Post-Publication Discussion, Corrections and Retractions Policy

Jurnal Desain is committed to maintaining the accuracy, reliability, transparency, and integrity of the scholarly record after publication.

Publication of an article does not end the journal's responsibility for the integrity of the work. Credible scholarly comments, corrections, concerns, or evidence relating to published articles may be considered after publication.

Where a published article requires clarification or corrective action, Jurnal Desain will take proportionate and transparent action in accordance with its Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement and applicable principles of publication ethics.

The journal distinguishes between:

• scholarly post-publication discussion;
• minor or substantive correction;
• expression of concern;
• retraction; and
• exceptional removal of content.

Corrective action is determined by the nature and seriousness of the issue and by whether the reliability of the article's findings or conclusions has been materially affected.

1. Post-Publication Discussion

Jurnal Desain welcomes evidence-based scholarly discussion concerning articles published in the journal.

Post-publication discussion may address matters such as:

• interpretation of findings;
• methodological issues;
• theoretical or conceptual arguments;
• analytical conclusions;
• use or interpretation of visual evidence;
• factual inaccuracies;
• citation or attribution issues;
• data or research-integrity concerns;
• ethical concerns; or
• other academically relevant issues arising from a published article.

Post-publication discussion should be scholarly, specific, evidence-based, and relevant to the published work.

Personal attacks, defamatory statements, unsupported accusations, discriminatory remarks, or correspondence unrelated to the scholarly content of the article will not be considered part of legitimate post-publication discussion.

2. Submission of Post-Publication Comments or Concerns

Readers, authors, researchers, institutions, or other interested parties may submit post-publication comments or concerns through the journal's official editorial contact.

A submission should, where reasonably possible, include:

• the title of the published article;
• the DOI or other article identifier;
• a clear description of the issue;
• the specific section, data, figure, table, quotation, reference, or statement concerned; and
• relevant evidence or supporting documentation.

General allegations without sufficient information may require clarification before the journal can evaluate them.

Anonymous concerns may be considered when they contain sufficiently specific and verifiable evidence.

3. Initial Editorial Assessment

Post-publication comments or concerns are initially assessed by the Editor-in-Chief and/or a designated Editor.

The initial assessment considers whether:

• the matter concerns a published article in Jurnal Desain;
• the issue is academically or ethically relevant;
• sufficient information is available for assessment;
• the issue may affect the interpretation, accuracy, reliability, or integrity of the article; and
• additional clarification or investigation is required.

Issues that are clearly unsupported, irrelevant, or based solely on differences of scholarly opinion may be closed without corrective action.

Legitimate differences in interpretation do not automatically constitute an error or publication misconduct.

4. Author Response

Where a post-publication concern requires clarification, the corresponding author and, where appropriate, the other authors may be invited to respond.

The editorial office may provide the authors with:

• the substance of the concern;
• relevant evidence;
• specific questions requiring clarification; and
• a reasonable period in which to respond.

Authors are expected to cooperate with reasonable post-publication inquiries.

Where necessary, the journal may request supporting materials such as:

• research data;
• original image files;
• methodological documentation;
• ethics documentation;
• authorship information;
• source materials;
• previous publications; or
• other evidence relevant to the concern.

5. Independent Assessment

Where the issue requires specialist evaluation, Jurnal Desain may seek confidential advice from:

• members of the Editorial Board who have no conflict of interest;
• independent subject experts;
• statistical, methodological, visual, technical, or ethical specialists; or
• other qualified persons appropriate to the issue.

Where necessary, the journal may also communicate with:

• the authors' institution;
• a research-integrity office;
• an ethics committee;
• a funding organization;
• the publisher; or
• another relevant authority.

Such communication will be limited to what is reasonably necessary to assess and resolve the concern.

6. Editorial Outcomes

Following assessment, the journal may determine that:

• no corrective action is required;
• a clarification is sufficient;
• a formal correction is required;
• an Expression of Concern is appropriate;
• the article should be retracted; or
• another proportionate action is necessary to preserve the integrity of the scholarly record.

Corrective decisions are made by the responsible Editor and ultimately overseen by the Editor-in-Chief.

Where the Editor-in-Chief has a material conflict of interest, the case must be handled by an appropriate independent Editor or other authorized person.

Corrections

7. When a Correction Is Appropriate

A Correction, Erratum, or Corrigendum may be issued when an error is identified after publication but the article's principal findings and conclusions remain reliable.

Corrections may be appropriate for errors involving, for example:

• factual information;
• author affiliation;
• bibliographic information;
• figure or table presentation;
• numerical or typographical data;
• attribution or citation;
• methodological description;
• acknowledgments or declarations; or
• other errors that require public correction but do not invalidate the central findings of the article.

Minor typographical errors that do not affect meaning or interpretation may not require a formal correction notice.

8. Correction Procedure

Where a correction is required:

1. the issue is verified by the editorial team;
2. the authors are consulted where appropriate;
3. the Editor determines the wording and scope of the correction;
4. a formal correction notice is published;
5. the correction notice is linked to the original article; and
6. relevant article metadata and DOI information are updated where required.

The correction notice should clearly identify:

• the affected article;
• the nature of the error;
• the corrected information; and
• the party responsible for issuing the correction where relevant.

The correction must be sufficiently transparent for readers to understand what has changed.

9. Corrections to the Published Full Text

Where technically and editorially appropriate, a corrected version of the article may be made available.

Any alteration to the published full text must preserve transparency.

The journal must not silently make substantive changes to a published article in a manner that conceals the existence of the original error.

Where the PDF or other full-text version is replaced or updated, the publication record should make the correction status clear.

Expression of Concern

10. When an Expression of Concern May Be Issued

Jurnal Desain may publish an Expression of Concern where credible evidence raises material doubt about a published article but a final determination cannot yet reasonably be made.

An Expression of Concern may be appropriate where:

• an investigation is incomplete;
• evidence is inconclusive;
• an author's institution or another authority is conducting an investigation;
• the journal cannot obtain sufficient information promptly;
• serious concerns regarding data, images, ethics, authorship, or integrity remain unresolved; or
• readers should be alerted while further investigation continues.

An Expression of Concern is not equivalent to a finding of misconduct.

11. Status of an Expression of Concern

The notice must:

• identify the relevant article;
• describe the nature of the concern to the extent appropriate;
• explain that the matter remains unresolved or under investigation; and
• be linked to the published article.

When the matter is resolved, the journal may:

• withdraw or update the Expression of Concern;
• publish a correction;
• issue a retraction; or
• state that no further corrective action is required.

Retractions

12. When Retraction Is Appropriate

Retraction is intended to correct the scholarly record when an article or its principal findings can no longer be considered sufficiently reliable or ethically valid.

Retraction may be considered where there is evidence of:

• fabrication;
• falsification;
• substantial plagiarism;
• serious data or image manipulation;
• duplicate or redundant publication that materially compromises the publication record;
• serious research-ethics violations;
• unauthorized or unethical use of research participants or protected materials;
• materially inappropriate authorship;
• findings or conclusions rendered unreliable by major error;
• fraudulent or seriously misleading information;
• serious undisclosed conflicts of interest affecting the reliability of the article; or
• another substantial integrity violation that makes continued presentation of the article as reliable scholarship inappropriate.

Retraction may result from misconduct or from serious honest error. Retraction is primarily intended to correct the scholarly record rather than to punish authors.

13. Retraction Procedure

Where retraction is being considered, Jurnal Desain will normally:

1. conduct an initial assessment of the evidence;
2. request clarification from the author(s);
3. obtain additional documentation where necessary;
4. conduct or coordinate further investigation;
5. seek independent or institutional input where appropriate;
6. determine whether the article remains reliable; and
7. issue the appropriate editorial decision.

The authors will ordinarily be given an opportunity to respond before a final retraction decision is made.

Author disagreement with a retraction does not prevent the journal from issuing a retraction where the available evidence justifies corrective action.

14. Retraction Notice

A retraction notice must be openly accessible and clearly identify:

• the title of the retracted article;
• the authors;
• the original publication details;
• the DOI;
• the fact that the article has been retracted;
• the reason for the retraction, to the extent ethically and legally appropriate; and
• the party or authority responsible for the retraction decision.

The notice should distinguish, where reasonably possible, whether the retraction resulted from:

• honest error;
• research or publication misconduct;
• unreliable data or findings;
• ethical violations; or
• another documented reason.

The notice must not contain unnecessary defamatory or speculative statements.

15. Preservation of Retracted Articles

A retracted article will not be deleted from the journal website or scholarly archive merely because it has been retracted.

Instead:

• the article landing page must clearly display its RETRACTED status;
• the full-text PDF or other published version must be clearly marked as RETRACTED;
• the retraction notice must be linked to the original article;
• the original article must link to the retraction notice where technically possible;
• the DOI record must be updated;
• relevant publication metadata must indicate the retracted status; and
• the scholarly publication record must remain accessible for transparency.

Readers must be able to determine clearly that the article should no longer be relied upon as an unretracted publication.

16. DOI and Metadata Updates

Corrections, Expressions of Concern, and Retractions must be reflected in relevant bibliographic records where technically applicable.

Jurnal Desain will make reasonable efforts to update:

• DOI metadata;
• article metadata on the journal platform;
• publication status information; and
• other metadata services under the journal's control.

Corrective notices should be assigned appropriate metadata and persistent identifiers where applicable.

The journal will also make reasonable efforts to ensure that links between the original publication and corrective notice are maintained.

Exceptional Removal

17. Removal of Published Content

Published articles will not normally be removed from the journal website.

Removal may be considered only in exceptional circumstances, such as where continued availability creates a compelling:

• legal risk;
• privacy violation;
• confidentiality breach;
• serious risk to individuals or communities;
• court or regulatory requirement; or
• other overriding ethical or legal concern.

Where removal is necessary, an explanatory notice should remain at the article location wherever reasonably possible.

Removal must not be used to conceal plagiarism, misconduct, editorial error, retraction, or other problems in the scholarly record.

Author-Initiated Corrections

18. Author Responsibility After Publication

Authors who identify a material error in their published article must inform the editorial office promptly.

Authors should provide:

• details of the error;
• the affected section of the article;
• the proposed correction; and
• supporting evidence where relevant.

The Editor determines whether:

• no formal action is necessary;
• a correction is appropriate;
• a broader integrity assessment is required; or
• another corrective action should be considered.

Authors may not independently alter the published record without editorial authorization.

Third-Party Concerns

19. Concerns Raised by Readers or Other Parties

Concerns raised by readers, researchers, institutions, or other third parties will be evaluated on their evidence and relevance rather than on the identity or status of the person raising the concern.

Jurnal Desain may request additional information where necessary.

The journal will not normally disclose confidential correspondence, reviewer identities, unpublished editorial records, personal data, or other protected information beyond what is necessary to investigate and resolve the matter.

Appeals

20. Appeals Concerning Corrective Actions

Authors may submit a reasoned appeal concerning a proposed or completed post-publication corrective action where they believe:

• material evidence was overlooked;
• a relevant factual error affected the decision;
• the procedure was materially inappropriate; or
• a conflict of interest affected the assessment.

The appeal must provide substantive evidence or procedural grounds.

Mere disagreement with the outcome is not sufficient.

Where appropriate, an appeal should be considered by an Editor or qualified person who was not materially responsible for the original disputed decision.

An appeal does not automatically suspend a corrective action where delaying that action would compromise the integrity of the scholarly record.

Transparency and Record Keeping

21. Documentation

Jurnal Desain will maintain appropriate documentation of significant post-publication concerns and corrective actions.

Relevant records may include:

• correspondence;
• supporting evidence;
• author responses;
• expert assessments;
• editorial decisions;
• institutional communications; and
• corrective notices.

Documentation will be handled in accordance with applicable confidentiality, privacy, ethical, and legal requirements.

22. Editorial Independence

Post-publication decisions are based on the integrity and reliability of the scholarly record.

Decisions concerning corrections, Expressions of Concern, or retractions must not be influenced by:

• author status or reputation;
• institutional affiliation;
• Article Processing Charges;
• Fast-Track Review fees;
• sponsorship;
• citation performance;
• reputational concerns of the journal or publisher; or
• other inappropriate commercial or institutional interests.

Protecting the accuracy and integrity of the scholarly record takes precedence over such considerations.

23. Relationship with Other Jurnal Desain Policies

This policy should be read together with the journal's:

• Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement;
• Plagiarism Screening Policy;
• Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy;
• Research Data and Reproducibility Policy;
• Peer Review Process; and
• other applicable editorial policies.

Where a post-publication concern involves suspected academic or publication misconduct, the investigation will follow the procedures established in the Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement.