Al-Adzka: Jurnal Ilmiah Pendidikan Guru Madrasah Ibtidaiyah recognizes that authors may need to withdraw a submitted manuscript because of significant errors, ethical concerns, authorship disputes, duplicate submission identified by the authors, changes in research circumstances, or other legitimate reasons. Withdrawal requests will be handled fairly, transparently, and proportionately in accordance with the journal’s Publication Ethics and Research Integrity policy and relevant COPE guidance on handling author requests to remove a submission.
General Principles
Authors should submit a manuscript only after all listed authors have reviewed and approved the final version and agreed to its submission to Al-Adzka. Authors must not submit the same or substantially similar manuscript to another journal while it remains under consideration by Al-Adzka.
A manuscript is not considered withdrawn merely because the author has sent a withdrawal request. The withdrawal becomes effective only after the corresponding author receives written confirmation from the editorial office. Until confirmation is issued, the manuscript remains part of the journal’s formal editorial process.
Withdrawal Before Editorial Screening
Authors may request withdrawal before the manuscript enters editorial screening or external peer review. The corresponding author must submit a written request through the journal’s online submission system, identifying the manuscript title, submission identification number, reason for withdrawal, and confirmation that all co-authors have agreed to the request.
Requests submitted at this early stage will normally be processed promptly.
Withdrawal During Editorial Screening or Peer Review
Authors may request withdrawal while a manuscript is undergoing editorial assessment or external peer review. The request must provide a clear and honest explanation and confirm the agreement of all authors.
Because editors and reviewers may already have invested time and professional expertise in evaluating the manuscript, authors are expected to request withdrawal only for legitimate reasons. However, the journal will not compel authors to continue the publication process when they have formally requested withdrawal.
The editorial office will close the submission after confirming the request and ensuring that there are no unresolved authorship, ethical, legal, or research-integrity concerns.
Withdrawal After Acceptance
A request to withdraw an accepted manuscript must be submitted immediately and must clearly explain the reason for withdrawal. The request must be approved by all authors.
Withdrawal after acceptance may be appropriate when authors identify serious errors, unreliable data, ethical problems, authorship disputes, or other circumstances that may affect the validity or integrity of the manuscript.
Requests made solely to transfer an accepted manuscript to another journal, obtain faster publication elsewhere, or avoid previously disclosed editorial requirements may be considered irresponsible publication conduct. The journal will nevertheless evaluate each case fairly and will normally confirm withdrawal before publication while retaining the right to investigate possible ethical concerns.
Withdrawal at the Production or Proof Stage
Authors who identify serious errors or ethical concerns during copyediting, layout, or proofreading must immediately notify the editorial office. Minor errors should normally be corrected during proofreading rather than used as grounds for withdrawal.
A manuscript may be withdrawn before publication when the identified problem materially affects the reliability, legality, authorship, ethical acceptability, or scholarly integrity of the work. Withdrawal at this stage requires written approval from the Editor-in-Chief or responsible editor.
Requests After Publication
Once an article has been formally published online and assigned publication metadata, it can no longer be treated as a withdrawn manuscript. Concerns identified after publication will be handled through correction, expression of concern, retraction, replacement, or, in exceptional legal or safety-related circumstances, article removal.
Such cases will be managed in accordance with the journal’s Article Retraction policy and the COPE Retraction Guidelines.
Procedure for Requesting Withdrawal
The corresponding author must submit the withdrawal request through the official OJS discussion or editorial correspondence system. The request should include the manuscript title, submission identification number, names of all authors, a clear explanation of the reason for withdrawal, and confirmation that all authors have agreed.
When necessary, the editorial office may request a signed withdrawal statement from all authors or seek clarification regarding authorship, ethics approval, data integrity, duplicate submission, copyright, or competing interests.
The editorial office will communicate its decision through the journal’s official submission system. Authors must retain the written confirmation as evidence that the manuscript has been formally withdrawn.
Authorship Disputes
When a withdrawal request results from an authorship dispute, the journal will not determine who legally or academically qualifies as an author. The editorial process may be suspended while the authors and their institutions resolve the dispute.
The journal may request written agreement from all listed authors before closing the submission. If agreement cannot be reached, the journal may refer the matter to the relevant institutional authorities in accordance with its publication-ethics procedures.
Duplicate or Multiple Submission
If a withdrawal request reveals that the manuscript has simultaneously been submitted to another journal, the editorial office may investigate the matter as a potential breach of publication ethics. Withdrawal does not automatically end an investigation into duplicate submission, plagiarism, fabricated data, manipulated peer review, or other serious misconduct.
The journal may request clarification and supporting evidence and, when justified, communicate with the other journal, the authors’ institutions, or relevant research-integrity officers. Any action will be evidence-based, confidential, and proportionate.
Editorial Withdrawal or Closure
The journal may close or withdraw a manuscript from the editorial process when authors repeatedly fail to respond to editorial communication, do not submit required revisions within the specified period, refuse to provide necessary ethical or research documentation, or breach the journal’s publication policies.
Before closing the submission, the editorial office will normally send a final notification to the corresponding author. Closure for administrative inactivity does not imply that the manuscript has been published, accepted, or formally retracted.
Fair and Proportionate Treatment
Al-Adzka does not automatically blacklist authors or their institutions merely because a manuscript has been withdrawn. Institutions will not be held collectively responsible for an individual author’s withdrawal request.
However, repeated, deceptive, or deliberately unethical conduct may be considered when the journal evaluates future submissions. Any restriction will only be imposed after a fair investigation, communication with the parties involved, and consideration of the seriousness and frequency of the conduct.
Confidentiality and Record Keeping
Withdrawal requests, author explanations, editorial correspondence, and supporting documents will be treated confidentially. The journal may retain an internal record of the withdrawn submission to preserve the integrity and traceability of the editorial process.
A withdrawn manuscript will not be published or represented as an accepted article. Its title and authors will not normally be publicly displayed unless public disclosure is required to correct the scholarly record or address a serious legal or ethical concern.
Related Policies
This policy should be read together with the following journal policies:
Focus and Scope Peer Review Process Publication Ethics Plagiarism CheckAbstracting and Indexing Open Access Policy Author Fees Copyright Notice Corrections, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern PolicyManuscript Withdrawal Policy Appeals and Complaints Disclaimer
Al-Adzka: Jurnal Ilmiah Pendidikan Guru Madrasah Ibtidaiyah
Address: Jl. A. Yani No. Km. 4 5, RW. 5, Kebun Bunga, Banjarmasin Timur District, Banjarmasin City, South Kalimantan 70235
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
ISSN (Online): 2597-937X | ISSN (Print): 2088-9801 |Email: [email protected] |Published by Department of Madrasah Ibtidaiyah Teacher Education, Faculty of Tarbiyah and Teacher Training, Universitas Islam Negeri Antasari Banjarmasin
