Retraction Policy

The Journal of the Nigerian Society of Chemical Engineers (JNSChE) is committed to maintaining the integrity and credibility of its published content. The Retraction Policy outlines the circumstances and procedures for retracting published articles to address serious issues that compromise scholarly standards. This policy ensures transparency and accountability in handling retractions, involving authors, editors, and reviewers.

1. Grounds for Retraction

Retractions are issued when significant issues undermine the validity or ethics of a published article. Grounds for retraction include:

• Plagiarism: Evidence that the article contains unattributed content copied from other sources.
• Duplicate Publication: The article has been published elsewhere, violating the journal’s policy against submitting the same research to multiple journals.
• Falsified or Fabricated Data: Data or results in the article are found to be manipulated, fabricated, or misrepresented.
• Ethical Violations: Breaches of ethical standards, such as lack of proper ethical clearance, unauthorized use of copyrighted material, or undisclosed conflicts of interest.
• Significant Errors: Errors in methodology, data, or analysis that invalidate the article’s findings or conclusions, identified post-publication.

Reviewers are tasked with identifying potential issues, such as plagiarism or prior publication, during the peer-review process, but post-publication concerns may also trigger a retraction investigation.

2. Retraction Process

The journal follows a structured process to evaluate and execute retractions:

• Initiation: Retraction requests may be initiated by authors, readers, reviewers, or editors upon identifying issues. Concerns should be reported to the Editor-in-Chief at journal@nsche.org.
• Investigation: The Editorial Board, led by the Editor-in-Chief, investigates the reported issue, reviewing evidence such as reviewer reports, plagiarism detection tools, or author submissions. Authors are contacted for clarification and given an opportunity to respond.
• Decision: If the investigation confirms grounds for retraction, the Editor-in-Chief makes the final decision. Authors are notified with detailed reasons and feedback to support potential resubmission or submission elsewhere.
• Publication of Retraction Notice: A retraction notice is published in the next available issue, clearly stating the reason for retraction and linked to the original article. The retracted article remains accessible but is marked as retracted to maintain transparency.

3. Author Responsibilities

Authors are obligated to ensure the integrity of their submissions and cooperate during retraction investigations. Responsibilities include:

• Ensuring originality and proper citation of all sources to avoid plagiarism or duplicate publication.
• Verifying the accuracy of data and obtaining ethical clearance for research activities.
• Promptly reporting any errors or ethical issues discovered post-publication to the Editor-in-Chief at journal@nsche.org.
• Providing necessary documentation or responses during retraction investigations.

4. Editorial Board Responsibilities

The Editorial Board ensures retractions are handled fairly and transparently:

• The Editor-in-Chief oversees investigations and makes final retraction decisions, ensuring compliance with ethical standards.
• The Managing Editor coordinates communication with authors and manages the publication of retraction notices.
• Reviewers assist by identifying potential ethical issues or inaccuracies during the peer-review process.

The journal emphasizes that published articles reflect the authors’ views and data, and the publisher and editors are not responsible for errors or ethical violations.

5. Contact for Retraction Concerns

To report concerns about a published article or initiate a retraction request, contact the Editor-in-Chief at journal@nsche.org. All inquiries will be addressed promptly, and retractions will be processed in accordance with this policy.

For additional information on submission requirements or related policies, consult the Submission Guidelines or contact the Editor-in-Chief at journal@nsche.org.