Retraction, Correction, and Expression of Concern Policy

The International Journal of Computer Engineering and Embedded Technologies is committed to maintaining the integrity of the published scholarly record. This policy sets out the circumstances and procedures under which a published article may be corrected, retracted, or accompanied by an expression of concern, in accordance with the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the standards expected by international abstracting and indexing bodies, including Scopus and Web of Science.

Guiding Principle

Once an article is published, it becomes part of the permanent scholarly record. The version of record is not silently altered or removed under any circumstances. Where issues arise after publication, they are addressed transparently through a formal correction, retraction, or expression of concern, each of which remains permanently linked to the original article.

Corrections

A correction is issued when an error is identified in a published article that does not undermine the overall validity, conclusions, or scientific integrity of the work, but that may mislead or requires clarification if left unaddressed. This includes minor errors in author names, affiliations, or contact details; errors in figures, tables, or data that do not affect the overall conclusions; missing or incomplete funding, acknowledgement, or conflict-of-interest disclosures; and other minor factual or typographical errors of academic significance. Corrections are published as a separate, clearly labelled notice, linked bidirectionally to the original article, without removing or replacing the original published version.

Retractions

An article is considered for retraction when its findings or conclusions are no longer considered reliable due to major error or honest miscalculation, or as a result of scientific misconduct, including data fabrication or falsification; when the work constitutes plagiarism or duplicate/redundant publication of the same research in more than one journal; when the article reports unethical research, such as research conducted without appropriate ethical approval or informed consent; when authorship is found to have been fraudulently claimed or is subject to unresolved dispute that undermines the credibility of the work; or when the article is found to have been published based on a compromised, manipulated, or fraudulent peer review process. Retraction is reserved for serious violations that undermine the scientific validity or ethical standing of the published work.

Retraction Procedure

Retraction concerns may be raised by authors, readers, reviewers, editors, or institutions and are formally investigated by the editorial board in accordance with COPE's retraction guidelines. The corresponding author is notified and given the opportunity to respond before a final decision is made. Where retraction is confirmed, a formal retraction notice is published, clearly linked to the original article, stating the reason for retraction and identifying who is issuing it. The original article is retained on the journal's website, clearly watermarked or labelled as "RETRACTED," rather than removed, in order to preserve the integrity of the scholarly record and the permanent citation trail.

Expressions of Concern

An expression of concern is published when there is credible but as-yet-unresolved evidence of misconduct or unreliability in a published article, such as an inconclusive investigation still underway at the author's institution; evidence of possible misconduct that requires further time to investigate; or an unresolved dispute regarding authorship, data, or findings. An expression of concern is clearly linked to the article in question and is updated or replaced with a formal correction or retraction notice once the investigation concludes.

Removal of Content

Removal of a published article from the journal's website occurs only in extremely limited and legally mandated circumstances, such as a court order, a legally valid concern regarding defamation or privacy, or where the article, if acted upon, poses a serious and immediate risk to public health. In such rare cases, the bibliographic metadata and citation record of the article are retained, with a notice explaining the reason for removal.

Author Rights During Investigation

Authors are notified promptly whenever a concern is raised about their published work and are given a fair opportunity to respond and provide evidence or clarification before any formal editorial action is taken. Editorial decisions regarding corrections, retractions, or expressions of concern are made independently of any external pressure and are based solely on the evidence gathered during the investigation.

Investigative Process

All concerns regarding published articles are investigated by the editorial board, which may consult independent subject-matter experts, editorial board members, or the authors' institutions as needed. Investigations are conducted in a timely, thorough, and confidential manner, consistent with COPE's guidelines for handling allegations of research and publication misconduct.

Permanent Linkage and Transparency

All correction, retraction, and expression-of-concern notices are permanently and bidirectionally linked to the original article in the journal's online archive and are indexed and made discoverable in the same manner as the original publication, ensuring that the full history of any published article remains transparent and accessible to readers, researchers, and indexing services.