Corrections, Retractions, and Withdrawals Policy

The Journal of Tikrit University for Humanities (JTUH) is committed to maintaining and enhancing the accuracy and integrity of the academic record. In accordance with the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the Journal adopts the following policies to address amendments that may occur to manuscripts post-publication or during the review process, ensuring maximum transparency and scientific reliability:

First: Corrections

• Author Errors (Corrigenda): If an author discovers a significant scientific error in their published article (e.g., an unintentional error in data or calculations that does not alter the overall conclusion of the research), they must notify the editorial board immediately. The Journal will publish a "Corrigendum" detailing the error and its correction, which will be electronically linked to the original article.
• Journal Errors (Errata): In the event of a technical or typographical error occurring during the editing and production process by the Journal's staff (e.g., an error in the author order or missing illustrations), the Journal will issue an "Erratum" and update the PDF file to clearly indicate the modification made.

Second: Retractions

Retraction procedures are implemented to protect the integrity of the academic record, not as a punitive measure against authors. The Journal will issue a retraction in the following cases:

• Clear evidence indicating that the findings are unreliable, whether due to scientific misconduct (e.g., data fabrication and falsification) or a profound unintentional error.
• Detection of plagiarism or unacceptable similarity.
• Redundant or duplicate publication (the research has been previously published in another journal without legitimate justification or permission).
• Flagrant violations of research ethics (e.g., failure to obtain necessary ethical approvals in applied psychology research).

Procedure: Upon a retraction decision, the original article remains available in the Journal's electronic archive, prominently marked with a red watermark ("RETRACTED") across all pages of the PDF file. Additionally, a separate "Retraction Notice" outlining the reasons for retraction is published and hyperlinked to the original article to provide full transparency to readers.

Third: Article Withdrawals

• This procedure applies to manuscripts that have been submitted or provisionally accepted but have not yet been formally published in a final issue.
• Authors have the right to request the withdrawal of their manuscript, provided they submit a formal request signed by all co-authors detailing the precise justifications for the withdrawal.
• The editorial board reserves the right to halt and withdraw the manuscript at this stage if it discovers a violation of publication policies (e.g., simultaneous submission to another journal).

Fourth: Editorial Expressions of Concern

• If serious allegations or concerns arise regarding the integrity of a published article, and if the evidence is inconclusive or the institutional investigation requires an extended period to establish facts, the Editor-in-Chief reserves the right to publish an "Expression of Concern" appended to the article. This serves to alert readers to an ongoing investigation and may subsequently be followed by a final decision to either clear the article or retract it.