The retraction of a published article is a mechanism for correcting published information and informing readers that the publication contains deficiencies or errors. The grounds for retraction include violations of legal, publishing, or ethical standards.
The editorial board follows the COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) guidelines regarding corrections and retractions of publications and adheres to the principles of academic integrity and accountability to readers.
Grounds for article retraction may include:
- detection of plagiarism in the article;
- duplication of the article in other publications;
- false arguments that invalidate the scientific value of the publication;
- detection of falsification or fabrication in the text of the article;
- incorrect authorship;
- republication of the article without the author’s consent;
- an article that has not undergone peer review.
An article retraction may be initiated:
- upon an official written request from the author(s) of the article;
- upon an official written request from the editorial board of another journal;
- upon a written request from other individuals (participants in a conflict of interest) who provide evidence of violations of scientific ethics by the author of the article;
- if the editorial board of the journal discovers evidence of the author’s violation of scientific ethics in the text of the article.
The procedure for retracting a scientific article is as follows:
Upon receiving a request from the author or another party, the editorial board of the journal appoints a commission to verify the information.
If a decision to retract the article is made, the minutes of the commission meeting must state the reason and date of retraction.
Information about retracted articles is sent to scientometric databases and libraries where the journal is indexed or stored.
After the decision on retraction, the article and its metadata remain on the journal’s website. The electronic version is marked with the note “Retracted” along with the date of retraction. This status is also indicated in the table of contents of the issue.
The editorial board reserves the right to decide on further cooperation with the author of the retracted article.