Retraction Policy

The Global South Journal of Applied Research (GSJAR) may retract an article when its findings or conclusions are unreliable, when serious misconduct has occurred, when the work substantially duplicates prior publication without justification, when unethical research has been conducted, or when legal or integrity concerns make continued reliance on the article inappropriate.

Reasons may include fabrication, falsification, major analytical error, plagiarism, manipulated peer review, unauthorised publication, serious authorship abuse or absence of required ethical approval where participant welfare or validity is affected.

A retraction is intended to correct the scholarly record rather than punish an author. Honest error and deliberate misconduct will be distinguished where possible.

The retraction notice will identify the affected article, explain the reason sufficiently for readers to understand the action and indicate who is retracting the article. The notice will be linked to the original article and published as part of the journal record.

The original article will not ordinarily be deleted. It will remain accessible with a clear retraction label or watermark so that the publication history is preserved. Removal may occur only in exceptional circumstances involving unlawful content, serious privacy risk, court order or immediate danger.

Where an investigation is incomplete but substantial concerns exist, the journal may publish an Expression of Concern while further information is sought.

The journal may contact authors, reviewers, institutions, funders or relevant authorities when necessary. Authors will ordinarily be given an opportunity to respond before final action, although lack of cooperation will not prevent action required to protect the literature.