Retraction Procedures:

To address ethical concerns, such as issues with data integrity or research errors, the LBSHerald journal follows a structured retraction procedure:

1. Retraction Request: Authors must submit a formal request for retraction, detailing their reasons.
2. Review: The journal’s editor reviews the retraction request.
3. Retraction Statement: If the retraction is approved, the journal will issue a statement. The original document will be replaced with a new version marked "[Article retracted]" in the PDF.

Investigations and Actions:

In cases of suspected misconduct or fraud, the journal will initiate an investigation according to COPE guidelines. If the concerns are validated, the journal will take appropriate actions, which may include:

• Manuscript Rejection: Rejection of manuscripts still under review if misconduct is suspected.
• Correction Notices: Issuance of correction notices for published articles with fundamental errors, such as experimental mistakes.
• Retraction: Retraction of articles found to contain fabricated data or plagiarism.

Potential Reasons for Retraction:

• Unreliable results due to illegal actions
• Prior publication without proper attribution
• Plagiarism
• Fraudulent authorship
• Compromised review processes
• Ethical violations

After deciding to retract an article, the published version will be marked with a "Retraction" watermark and titled accordingly. A separate retraction statement, signed by the editors and assigned a DOI, will also be published.

Withdrawal of Manuscripts:

Authors may request to withdraw their manuscript before publication by contacting the journal's editorial office with a signed letter explaining their reasons. Withdrawn manuscripts will be removed from the publisher’s database, although the copyright remains with the authors.