Article Policy

FOSTER: Journal of English Language Teaching
Article Withdrawal, Retraction & Removal Policy
Maintaining the integrity, completeness, and reliability of the scholarly record

FOSTER: Journal of English Language Teaching recognizes the importance of the integrity and completeness of the scholarly record for researchers, authors, readers, and librarians. The journal therefore attaches the highest importance to maintaining trust in the authority and reliability of its electronic archive.

The editor of a scholarly journal is solely and independently responsible for deciding which articles submitted to the journal shall be published. In making publication decisions, the editor is guided by the policies of the journal's Editorial Board and is constrained by applicable legal requirements concerning libel, copyright infringement, plagiarism, and related matters.

Scholarly Record

The scholarly archive serves as a permanent historical record of scholarly communication. Published articles should therefore remain extant, accurate, and unaltered wherever possible. However, exceptional circumstances may require an article to be withdrawn, retracted, or removed. Such actions are not undertaken lightly and are limited to circumstances in which they are considered necessary. In all cases, the official archive will retain the available article versions, including articles that have been retracted or otherwise removed.

This policy is designed to address these concerns and take into account current practices within scholarly publishing and library communities. As standards and practices evolve, FOSTER will periodically revisit this policy and welcomes constructive input from scholarly and library communities.

Commitment to Scholarly Integrity
FOSTER supports internationally recognized principles and best practices for maintaining the integrity, transparency, and permanence of the scholarly record.
Article Withdrawal

Article withdrawal applies to Articles in Press, which represent early versions of articles and may occasionally contain errors or may have been accidentally submitted more than once. In less frequent circumstances, an Article in Press may involve potential infringements of professional or ethical standards, including multiple submission, false claims of authorship, plagiarism, fraudulent use of data, or similar concerns.

Articles that have been accepted for publication but have not yet been formally published may be withdrawn when they are identified as accidental duplicates of other published articles or are considered by the editors to violate the journal's ethical guidelines. Withdrawal means that the article content, including the HTML and PDF versions, is removed from the issue.

Article Retraction

Article retraction may be applied in cases involving professional or ethical infringements, including multiple submission, false claims of authorship, plagiarism, fraudulent use of data, or similar violations. Retraction may also be used occasionally to correct significant errors identified in the submission or publication process.

When an article must be retracted, FOSTER: Journal of English Language Teaching follows the following procedures:

01 · Retraction Notice
A retraction note titled "Retraction: [Article Title]", signed by the authors and/or the editor, is published in the paginated section of a subsequent issue and listed in the table of contents.
02 · Electronic Link
In the electronic version, a link is provided to the original article.
03 · Retraction Screen
The online article is preceded by a screen displaying the retraction notice. The link resolves first to this notice, after which the reader may proceed to the original article.
04 · Original PDF
The original article is retained unchanged, except for a watermark on the PDF indicating on each page that the article is "retracted."
05 · HTML Version
The HTML version of the retracted document is removed.
Article Removal: Legal Limitations

In a minimal number of cases, it may be necessary to remove an article from the online database. Article removal may occur when an article is defamatory, infringes the legal rights of others, is subject to or expected to become subject to a court order, or where acting upon the article could pose a severe health risk.

Preservation of Bibliographic Metadata

When an article is removed for legal reasons, its bibliographic metadata, including the title and authors, will be retained. The article text will be replaced with a screen indicating that the article has been removed for legal reasons.

Article Replacement

In circumstances where acting upon an article might pose a severe health risk, the authors of the original article may wish to retract the flawed original and replace it with a corrected version.

Replacement Procedure

In such circumstances, the procedures for retraction will be followed, with the difference that the database retraction notice will provide a link to the corrected and republished article together with the relevant document history.

Preserving the Scholarly Record
FOSTER is committed to maintaining a reliable, transparent, and enduring scholarly archive while handling withdrawal, retraction, removal, and replacement only when exceptional circumstances require such action.
FOSTER: Journal of English Language Teaching