Article Retraction & Withdrawal

Explorations in English Learning (EXEL) is committed to maintaining the integrity and trustworthiness of academic publishing. In line with international ethical standards, including those outlined by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the journal follows a structured approach for handling article retraction and withdrawal to ensure transparency, accountability, and fairness.

1. Retraction Policy

A published article may be retracted under the following circumstances:

  • There is clear evidence of academic misconduct, such as data fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism.

  • The findings are deemed unreliable due to unintentional errors, such as miscalculations, flawed methodology, or incorrect data interpretation.

  • The article has been published elsewhere without proper disclosure (i.e., duplicate publication).

  • The research violates ethical standards, including a lack of ethical approval or participant consent.

Retractions will be issued in accordance with the COPE Retraction Guidelines. A retraction notice will be permanently linked to the original article, stating the reason for the retraction and who initiated the action (authors, editors, or third parties).

2. Manuscript Withdrawal Policy

Authors are strongly discouraged from withdrawing manuscripts after submission, as doing so undermines the time and resources invested by editors, peer reviewers, and the journal.

  • During Review: Authors who request withdrawal while the manuscript is still under editorial or peer review must pay a withdrawal processing fee of IDR 500,000.00 per manuscript.

  • After Acceptance: Withdrawal requests made after acceptance will incur a penalty of IDR 1,000,000.00, as this is considered a serious ethical breach, particularly if the manuscript has been submitted or published elsewhere.

Withdrawal requests will only be honoured upon full payment of the applicable penalty. Failure to comply may result in:

  • A submission ban for the author and all co-authors to EXEL.

  • Notification to the authors' affiliated institutions.

  • Potential removal of previously published articles by the author from EXEL’s website.

All withdrawal requests must be sent in writing to the editorial office at: exeljournal@gmail.com