Corrections & Retractions Policy

ALFI's procedures for correcting the scholarly record are informed by internationally recognized publication-ethics principles, including guidance developed by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Editorial action is determined by the reliability of the published work, the seriousness of the identified problem, the available evidence, the effect of the issue on interpretation or conclusions, and the need to protect readers and the integrity of the scholarly literature.

Post-publication decisions are made on the basis of evidence rather than reputational considerations. The purpose of corrective action is to maintain an accurate scholarly record, not to punish authors. Where misconduct is suspected, the journal may separately pursue appropriate publication-ethics procedures while taking whatever action is necessary to protect the reliability of the published literature.

A formal correction may be published when an error or omission materially affects the interpretation, accuracy, attribution, transparency, or reproducibility of part of an article but does not invalidate the article as a whole. Examples may include an incorrect value, mislabeled figure, inaccurate affiliation, material omission, reporting error, attribution problem, or other issue that can be transparently corrected while the principal findings remain reliable.

A correction notice will identify the affected article and explain what has been corrected. Where technically appropriate, the article may also be updated to reflect the correction, provided that the existence and nature of the change remain transparent. Material changes must not be made silently.

ALFI may use an appropriate correction notice regardless of whether an error originated with the author, editorial office, production process, or publisher. The primary consideration is whether the scholarly record requires correction. The journal does not regard terminology such as “erratum” or “corrigendum” as more important than providing readers with a clear, permanent, and appropriately linked explanation of the correction.

Minor typographical, formatting, or production errors that do not alter meaning, indexing information, attribution, scientific interpretation, or the integrity of the scholarly record may not require a separate formal correction notice. However, once an article has been published as the Version of Record, changes that materially affect the scholarly content, authorship, data, conclusions, or bibliographic record must not be treated as silent editorial edits.

An Expression of Concern may be issued when credible and potentially serious concerns have been raised regarding a published article but the available evidence is incomplete, disputed, or insufficient to justify immediate correction or retraction. It may also be appropriate when a formal institutional investigation is underway or when an investigation is unlikely to reach a conclusion within a reasonable period.

An Expression of Concern is intended to alert readers while avoiding premature conclusions. Once sufficient evidence becomes available, the journal will reassess the case and may leave the notice in place, replace it with a correction, issue a retraction, or publish another appropriate editorial resolution.

Retraction is considered when there is clear evidence that the findings or major conclusions of a published article are unreliable, whether as a result of honest error, major methodological failure, fabrication, falsification, manipulation, plagiarism, unethical research, compromised peer review, unauthorized publication, substantial undisclosed redundancy, or another serious breach that materially undermines confidence in the publication.

Retraction may also be appropriate where authorship or legal concerns fundamentally invalidate the legitimacy of the publication, where required ethical approval was absent or seriously misrepresented, or where evidence demonstrates that the integrity of the editorial or peer-review process was materially compromised.

A retracted article will normally remain accessible as part of the scholarly record rather than being deleted. The article will be clearly identified as retracted, and a retraction notice will be linked prominently to the article. Where technically feasible, the article itself may also be marked or watermarked to indicate its retracted status while preserving the original bibliographic record.

A retraction notice should clearly identify the retracted article, state that the article has been retracted, explain the principal reason for the retraction in sufficient detail to protect the scholarly record, identify who is retracting the article where appropriate, and distinguish verified facts from unresolved allegations.

Retraction notices should be freely accessible and permanently linked to the affected article. The journal will avoid defamatory, speculative, or unnecessarily accusatory language and will disclose only information reasonably necessary to explain the scholarly basis for the retraction.

Retraction will not normally be used when a limited error can be corrected transparently and the principal findings of the article remain reliable. Similarly, authorship disagreements or competing-interest disclosures may sometimes be resolved through correction when they do not invalidate the underlying research.

The journal will select the least severe editorial action capable of restoring the accuracy and integrity of the scholarly record. Where the reliability of the work cannot be restored through correction, retraction may be necessary.

When a credible concern is raised, ALFI will conduct an initial editorial assessment. The journal may request explanations, original data, research records, ethics approvals, consent documentation, source files, previous versions, authorship information, similarity reports, peer-review records, or other evidence relevant to the matter.

Authors will ordinarily be given a reasonable opportunity to respond to substantive concerns before a final editorial decision is made, except where immediate action is necessary to address legal, safety, or serious integrity risks. Failure to respond does not prevent the journal from acting when sufficient evidence is otherwise available.

ALFI may seek confidential advice from independent subject specialists, research-integrity experts, ethics committees, institutions, publishers, funders, or other competent parties. The journal does not normally conduct investigations that properly fall within the authority of an author's institution but may rely on or respond to formal institutional findings when determining appropriate publication action.

ALFI will seek relevant information from authors and will consider their responses fairly. However, unanimous author agreement is not required for the journal to issue a correction, Expression of Concern, or retraction when the available evidence demonstrates that editorial action is necessary to protect the scholarly record. Any disagreement concerning the action may be noted transparently where relevant.

Withdrawal applies to manuscripts that have not yet been formally published as the Version of Record. Authors requesting withdrawal should provide a clear reason and should obtain agreement from all co-authors where applicable. The editorial office may maintain internal records of withdrawn submissions for legitimate administrative, integrity, or audit purposes.

Once an article has been formally published, a request to withdraw it will normally be treated under the journal's correction, retraction, or removal procedures rather than as a simple manuscript withdrawal.

Complete removal of a published article is an exceptional measure and will not ordinarily be used as an alternative to retraction. Removal may be considered only when continued public availability would create a compelling legal, privacy, confidentiality, or serious safety risk that cannot reasonably be addressed through correction, retraction, redaction, or another less restrictive measure.

Where content must be removed, ALFI will seek to preserve the bibliographic record and publish a notice explaining, to the extent legally and ethically permissible, why the content is no longer available.

Replacement or republication of a published article will be considered only when necessary to communicate substantial corrected information transparently and when doing so is preferable to leaving readers with an unreliable version. Any replacement or republication must clearly identify the relationship between the original and revised versions, explain the reason for the change, and preserve an appropriate record of the publication history.

Post-publication notices should be connected clearly to the affected article through the journal's online platform. Where relevant and technically supported, bibliographic metadata and DOI records will be updated to reflect correction, retraction, or other publication status so that readers, indexing services, repositories, and scholarly databases can identify the current status of the article.

The original DOI of a retracted article should normally remain functional and lead readers to a page where the retracted status and associated notice are clearly visible. Retraction is intended to correct the record, not to erase the existence of the publication.

Authors or other directly affected parties may submit a reasoned request for reconsideration of a correction, Expression of Concern, or retraction decision when they believe that material evidence was overlooked, factual information was misunderstood, or a significant procedural error occurred. A request for reconsideration must identify the specific basis of the challenge and provide relevant supporting evidence. Wherever feasible, reconsideration will involve an editor or qualified person who was not solely responsible for the original disputed decision.

Agriculture, Livestock, and Food Industry (ALFI) is affiliated with Yayasan Kalidaka Cendikia Nusantara and formally published by WISE Pendidikan Indonesia. The journal and publisher support transparent correction of the scholarly record, responsible post-publication review, research integrity, and editorial independence.

This Corrections & Retractions Policy should be read together with ALFI's Publication Ethics, Similarity & Plagiarism Policy, Peer Review Policy, Authorship Policy, and other applicable editorial policies. ALFI may revise this policy when necessary to reflect developments in recognized standards of publication ethics and responsible scholarly publishing.