Withdrawal Policy

The Clinical Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology (CJOG) recognizes that authors may occasionally need to withdraw a manuscript following submission. This Withdrawal Policy outlines the procedures, responsibilities, and conditions governing withdrawal before acceptance, after acceptance, and after online publication. The policy is aligned with COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) retraction guidelines, indexing requirements, and best practices for academic publishing integrity.

Purpose of the Withdrawal Policy

Withdrawal processes ensure fairness, prevent ethical misconduct, and protect the scholarly record. This policy:

• Clarifies author rights and responsibilities when requesting withdrawal.
• Defines legitimate and illegitimate withdrawal reasons.
• Explains procedures at each stage of manuscript processing.
• Prevents misuse of editorial time and reviewer efforts.
• Protects the journal from unethical simultaneous submissions or duplicate publication conflicts.

Stages of Manuscript Withdrawal

Withdrawal rules differ depending on the manuscript's status within the editorial workflow. CJOG identifies three key stages:

1. Pre-Review Stage – Submitted but not yet assigned for peer review.
2. Under Review / Accepted Stage – Manuscript assigned to reviewers, under revision, or accepted.
3. Post-Publication Stage – Article published online, assigned DOI, indexed, or archived.

Withdrawal at Pre-Review Stage

Authors may request withdrawal at this stage without penalty. The editorial office will confirm receipt within 2–3 business days.

Acceptable reasons at this stage include:

• Author discovered an error requiring substantial reanalysis.
• Incomplete submission uploaded accidentally.
• Incorrect version of the manuscript submitted.
• Author wishes to merge the work with an extended study.

Procedure:

• Email a formal withdrawal request from the corresponding author.
• All co-authors must be copied and must acknowledge consent.
• Editorial office confirms withdrawal in writing.

Withdrawal During Peer Review or After Acceptance

At this stage, withdrawal may affect reviewers, editors, and journal resources. Therefore, CJOG applies stricter rules to prevent unethical withdrawal behavior.

Unacceptable reasons at this stage

• Author wants to submit to another journal without proper justification.
• APC concerns raised after acceptance (applies only when clearly stated upfront).
• Lack of interest or unwillingness to complete revisions.
• Attempt to avoid addressing reviewer comments.

Acceptable reasons include:

• Significant methodological or ethical concerns discovered by the authors.
• Major data inconsistencies requiring extensive reanalysis.
• Institutional mandate requiring manuscript restructuring.
• Unresolvable authorship disputes requiring institutional mediation.

Procedure:

• Formal withdrawal letter with clear justification.
• Signed statements from all listed authors.
• Editorial board review of the withdrawal reason.
• Decision issued by the Editor-in-Chief.

Possible Outcomes:

• Withdrawal approved – Authors may revise and resubmit in the future.
• Conditional approval – Authors may be asked to provide additional justification.
• Withdrawal denied – In cases of unethical intent or policy violations.

Withdrawal After Publication

Once published, articles become part of the permanent scholarly record. Because publication involves DOI assignment, indexing, metadata distribution, and archiving, CJOG does not permit voluntary “withdrawal” of published articles.

Instead, the following corrective measures apply:

• Correction (Corrigendum)
• Retraction
• Expression of Concern
• Replacement

Article removal is permitted only under rare circumstances (detailed below).

Retraction Policy (COPE-Compliant)

Retraction is considered when:

• Findings are unreliable due to misconduct or honest error.
• Data fabrication or falsification is confirmed.
• Plagiarism or duplicated publication is identified.
• Article contains unethical research or lacks required approvals.

Retraction notices:

• Remain linked to the original article.
• Are fully open access.
• Explain the reason for retraction transparently.

Article Replacement

Replacement occurs when authors correct flawed versions of research while maintaining the article’s continuity.

• The original article remains online with a replacement notice.
• A corrected version becomes the version of record (VOR).
• Metadata and DOI remain consistent.

Article Removal (Exceptional Cases)

Complete removal is rare and applies only when:

• Legal violations, such as defamation or court orders.
• Serious ethical violations involving identifiable patient harm.
• Content poses significant public health risk.
• Copyright disputes requiring emergency takedown.

In such cases:

• A public removal statement replaces the article.
• Metadata persists to maintain the scholarly record.

Withdrawal Charges and APC Obligations

CJOG applies transparent APC (Article Processing Charge) rules:

• No charges for withdrawal before peer review.
• Editorial processing costs may apply for mid-review withdrawal.
• Full APC is due if the article has already been accepted or entered production.
• Charges are used to compensate editorial and reviewer effort already invested.

Ethical Considerations for Withdrawal

CJOG strongly discourages unethical withdrawal attempts, such as:

• Submitting simultaneously to multiple journals.
• Using CJOG’s review feedback to revise for another journal.
• Withholding withdrawal requests to accelerate decisions elsewhere.

These practices may lead to:

• Publication bans (6–36 months).
• Institutional notification.
• Blacklisting in reviewer databases.

Examples of Withdrawal Scenarios

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Can authors withdraw after acceptance?

Only with valid, documented justification. Otherwise APC obligations remain.

Does withdrawal affect future submissions?

Not if the withdrawal is ethical and well-justified.

Can a published article be “unpublished”?

No. It can only be corrected, retracted, or replaced.

Are co-authors required to approve withdrawal?

Yes. Written approval from ALL authors is mandatory.

Can authors withdraw if reviewers request major revisions?

No, unless justified by ethical concerns or data integrity issues.

Conclusion

CJOG’s Withdrawal Policy is designed to maintain fairness for authors, reviewers, editors, and readers while protecting the integrity of the academic record. All stakeholders share responsibility for ethical communication, transparent reporting, and upholding the global standards of scholarly publishing.