RETRACTION POLICY

The Verdant Legacy Publishers upholds the highest standards of publication ethics and integrity. Retraction of a published article is considered a serious action and is undertaken only when necessary to correct the scientific record and ensure the reliability of published information.

1. Grounds for Retraction

An article may be retracted under the following circumstances:

1. Evidence of research misconduct, such as data fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, or unethical research practices.
2. Significant errors or inaccuracies that invalidate the main findings or conclusions of the article.
3. Duplicate publication (article previously published elsewhere without appropriate citation or permission).
4. Unauthorized authorship changes or undisclosed conflicts of interest that compromise the integrity of the work.
5. Ethical violations, such as lack of informed consent or improper animal/human subject handling.

2. Retraction Procedure

A retraction may be initiated by the authors, editors, and readers who identify a serious issue in the published article. The editorial board, in consultation with the Editor-in-Chief, will investigate the matter following COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) guidelines. The authors will be given an opportunity to respond to the concerns raised. If a retraction is warranted, a Retraction Notice will be published in the next issue and linked to the original article.

3. Retraction Notice

The retraction notice will clearly state the title, author(s), and publication details of the article with the specific reasons for retraction and information regarding whether the retraction was made by the authors, editors, or publisher. The original article will remain accessible online, marked with a clear “Retracted” watermark on each page and linked to the retraction notice to maintain transparency of the scholarly record.

4. Partial Retraction

In rare cases where only part of an article is affected (e.g., a figure, dataset, or section), a Partial Retraction or Correction Notice may be issued instead of retracting the entire paper.

5. Ethical Guidelines

The journals follow the COPE Retraction Guidelines to ensure fairness, transparency, and accountability in all retraction decisions.

6. Replacement of Retracted Articles

If the authors have conducted a valid repeat study and wish to publish a corrected version, it will be treated as a new submission, undergo peer review, and include a note referencing the retracted article.