Open Access Policy

KafaEdu: Journal of Education and Pedagogy is committed to maintaining the integrity, accuracy, and reliability of the scholarly record. The journal therefore has procedures for handling articles that require retraction, withdrawal, correction, removal, or replacement. Each case will be handled objectively, transparently, and in accordance with publication ethics principles and relevant guidance from the COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics).

1. Article Retraction

An article may be retracted when there is clear evidence that the publication is unreliable or involves serious violations of publication ethics. Reasons for retraction may include:

  • Significant scientific errors that invalidate the conclusions of the article, whether caused by an honest error or misconduct such as data fabrication or falsification.
  • Redundant or duplicate publication, including publication of substantially the same research elsewhere without appropriate cross-referencing, justification, or permission.
  • Plagiarism or serious authorship-related misconduct.
  • Serious violations of research or publication ethics that materially affect the integrity of the article.

Retraction Procedure

  1. Any concern that may lead to retraction should be reported to the Editor.
  2. The Editor conducts an assessment and investigation in accordance with the journal's policies and applicable publication ethics guidelines.
  3. Authors are given an opportunity to respond to the concerns or allegations.
  4. Where necessary, the Editor may consult reviewers, members of the Editorial Board, the authors' institution, or other relevant parties.
  5. Based on the findings of the investigation, the Editor makes a decision regarding retraction.
  6. The decision is communicated to the authors and other relevant parties when appropriate.
  7. When an article is retracted, the journal publishes a Retraction Notice explaining the reason for the retraction and providing relevant information. The bibliographic record of the article is retained to preserve the integrity of the scholarly record.

Retention of copyright by the author does not automatically grant the author the right to remove or retract a published article. The integrity of the scholarly record remains the primary consideration.

2. Article Withdrawal

Withdrawal primarily applies to manuscripts that have not yet been published and are still undergoing editorial processing or peer review.

Authors who wish to withdraw a manuscript must submit a formal request to the Editor through the journal's submission system or official communication channel. The request should include a clear reason for withdrawal.

The journal may decline a withdrawal request when there are serious ethical or editorial concerns, including suspected manipulation of the publication process, plagiarism, duplicate submission, or other forms of misconduct.

If withdrawal is approved, the manuscript status will be updated in the journal's system and the editorial process will be discontinued.

3. Article Correction

KafaEdu may publish a correction when an error is identified in a published article that does not warrant retraction but may affect the accuracy, interpretation, or integrity of the published record.

Corrections may involve errors in data, information, author names, affiliations, or other elements requiring amendment.

Corrections may be categorized as follows:

  • Publisher Correction (Erratum): a correction of an error introduced during the editorial or production process.
  • Author Correction (Corrigendum): a correction of an error originating from the authors.
  • Addendum: additional information provided by the authors to clarify, supplement, or update a published article.

The decision to issue a correction rests with the Editor. The Editor may consult reviewers or Editorial Board members when necessary. Corrections will be published transparently and linked to the original article.

4. Article Removal

In exceptional circumstances, a published article may be removed from the journal's online platform when its continued availability creates serious legal concerns, such as:

  • The article contains material that infringes the legal rights of another party.
  • The article contains defamatory or otherwise unlawful material.
  • A legal order or legal obligation requires the article to be removed.
  • There are compelling legal reasons why the article cannot remain publicly available in its original form.

When an article is removed, its bibliographic metadata will be retained where possible. The article page will be replaced with a notice indicating that the article has been removed and providing a general explanation for the removal.

5. Article Replacement

In certain circumstances, an article may be replaced by a corrected version when the identified errors are sufficiently substantial to require replacement of the original article, while the underlying research remains valid.

The replacement process will follow the retraction procedure. The original article will be accompanied by a Retraction Notice explaining the reason for the replacement and providing a link to the corrected version. The article history will be maintained to ensure transparency and preserve the integrity of the scholarly record.

Submission Preparation Checklist

As part of the submission process, authors are required to confirm that their manuscript meets all of the following requirements. Submissions that do not comply may be returned to the authors for correction before further processing.

  • The manuscript has not been previously published and is not currently under consideration by another journal. If there is an exceptional circumstance, an explanation must be provided to the Editor.
  • The manuscript file is submitted in Microsoft Word (.doc/.docx) format.
  • DOI or URLs for references are provided where available.
  • The manuscript follows the formatting and stylistic requirements specified in the KafaEdu Author Guidelines.
  • All tables, figures, and illustrations are placed in the appropriate locations within the manuscript.
  • The manuscript follows the journal's citation and bibliographic requirements.
  • If submitted to a peer-reviewed section, the author has followed the requirements for Ensuring a Blind Review.
  • The authors have verified all information in the manuscript, including authorship, affiliations, data sources, and references.
  • Authors are encouraged to provide an active telephone number in the Comments for the Editor field when additional communication beyond email is required.