RETRACTION POLICY

     The University of St. La Salle Publication and Engagement Office ( known as the Publisher) follows COPE’s Retraction Policy. The “Retraction Guidelines” outlines principles and procedures for retracting scholarly articles. The USLS Publisher emphasizes that retractions should be made when there are serious issues with a publication, such as unintentional errors, plagiarism, fraud, duplicate publication, or ethical violations, and that they should be clearly communicated to peo@usls.edu.ph in order to maintain scientific/ academic integrity to uphold the credibility of the research record and protect the interests of all parties involved and stress the importance of transparency and proper documentation during the retraction process.

Retraction Guidelines

A. Reasons for Retraction:

• Unreliable Findings: Major errors, fabrication, falsification, or experimental issues.
• Plagiarism: Copying of others’ work without proper attribution/ citation
• Redundant Publication: Duplicate publication without proper disclosure or permission.
• Unauthorized Material: Use of material or data without permission
• Legal Issues: Copyright infringement or other serious legal problems.
• Unethical Research: Ethical breaches in the research conducted.
• Compromised Peer Review: Issues with the peer review process.
• Undisclosed Conflicts of Interest: Failure to disclose significant competing interests affecting the study’s interpretation.

B. Retraction Notices Should:

• Be linked to the retracted article and clearly identified.
• Clearly state that it is a retraction and include article details.
• Be published promptly, freely available, and objective in tone.
• Indicate who is retracting and provide reasons for the retraction

C. Retractions Are Generally Not Appropriate If:

• Authorship disputes exist, but findings are valid.
• Errors can be corrected without retraction.
• Evidence for retraction is inconclusive or awaiting further investigation.
• Conflicts of interest reported post-publication are deemed not to affect the study’s conclusions.