Withdrawal Policy

Scientific Thought aims to maintain a high standard of academic integrity and transparency in its publication process. We understand that there may be legitimate reasons for authors to request the withdrawal of their manuscript after submission. The following guidelines outline the journal’s policy on manuscript withdrawal:

• Withdrawal Before Peer Review:
  Authors may request the withdrawal of their manuscript at any time before it enters the peer review process. To initiate a withdrawal, authors must contact the editorial office and provide a written request outlining the reason for the withdrawal. Once the manuscript is withdrawn, it will be removed from the journal’s system, and no further action will be taken.

• Withdrawal After Peer Review:
  If a manuscript has already undergone peer review but has not yet been published, authors may still request withdrawal. The request must be made in writing, and the manuscript will be removed from the review process. If the manuscript is already under final consideration for publication, authors should understand that withdrawal at this stage may involve some delays in the publication timeline.

• Withdrawal After Acceptance:
  Once a manuscript has been accepted for publication, authors may request withdrawal only under exceptional circumstances, such as serious personal or ethical issues. Withdrawal requests after acceptance must be made within one week of the acceptance notification. Authors are required to provide a valid reason, and the request will be reviewed by the editorial board.

• Publication Withdrawal:
  If a manuscript is already published (online or in print), withdrawal is not permitted. However, if an article is found to have serious ethical or legal concerns after publication, such as plagiarism, data falsification, or other violations of academic integrity, the article may be retracted. A retraction notice will be published in place of the original article, and the reason for the retraction will be disclosed publicly.

• Consequences of Withdrawal:

  • Pre-Peer Review: Withdrawal will be processed promptly, and no further action will be taken.

  • Post-Peer Review but Pre-Publication: Withdrawal may cause delays in the publication schedule. Authors may be asked to explain their reason for withdrawal.

  • Post-Acceptance: Withdrawal at this stage may lead to the manuscript being rejected in future submissions if it is withdrawn without valid reasons or proper communication.

• Multiple Withdrawals:
  Authors who repeatedly withdraw manuscripts from the submission process may be flagged, and future submissions may be reviewed with extra caution.

• No Refund:
  For journals that charge fees for publication or print services, any withdrawal requests after a certain stage (such as post-acceptance) may not be eligible for refunds, as costs for editing, review, and production may have already been incurred.