Post-Publication Correction & Retraction Policy

Pakistan Social Sciences Review (PSSR) is dedicated to preserving the integrity, accuracy, and permanence of the academic record. Once a manuscript is published, it becomes part of the permanent scholarly literature. Any subsequent modifications, additions, or retractions follow the international ethical standards established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Categories of Post-Publication Amendments

1. Correction Notices

Corrections are published when an error is identified that requires formal clarification but does not invalidate the core conclusions or overall scientific validity of the paper.

  • Erratum: Published to rectify significant technical, layout, or administrative errors introduced by the journal during typesetting or production.
  • Corrigendum: Published to rectify notable errors or omissions introduced by the authors, such as mislabeled figures, minor data calculation errors, or omitted contributor acknowledgements.

All correction notices are published as formal items, assigned a unique DOI, and bidirectionally linked to the original article on the OJS platform.

2. Retractions

In accordance with COPE Retraction Guidelines, a retraction is issued when the main findings or data of a published article are rendered completely unreliable due to honest scientific error or proven academic misconduct.

Grounds for Retraction Include:

  • Significant, unrecoverable calculation errors or flawed data collection that compromise the findings.
  • Proven instances of academic dishonesty, including data fabrication, falsification, unacknowledged plagiarism, or duplicate publication.
  • Unethical research practices or unapproved human participant trials.

Retraction Handling: The original manuscript remains accessible online to preserve the historical record, but a prominent, permanent watermark indicating "RETRACTED" is applied across the PDF and HTML versions. A dedicated Retraction Notice detailing the explicit reasons for the decision is linked directly to the article.

3. Expressions of Concern

The Editor-in-Chief may issue an Expression of Concern if:

  • There is strong initial evidence of research or publication misconduct, but an official institutional investigation is ongoing or inconclusive.
  • An investigation takes an extended period, and the journal needs to alert the scientific community to potential issues in the interim.

Depending on the outcome of the institutional investigation, an Expression of Concern will later be formally resolved through either a Correction Notice, a Retraction, or a clarifying note of exoneration.

4. Withdrawal Policy

  • Pre-Publication Withdrawal: Authors may request manuscript withdrawal during peer review by submitting a formal written request signed by all co-authors. The editorial office reviews the request before granting approval. Withdrawn submissions are removed from the active workflow, though internal audit logs are retained.
  • Post-Publication Withdrawal: Published articles cannot be removed or deleted from the journal platform. Once published, the article record is permanent, and any post-publication concerns must be resolved strictly through formal Corrections or Retractions.

Editorial Procedure for Post-Publication Changes

  1. Evaluation: The Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Board review the reported issue in accordance with COPE flowcharts.
  2. Author Consultation: Authors are informed of the inquiry and given a designated timeframe to provide written explanations, raw data, or supporting documentation.
  3. Notification & Indexing: All formal changes (Erratum, Corrigendum, Retraction, or Expression of Concern) are published in the current issue, linked directly to the target manuscript, and submitted to abstracting and indexing databases.

Policy Inquiries

For inquiries regarding post-publication corrections, retractions, or editorial notes, contact the editorial office at editor@pssr.org.pk.