Withdrawal and Abandonment Policy

Withdrawal and Abandonment Policy

Journal of Pure and Applied Sciences (JPAS)

This policy establishes the requirements governing the voluntary withdrawal and abandonment of manuscripts submitted to JPAS and provides a consistent framework for manuscript closure, documentation, and records management.

Policy

Manuscript Management

Applies To

All Submitted Manuscripts

Responsible Office

JPAS Editorial Office

Status

Active Policy

Contents

  1. 1. Purpose and Scope
  2. 2. Voluntary Withdrawal
  3. 3. Abandonment of Manuscripts
  4. 4. Standard Abandonment Procedure
  5. 5. Prescribed Response Periods
  6. 6. Ethical and Publication Integrity Concerns
  7. 7. Effect on Future Submissions
  8. 8. Appeal and Reopening
  9. 9. Records and Official Statuses

Purpose and Scope

The Journal of Pure and Applied Sciences (JPAS) recognizes an author's right to withdraw a manuscript while also protecting the time and resources committed by editors, reviewers, and the Journal.

This policy establishes the requirements governing manuscript withdrawal and abandonment from initial submission through publication.

Voluntary Withdrawal

An author may request the withdrawal of a manuscript at any stage of the editorial process by submitting a formal written withdrawal request to the JPAS Editorial Office.

Formal documentation is required.

A manuscript shall not be considered officially withdrawn solely on the basis of a verbal request or informal communication until the withdrawal has been documented and the manuscript status has been formally updated by the Editorial Office.

Withdrawal Request Requirements

  • Identify the manuscript title and corresponding author.
  • State the reason for withdrawal.
  • Be submitted by the corresponding author or an authorized representative.
  • Be documented in the manuscript tracking system.

Withdrawal During or After Peer Review

Withdrawal requested after peer review has commenced shall be subject to review by the Editor-in-Chief or designated editor. The Journal may require the author to clarify the reason for withdrawal and resolve outstanding administrative or ethical matters before the withdrawal is formally closed.

Where substantial editorial or reviewer resources have already been expended, the Journal shall document the stage reached and the circumstances surrounding the withdrawal.

Withdrawal After Acceptance

A withdrawal request after acceptance shall be subject to evaluation by the Editor-in-Chief. Where the manuscript has already entered production or publication preparation, the Journal shall document the stage reached and any outstanding administrative matters before closure.

After Publication

Once an article has been formally published, it shall no longer be treated as an ordinary manuscript withdrawal. Matters concerning a published article shall be handled under the Journal's applicable correction, expression of concern, or retraction procedures.

Abandonment of Manuscripts

A manuscript may be classified as Abandoned / Closed when the author fails to respond to official editorial communications or fails to complete a required action within the prescribed period despite reasonable reminders and a final notice.

Examples of Actions That May Lead to Abandonment

  • Failure to provide required submission documents.
  • Failure to respond to editorial queries or requests for clarification.
  • Failure to submit required revisions.
  • Failure to respond to an editorial decision.
  • Failure to complete required declarations or forms.
  • Failure to approve or return galley proofs.
  • Failure to complete another action necessary for continuation of the manuscript.

Non-response does not immediately constitute abandonment.

JPAS shall follow the prescribed notice, reminder, and final-notice process before a manuscript is formally classified as abandoned.

Standard Abandonment Procedure

JPAS shall follow the sequence below before classifying a manuscript as abandoned.

1

Initial Notice

The Editorial Office identifies the outstanding action and informs the corresponding author of the applicable deadline.

2

Reminder

If the author does not respond within the prescribed period, the Editorial Office issues a written reminder.

3

Final Notice

The final notice identifies the outstanding requirement, final deadline, and consequence of continued non-response.

4

Abandoned / Closed

If the author remains unresponsive after the final deadline, the manuscript may be classified as Abandoned / Closed by the authorized editorial authority.

Prescribed Response Periods

Response periods shall be established according to the nature of the action required from the author.

Situation Initial Response Period If No Response
Missing submission requirements 5 working days Reminder and final notice
Editorial clarification 5 working days Reminder and final notice
Minor revision 15 working days Reminder and final notice
Major revision 30 working days Reminder and final notice
Galley proof approval 5 working days Reminder and final notice

Extension Requests

Authors who require additional time should request an extension before the applicable deadline. Approved extensions shall be documented in the manuscript record.

Ethical and Publication Integrity Concerns

Withdrawal shall not be used to conceal or circumvent publication ethics concerns.

Where there is evidence of simultaneous submission, plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, authorship disputes, or other publication-integrity concerns, the matter may be investigated separately under the Journal's applicable publication ethics procedures.

Administrative withdrawal does not automatically terminate an ongoing publication-ethics investigation.

Effect on Future Submissions

Withdrawal or abandonment shall not, by itself, prevent an author from submitting future manuscripts to JPAS.

A subsequent submission shall be treated as a new submission and shall undergo the Journal's normal screening and evaluation procedures.

Separate action may be taken where the circumstances involve publication misconduct, duplicate or simultaneous submission, fraudulent information, authorship disputes, or another established violation of Journal policy.

Appeal and Reopening

Authors who believe that a manuscript was incorrectly classified as abandoned may submit a written request for clarification or reopening to the JPAS Editorial Office.

The request should explain the circumstances surrounding the non-response and identify the action the author intends to complete.

Reopening is not automatic and shall be determined by the Editor-in-Chief or designated authority based on the manuscript's status, time elapsed, reason for non-response, and availability of editorial and peer-review resources.

Records and Official Manuscript Statuses

JPAS shall maintain an auditable record of withdrawal and abandonment cases, including relevant correspondence, reminders, final notices, decisions, approved extensions, and final manuscript status.

Submitted
Under Technical Screening
Under Editorial Evaluation
Under Peer Review
Revision Required
Under Re-evaluation
Accepted
For Publication
Published
Withdrawn by Author
Abandoned / Closed
Rejected
Retracted
Correction Issued

Important distinction

Rejected, Withdrawn, Abandoned, and Retracted are distinct manuscript statuses and shall not be used interchangeably.

Author Acknowledgment

Submission of a manuscript to JPAS constitutes acknowledgment of and agreement to comply with the Journal's submission, editorial, publication ethics, withdrawal, and abandonment policies.