removed.

Removal will not be used simply because authors or other parties disagree with the findings, conclusions, or editorial decision.

The highly restrictive approach to article removal is consistent with Elsevier's policy, which treats removal as an exceptional remedy and retains article metadata as part of the scholarly record.

6. Author Requests for Retraction

Authors who believe that their published article should be retracted should contact the Editor-in-Chief as soon as possible and provide:

the article title;
article identification or DOI, where available;
the reason for the proposed retraction;
supporting information or documentation.

All authors should normally agree to the request. However, the journal may proceed with a retraction when the evidence demonstrates that retraction is necessary to protect the integrity of the scholarly record, even if one or more authors do not agree.

7. Corrections Instead of Retraction

Retraction will not normally be used for errors that can be adequately corrected without compromising the reliability of the article.

Minor or limited errors may be addressed through a Correction or Erratum in accordance with the journal's Correction and Erratum Policy.

Where concerns remain unresolved but may affect the reliability of the article, the journal may publish an Expression of Concern while an investigation is ongoing.

8. Post-Retraction Status

A retracted article remains part of the journal's publication history.

The article will be clearly identified as retracted, and the Retraction Notice will remain permanently linked to the original publication.

The journal will not remove the retraction notice merely because the authors disagree with the decision.

9. Compliance with Publication Ethics

All withdrawal, retraction, and removal decisions will be handled in accordance with the journal's:

Publication Ethics;
Plagiarism Policy;
Authorship Policy;
Human Research Ethics Policy;
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy;
Correction and Erratum Policy; and
applicable COPE recommendations.

Contact

Questions concerning withdrawal, retraction, or removal of articles may be directed to the JLLLT Editorial Office through the journal's official contact page.