SaNa: Journal of Blockchain, NFTs and Metaverse Technology is committed to maintaining the accuracy, reliability, and integrity of the scholarly record. When a significant error or integrity concern is identified in published content, the journal will consider appropriate post-publication action in accordance with the nature and severity of the issue.
The journal follows relevant guidance from the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), including the COPE Retraction Guidelines, when considering corrections, expressions of concern, retractions, and related post-publication actions.
Significant errors may be corrected while preserving the published scholarly record.
A correction may be issued when an error affects the accuracy, interpretation, attribution, or completeness of a published article but does not invalidate the work as a whole.
Examples may include material errors in data presentation, author or affiliation information, figures, tables, analysis, references, or other information that requires formal clarification in the published record.
Minor typographical or formatting errors that do not affect the scholarly meaning, interpretation, or integrity of the article may not require a formal correction notice.
Retraction may be necessary when the reliability or integrity of a published article is substantially compromised.
SaNa may consider retracting a published article when there is reliable evidence that its findings or publication record are seriously compromised and correction alone would not adequately address the problem.
Circumstances that may warrant consideration of retraction include, but are not limited to:
There is clear evidence that the findings are unreliable because of a major error or serious research-integrity concern.
Substantial findings have previously been published elsewhere without appropriate disclosure, justification, or reference to the earlier publication.
The published article contains plagiarism of sufficient extent or severity to compromise the integrity of the work.
The article reports research that was conducted in serious violation of applicable ethical requirements or participant protections.
Reliable evidence indicates serious manipulation or compromise of authorship, peer review, editorial evaluation, or another essential component of the publication process.
Readers may need to be informed when a serious concern remains unresolved.
An Expression of Concern may be considered when credible concerns have been raised about a published article but the available evidence is not yet sufficient to determine whether correction or retraction is appropriate.
This may also be appropriate when an investigation is incomplete, inconclusive, substantially delayed, or dependent on information from an institution or other responsible body.
An Expression of Concern is intended to alert readers to a potentially significant issue while further assessment is undertaken. It should not be interpreted automatically as a finding of misconduct.
Post-publication concerns are evaluated according to their evidence, seriousness, and effect on the scholarly record.
Concerns may be raised by authors, readers, reviewers, editors, institutions, or other parties. The journal will assess credible concerns and may request relevant information or documentation from the authors or other appropriate parties.
Authors should normally be given an appropriate opportunity to respond to concerns relevant to their published work before a final editorial action is determined, except where circumstances require otherwise.
Where necessary, the journal may seek information from relevant institutions or other responsible bodies and may consult applicable COPE guidance when evaluating complex cases.
Editorial action is determined according to the evidence and the effect of the identified issue on the reliability and integrity of the published record.
Retractions should remain transparent and identifiable in the scholarly record.
When an article is retracted, SaNa will publish a retraction notice that clearly identifies the affected article and states the reason for the retraction to the extent appropriate and supported by the available evidence.
The retraction notice should be publicly accessible and linked to the affected article. The article should also be clearly identified as retracted so that readers and indexing or discovery services can recognize its status.
Retraction is intended to correct the scholarly record rather than to make the original publication disappear. Accordingly, the bibliographic record should normally be preserved and clearly marked as retracted.
Complete removal is reserved for exceptional circumstances.
Retraction does not ordinarily mean deleting an article from the journal website. Complete removal of published content should be considered only in exceptional circumstances, such as where continued availability creates a significant legal, privacy, confidentiality, or safety concern that cannot reasonably be addressed through a standard correction or retraction.
Where removal is necessary, the journal should preserve an appropriate public record explaining that the article has been removed, subject to any legal or confidentiality restrictions.
Responsibility for research integrity continues after publication.
Authors who identify a significant error or inaccuracy in their published article should promptly inform the journal and cooperate with the editorial team in determining the appropriate action.
Authors are expected to provide relevant information or supporting documentation when reasonably requested during the assessment of a post-publication concern.
Detailed integrity procedures are maintained separately to avoid duplication.
Research misconduct, authorship, competing interests, ethical oversight, complaints, and integrity investigations are addressed under the Publication Ethics policy.
Definitions of plagiarism, similarity screening, and the assessment of originality concerns are addressed separately in the Plagiarism Policy.
The journal's double-blind review model, reviewer evaluation, revision, and editorial decision procedures are described in the Peer Review Process.
Retraction decisions are informed by established publication ethics guidance.
SaNa refers to the COPE Retraction Guidelines when assessing whether retraction or another post-publication action is appropriate.
Corrections, expressions of concern, and retractions are mechanisms for maintaining an accurate and trustworthy scholarly record. SaNa seeks to apply these measures transparently and proportionately according to the evidence and circumstances of each case.
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