1. Purpose

Prawara is committed to maintaining the accuracy and integrity of the scholarly record. Errors can occur in any published article, and research that is found to be unreliable or improperly conducted must be corrected or withdrawn in a transparent manner.

This page explains the types of post-publication action the journal may take, the circumstances in which each is used, and how readers, authors, and other parties may report a concern.

2. Types of Action

The journal distinguishes between the following actions.

Correction (erratum or corrigendum). A correction is issued when an article contains an error that does not undermine its main findings or conclusions. Examples include a mistake in a citation, a transcription error in a quotation or excerpt, an incorrect author affiliation, or a typographical error in a table. The original article remains available, and the correction is linked to it.

Expression of concern. An expression of concern is issued when the editors have received credible information that raises questions about the reliability or validity of an article, but the matter has not yet been resolved. It alerts readers while an investigation is underway. It may be followed by a correction, retraction, or a determination that no further action is needed.

Retraction. A retraction is issued when the findings or conclusions of an article are no longer reliable. Retraction is normally applied in cases of serious error, fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, duplicate publication, or the lack of required ethical approval or consent. The retracted article remains online, marked clearly as retracted, and a retraction notice explains the reasons. The article is not removed from the archive, so that the scholarly record remains intact.

Withdrawal. A withdrawal is considered when an article is found to have been published in error, or when an author requests it before the article has been properly validated, for example because the article was published without the approval of all authors. Withdrawal is applied only in exceptional circumstances and is always recorded publicly.

3. Grounds for Action

The editorial board may take action where it is established that an article:

• contains a material error in data, analysis, or interpretation that affects its conclusions;
• contains fabricated, falsified, or manipulated data, quotations, or references;
• reproduces substantial text or ideas from another work without proper attribution;
• has been published in another venue without disclosure, or constitutes duplicate publication;
• was published without the approval of all authors, or without the required approval of the responsible institution;
• reports research involving human participants, students, or schools that lacked the required ethical clearance or informed consent;
• contains undisclosed use of artificial intelligence in breach of the journal's Artificial Intelligence (AI) Usage Policy, where this affects the scientific content; or
• has been found to involve undisclosed conflicts of interest that materially affect the work.

Errors that are minor and do not affect the scholarly content, such as minor typographical errors, are normally corrected by an update to the article's metadata or PDF without a formal notice.

4. How to Report a Concern

Readers, authors, reviewers, or institutions may raise a concern about a published article by writing to the editorial office at prawara@unsoed.ac.id. Concerns should be sent by email rather than posted as public comments, so that they can be assessed confidentially.

A report should include:

• the title of the article and its DOI or issue reference;
• a clear description of the concern;
• the page, section, or table concerned;
• supporting evidence, where available, such as a source document, a conflicting dataset, or a copy of a prior publication; and
• the name and contact details of the person raising the concern. Anonymous reports may be considered, but they are harder to investigate.

The editorial office will acknowledge receipt, and will normally aim to respond within a reasonable period. Where a concern involves an author's institution, the journal may contact that institution.

5. Process

Each concern is assessed in the following way:

1. Acknowledgement. The editorial office confirms receipt of the concern.
2. Preliminary assessment. The editor determines whether the concern is credible and falls within the scope of this policy.
3. Investigation. Where necessary, the editor requests a written explanation from the corresponding author, and may consult members of the editorial board, reviewers, or external experts.
4. Decision. The editor-in-chief, or a delegated editor, decides on the appropriate action, and documents the reasons for the decision.
5. Notice. Any correction, expression of concern, retraction, or withdrawal is published with a clear notice that is linked to the original article.

Authors will be given a reasonable opportunity to respond before a decision is made, except where delay would cause serious harm, such as the continued circulation of fabricated data. Artificial intelligence tools are not used as the sole basis for any decision of this kind; all decisions are made by human editors.

6. Requests by Authors

Authors may request a correction, or in exceptional cases the withdrawal of their article, by writing to the editorial office. Such a request must be made by the corresponding author on behalf of all authors, or by a majority of authors where agreement cannot be reached. The request should explain the reasons clearly.

A request for withdrawal does not automatically result in the article being withdrawn. The editors will consider the reasons, the stage of publication, and the interests of readers and other authors before deciding.

7. Notices and Metadata

Every correction, expression of concern, retraction, or withdrawal is:

• published as a separate notice with a unique identifier;
• linked to the original article in both directions;
• dated, so that readers can see when the action was taken; and
• reflected in the article's metadata, where the publishing platform supports this.

Where an article is corrected, the original version is retained and the change is described in the notice. Where an article is retracted, the full text is retained and the retraction is shown prominently.

8. Relationship to Other Procedures

Corrections and retractions are distinct from the following:

• Post-publication discussion, in which readers comment on published articles, and which does not alter the published record;
• Peer review of new submissions, which takes place before publication; and
• Letters to the editor, which are published as correspondence and are not corrections.

9. Contact

For questions about corrections, retractions, or withdrawals, or to report a concern, please contact the editorial office:

Email: prawara@unsoed.ac.id