The Ethiopian International Journal of Engineering and Technology (EIIJET) is committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics and integrity. The primary purpose of this policy is to define the procedures and standards by which a published article is formally retracted from the journal. Retraction is a measure reserved for correcting the literature and notifying readers of severe errors, flawed data, or instances of publication misconduct that invalidate the findings of a published paper.

EIIJET is bound to the recommendations and guidelines established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and guidelines of the Arba Minch University Ethics.

This policy applies to all published papers such as full-length research papers, review articles, and technical notes, across all volumes and issues of EIIJET.

Grounds for Retraction

An article may be considered for retraction if it is determined by the Editor-in-Chief (EiC), based on the recommendation of the Editorial Board, that:

Scientific Misconduct, Ethical Violations and Errors:

• Plagiarism: Substantial portions of the paper are copied without citation or permission.
• Fabrication or Falsification of Data: The reported results are not genuine or have been intentionally manipulated.
• Unethical Research: The research described did not receive appropriate ethical approval or violates fundamental ethical research standards (e.g., human or animal rights).
• Authorship Misconduct: Undisclosed conflicts of interest that influenced the results or interpretation, or serious disputes over genuine authorship where rightful authors have been omitted or unapproved authors included.
• Fundamental Error: The paper contains a major error (e.g., miscalculation or experimental error) that fundamentally invalidates the paper’s conclusions.
• Irreproducible Findings: The core findings of the paper are deemed scientifically unreliable and cannot be reproduced.
• Duplicate Publication (Self-Plagiarism): The paper has been published in whole or in part elsewhere without proper disclosure and permission.
• Copyright Infringement: The paper infringes on the copyright of a third party.

The Retraction Process

A concern regarding a published paper can be raised by any party, including:

• The Author(s) of the paper.
• The Editor-in-Chief or members of the Editorial Board.
• The Publisher.
• Third parties (e.g., institutional review boards, readers, whistleblowers).

Investigation

• The EiC will initiate a thorough, confidential investigation, consulting with the relevant Editorial Board members and, if necessary, external experts or the authors' institutions.
• The authors will be given the opportunity to provide an explanation or contest the claims.
• The investigation will determine if the case meets the grounds for retraction.

Decision

The final decision to retract an article rests solely with the Editor-in-Chief, guided by the findings of the investigation and the recommendations of the Editorial Board, following strictly the EIJET guidelines, COPE standards and AMU Ethical policy.

Upon the decision to retract, EIIJET will immediately publish a "Notice of Retraction," to the author(s).  

Status of the Retracted Paper

The original electronic version of the retracted article will not be removed from the journal’s website, as this could compromise the historical record of the literature. Instead:

• A prominent watermark reading "RETRACTED" will be placed across all pages of the electronic document.
• The bibliographic information (title and authors) will remain available.
• The retraction notice will be posted immediately above the abstract and will serve as the primary link for the document.

Article Withdrawal vs. Retraction

• Retraction: Applied to articles that have already been published and contain severe flaws or misconduct.
• Withdrawal: Applied to articles before formal publication (i.e., before being assigned to a final issue and volume), typically only if the article is found to contain serious errors or there are irreconcilable ethical issues during the peer review or production process.

Expressions of Concern

In cases where an investigation into potential misconduct is inconclusive, or if there are concerns about the reliability of the data but not enough evidence to warrant a full retraction, the EiC may publish an "Expression of Concern." This notice will be prominently linked to the article to alert readers that serious issues are being investigated.