Article Withdrawal and Removal Policy

We strive to maintain the highest ethical standards in publishing. Occasionally, situations arise that require articles to be withdrawn, removed, or replaced. This policy outlines the circumstances and procedures for such actions to ensure transparency and uphold the integrity of the academic record.

1. Article Withdrawal

Articles can be withdrawn either by the authors or by the editorial office under certain conditions.

Author-Initiated Withdrawal

Authors may request to withdraw their article before it is formally published if they discover significant errors or if ethical concerns arise (e.g., duplicate submission, authorship disputes). To initiate withdrawal:

A formal request must be submitted by the corresponding author.
The request should provide a clear reason for the withdrawal.
Withdrawals after the peer review or copyediting stages may result in penalties, including a ban from future submissions.

Editor-Initiated Withdrawal

The editorial office may withdraw an article under the following circumstances:

Evidence of ethical violations, such as plagiarism or manipulation of data.
Legal issues that prevent the article from being published.

Articles marked for withdrawal will no longer be available online, but a note indicating the withdrawal and the reason will remain on the journal’s website.

2. Article Removal

In rare cases, articles may need to be removed entirely from the online journal, particularly in cases of:

Legal infringement (e.g., defamation, copyright violations).
Ethical breaches that cannot be rectified (e.g., serious cases of plagiarism).
Fraudulent research or data manipulation.

Article removal will result in the deletion of the article from all online platforms. A notice will be posted in place of the article indicating the reason for removal. This action is only taken when necessary, as PaGe is committed to preserving the academic record wherever possible.

3. Article Replacement

Authors may request to replace a published article if significant errors are found that could mislead readers or affect the scientific record. In cases where the errors cannot be corrected via a minor correction or erratum:

The original article will be removed, and a corrected version will be published.
The replacement article will carry a note explaining the reasons for replacement and will link to the original article’s page.
The original article’s metadata will remain for transparency and archival purposes.

5. Penalties for Unethical Withdrawal

Authors who withdraw articles after peer review or upon acceptance without justified reasons may face penalties, including:

A formal ban from submitting to any PaGe journals in the future.
A notification to the author’s institution or funding body.