Withdrawal of Manuscript

Withdrawal Policy

Al-Madrasah: Jurnal Ilmiah Pendidikan Madrasah Ibtidaiyah respects authors' right to withdraw their manuscripts after submission. However, manuscript withdrawal must be conducted responsibly and must not adversely affect the editorial process, reviewers, or other parties involved in the publication process.

1. Conditions and Grounds for Manuscript Withdrawal

Authors may request the withdrawal of a manuscript for legitimate academic reasons or circumstances that can be reasonably justified, including:

  1. A substantial error has been identified in the manuscript that cannot be adequately addressed through the revision process.
  2. Issues concerning research or publication ethics have been identified.
  3. Serious concerns have arisen regarding the data, authorship, or required approvals from relevant parties.
  4. The manuscript has been or is intended to be published in another journal due to unavoidable circumstances that have been communicated to the editor.
  5. Force majeure circumstances have arisen that materially prevent the author from continuing the publication process.

Manuscript withdrawal may not be requested solely because the author has found another journal offering a faster publication process, lower publication fees, or other reasons unrelated to academic or ethical considerations.

A withdrawal request must be formally submitted by the corresponding author through the OJS or the journal's official email, stating the reason for withdrawal and providing the manuscript identification details.

2. Authority to Approve Withdrawal

A withdrawal request does not take effect automatically upon submission by the author.

The decision to approve a withdrawal rests with the Editor-in-Chief or an editor designated by the Editor-in-Chief, after considering the author's reasons, the status of the manuscript, and the potential impact on the editorial process.

For manuscripts with multiple authors, a withdrawal request should, in principle, obtain the consent of all authors. If a dispute arises among the authors, the editor may defer the decision until the authorship issue has been appropriately resolved.

3. Withdrawal After the Peer Review Process Has Begun

If a manuscript is withdrawn after the peer review process has commenced, the author must provide a justifiable reason for the withdrawal.

Withdrawal without adequate academic or ethical justification after reviewers have devoted time and effort to evaluating the manuscript may be considered irresponsible withdrawal.

In such circumstances:

  1. The journal may request a written explanation from the corresponding author.
  2. The journal may document the withdrawal in its editorial records.
  3. If processing or administrative costs have already been incurred by the journal, such costs may be charged to the author in accordance with the journal's applicable policies.
  4. The author may not submit the same manuscript to another journal until the withdrawal process has been formally completed by Al-Madrasah.

4. Withdrawal After the Manuscript Has Been Accepted

Withdrawal of a manuscript after an acceptance letter (LoA) has been issued may only be considered on the basis of compelling and justifiable reasons.

An author who unilaterally cancels publication after the manuscript has been accepted may be subject to administrative consequences, including:

  1. The withdrawal request must be approved by the Editor-in-Chief.
  2. The author may be required to provide a written explanation of the reason for cancellation.
  3. The journal may impose a reasonable withdrawal or administrative fee if editorial processing, copyediting, proofreading, layout, DOI registration, or other production work has already been undertaken.
  4. The withdrawal may be documented in the journal's editorial records.
  5. The journal may decline to reconsider the same manuscript for submission in the future if the withdrawal was made without a justifiable reason.

This policy is intended to prevent unilateral withdrawal after the journal has completed substantial editorial and peer review work.

5. Withdrawal After Publication

Once an article has been officially published on the journal's website and assigned a DOI, it cannot be withdrawn through the standard withdrawal procedure.

If a serious issue is identified after publication, it will be addressed through one of the following mechanisms:

  • Correction;
  • Expression of concern; or
  • Retraction.

These measures will be applied depending on the nature and severity of the issue.

Retraction may be undertaken when serious violations of publication integrity are identified, including plagiarism, fabrication or falsification of data, duplicate publication, breaches of research ethics, substantial errors that affect the validity of the article, or other serious violations.

In cases of retraction, the article may remain accessible in the journal's archive with a clear RETRACTED status to maintain transparency in the publication record and preserve the scholarly record.

6. Withdrawal Fees

In principle, Al-Madrasah: Jurnal Ilmiah Pendidikan Madrasah Ibtidaiyah does not charge withdrawal fees at the initial stage when the withdrawal is based on legitimate academic or ethical reasons or justifiable force majeure circumstances.

However, if an author unilaterally withdraws a manuscript without an acceptable justification after peer review, acceptance, copyediting, proofreading, layout, or other production processes have been undertaken, the journal may impose a withdrawal or administrative fee proportionate to the editorial work and resources already expended.

Any applicable fee must be communicated transparently to the author and must not be imposed as a disproportionate penalty.

Withdrawal fees will not apply when the withdrawal results from an error or negligence on the part of the journal.

7. Force Majeure

The journal may consider withdrawal without penalty when an author experiences force majeure circumstances that are unforeseen, beyond the author's reasonable control, and materially prevent the completion or publication of the manuscript.

Force majeure circumstances may include, but are not limited to:

  1. Major natural disasters.
  2. War or armed conflict.
  3. Epidemics or public health emergencies.
  4. Prolonged disruption of essential systems or infrastructure.
  5. Institutional policy changes that directly prevent publication.
  6. Other extraordinary circumstances beyond the author's reasonable control.

The Editor-in-Chief has the authority to determine whether a particular circumstance qualifies as force majeure based on the evidence or explanation provided by the author.

In cases of force majeure, the journal will seek to provide a fair resolution for the author without imposing a withdrawal penalty, provided that no publication ethics violation is involved.

8. Final Provisions

Each withdrawal request will be considered based on the status of the manuscript, the reason for withdrawal, the integrity of the editorial process, and the principles of academic and publication ethics.

Al-Madrasah is committed to implementing its withdrawal policy in a transparent, consistent, proportionate, and non-discriminatory manner for all authors.

By submitting a manuscript to Al-Madrasah, authors are deemed to have understood and agreed to the applicable withdrawal policy.