Editorial Policies

Originality and Duplicate Submission
Retain only considers manuscripts that are original, unpublished, and not currently under review by any other journal or publication. By submitting to Retain, authors affirm that their work has not been previously published in any form — whether in print, electronically, or in conference proceedings — nor is it presently under consideration for publication elsewhere. Submission of duplicate or previously published manuscripts constitutes a violation of editorial policy and will result in immediate rejection.

Language of Publication
All manuscripts submitted to and published in Retain must be written in English. Authors are responsible for ensuring their submissions meet acceptable standards of academic English grammar, syntax, and style prior to submission. Manuscripts that do not meet basic language standards may be returned for revision prior to entering peer review.

Authorship
Authorship implies that each listed author has made a substantive intellectual contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. All individuals listed as authors must have read and approved the final version of the manuscript prior to submission. Any change to the author list after initial submission must be approved in writing by all co-authors and communicated formally to the Editor-in-Chief.

Conflict of Interest
Authors are required to disclose any financial, personal, or professional relationships that could potentially influence or bias the results, interpretation, or conclusions of their work. In the event that no conflict of interest exists, authors must explicitly state this in the manuscript.

Complaints and Appeals
Retain has a clear procedure for handling complaints against the journal, Editorial Staff, Editorial Board, or Publisher. Complaints will be clarified with the relevant parties with respect to the case at hand. The scope of complaints includes anything related to the journal's business processes, including editorial process, citation manipulation, unfair editor/reviewer conduct, and peer-review manipulation. All complaint cases will be processed in accordance with COPE guidelines.

Corrections and Retractions
Retain is committed to maintaining the integrity of the academic record. In cases where significant errors or ethical violations are identified in published works, the journal reserves the right to issue corrections, expressions of concern, or retractions in accordance with COPE guidelines. Articles that have been published shall remain as permanent records of scholarship and may only be retracted or removed under exceptional circumstances (see Publication Ethics for full policy).

Editorial Independence
All editorial decisions at Retain are based solely on the scholarly merit of the submitted manuscript as assessed through the peer review process. Editorial decisions are made independently and without interference from the publisher or any external stakeholders. At no time shall an editor evaluate manuscripts with regard to the race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the authors.