CORRECTION AND RETRACTION POLICY

1. Policy Statement

The Indonesian Journal of Community Service in Education (IJCSE), published by PT. Intelektiva Global Nusantara, is committed to maintaining the authenticity, transparency, ethical quality, and reliability of published educational community service and community engagement scholarship.

IJCSE recognizes that factual errors, inaccurate program reporting, ethical concerns, or questions about the reliability of community service outcomes may arise after publication.

The journal provides procedures for correction, expression of concern, retraction, and exceptional content removal, taking account of internationally recognized publication ethics standards and relevant guidance from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

These procedures are intended to maintain the integrity of published scholarship, not to penalize authors for legitimate errors or unsuccessful community service outcomes.

2. Scope and General Principles

This policy applies to Community Service and Community Engagement Articles, formally published supporting materials, and relevant editorial notices.

• Published articles must accurately represent actual activities, participants, methods, evaluations, and reported outcomes.
• Credible concerns must be evaluated fairly and impartially.
• Honest reporting errors must be distinguished from deliberate falsification or other misconduct.
• Author explanations and relevant institutional information should be considered.
• Editorial actions must be proportionate to the evidence.
• Significant post-publication updates must be transparent and traceable.

3. Types of Post-Publication Editorial Actions

4. Circumstances Requiring Correction

Corrections may be appropriate when:

• Errors occur in program dates, locations, activity descriptions, or partner information.
• Participant numbers, evaluation values, tables, or figures contain verified mistakes.
• Program outcomes or implementation procedures require clarification.
• Author affiliations, acknowledgments, funding information, or declarations require verified amendments.
• Documentation or references contain errors that do not undermine the article's main conclusions.

Correction notices must explain the relevant changes and identify the affected publication.

5. Grounds for Retraction

IJCSE may consider retraction where evidence demonstrates:

• Fabrication of community service activities, participant numbers, attendance, or implementation records.
• Falsification of program evaluations, participant feedback, achievement data, or reported outcomes.
• Manipulated photographs, activity documentation, or supporting evidence that materially misrepresents program implementation.
• Serious plagiarism or substantial duplicate publication.
• Serious violations of informed consent, privacy, or other applicable ethical requirements.
• Manipulation of peer review or significant misconduct affecting publication integrity.
• Other substantial problems that make the reported activities or conclusions unreliable.

Limited program impact, unsuccessful implementation, or differences in academic interpretation do not independently justify retraction when activities and results have been accurately reported.

6. Reporting Errors and Publication Concerns

Authors, readers, community partners, participating institutions, program beneficiaries, reviewers, and other relevant parties may report errors or publication integrity concerns through IJCSE's official editorial contact channel.

Reports should identify the relevant article and provide an explanation and supporting evidence where available.

Authors must promptly inform the editorial office when they discover significant inaccuracies in their published articles.

Anonymous concerns may be evaluated when sufficiently specific and verifiable. Participant confidentiality and applicable privacy requirements must be respected throughout the process.

7. Editorial Assessment and Investigation Procedure

1. Receipt and Documentation: The editorial office records the concern and relevant supporting information.
2. Initial Assessment: An unconflicted editor evaluates the credibility and seriousness of the allegation.
3. Author Clarification: Authors are informed of substantive concerns where appropriate and given a reasonable opportunity to respond.
4. Verification: The journal may request authentic activity documentation, anonymized data, evaluation records, permissions, or independent expert assessment.
5. Institutional Consultation: Relevant community partners or institutions may be contacted when necessary and appropriate for verification.
6. Editorial Determination: An authorized editor decides the appropriate action concerning the published record.
7. Public Notice: A correction, expression of concern, or retraction is published where warranted.
8. Record Maintenance: Notices remain linked to the affected publication, and metadata is updated where technically supported.

Verification procedures must not unnecessarily disclose private participant data, sensitive community information, or other protected records.

8. Retraction Notices and Publication Records

A formal retraction notice must:

• Clearly identify the notice as a retraction.
• Provide sufficient bibliographic information to identify the original article.
• Explain the grounds for retraction accurately.
• Identify the issuing authority where appropriate.
• Be publicly accessible and linked to the affected article.
• Remain part of the permanent scholarly record.

Retracted articles ordinarily remain accessible with prominent labeling or a visible retraction watermark where technically feasible. Retraction must not be implemented through unexplained deletion.

9. Corrections and Version of Record

The final published article available through IJCSE constitutes its Version of Record.

Substantive changes to published activity descriptions, findings, figures, or other relevant information must be documented through a correction or other appropriate notice.

The journal does not permit undisclosed replacement of published information that conceals significant errors, ethical concerns, or past editorial actions.

10. Author Responses, Appeals, and Editorial Independence

Authors should ordinarily be provided a reasonable opportunity to respond to significant allegations. However, final correction or retraction decisions do not require unanimous author agreement when the editorial evidence supports action.

Authors and complainants may request reconsideration when material new evidence or significant procedural errors arise.

Relevant conflicts of interest must be managed, and the editor responsible for the decision must remain independent of inappropriate institutional, sponsor, or community partner influence.

11. Timeliness, Transparency, and Preservation

IJCSE will consider credible concerns without unnecessary delay while ensuring a fair assessment of supporting evidence.

When an investigation remains unresolved and readers need to be alerted, an expression of concern may be issued.

Formal correction, concern, and retraction notices must remain accessible and linked to the original article as part of the permanent scholarly record. Article metadata should be updated where supported by the publishing platform and indexing services.

12. Policy References

• COPE Retraction Guidelines (Updated 2025)
• COPE Publication Ethics Guidance
• Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing