Retraction Policy

Advances in Science, Engineering and Society (ASES), published by NK Publishers, is committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity, transparency, and reliability in scholarly publishing. Retractions are issued when a published article is found to contain significant errors or ethical breaches that compromise the validity of the work or undermine trust in its findings.

This policy is aligned with the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and internationally recognized standards of academic publishing.

Grounds for Retraction

An article may be retracted if, after publication, it is found to involve one or more of the following:

  • Plagiarism or substantial unattributed overlap with previously published work

  • Duplicate or redundant publication

  • Fabrication, falsification, or manipulation of data or results

  • Serious methodological or analytical errors that invalidate the conclusions

  • Unethical research practices (e.g., absence of required ethical approval or informed consent)

  • Authorship manipulation, ghost authorship, or undisclosed conflicts of interest

  • Any other form of significant academic or publication misconduct

Retraction Process

1. Initiation

A retraction may be initiated by the Editor-in-Chief, editorial board, publisher, reviewers, readers, or external institutions.

2. Investigation

The editorial office conducts a thorough and impartial investigation in accordance with COPE procedures. Authors are formally notified of the concerns and provided an opportunity to respond.

3. Editorial Decision

Based on the available evidence and author response (if any), the Editor-in-Chief, in consultation with the editorial board and NK Publishers, determines whether retraction is warranted.

4. Retraction Notice

If a retraction is approved, a formal retraction notice is published. The notice will:

  • Be clearly linked to the original article

  • State the reason(s) for retraction

  • Distinguish between misconduct and honest error where applicable

Post-Retraction Handling

  • The retracted article will remain accessible online to preserve the scholarly record, but will be clearly marked as “Retracted” on all versions (HTML and PDF).

  • The retraction notice will be freely accessible to readers.

  • Relevant indexing and abstracting services will be promptly notified.

Retraction Fee / Penalty

In cases where retraction is the result of confirmed academic misconduct—including but not limited to plagiarism, data fabrication, or duplicate publication—the responsible author(s) may be required to pay a retraction processing and investigation fee of USD 500.

This fee is intended to cover:

  • Editorial and administrative costs associated with the investigation

  • Ethical and legal compliance procedures

  • Technical costs related to issuing, indexing, and archiving the retraction

Important Clarifications

  • The retraction fee does not apply in cases of genuine error or good-faith mistakes without evidence of misconduct.

  • The fee must be paid within the specified timeframe following formal notification.

  • Failure to comply may result in:

    • Temporary or permanent restriction on future submissions to ASES and other journals published by NK Publishers

    • Notification to the author’s affiliated institution or relevant authority, where appropriate

Author Responsibility and Institutional Notification

In cases involving serious or repeated misconduct:

  • The author’s affiliated institution, funding body, or relevant authority may be informed

  • Additional editorial sanctions may be imposed in accordance with COPE guidelines

Policy Transparency and Updates

This Retraction Policy forms an integral part of the publication ethics framework of Advances in Science, Engineering and Society (ASES) and applies to all articles published in the journal.

The policy may be updated periodically to reflect developments in international publishing ethics standards and regulatory requirements.