Corrections and Retractions

We strictly adhere to the COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) standards and oppose any violations of research ethics. The Editorial Board’s priority is the rigorous screening of manuscripts for originality and the prevention of plagiarism.

Ethical Violations and Sanctions

  • Multiple submission: authors are required to submit only unique works that have not been previously published and are not under consideration elsewhere. Exceptions are only possible in extraordinary cases by prior agreement with the reviewer. Attempting to submit the same work (or several works based on identical research) to different journals is considered a violation equivalent to plagiarism. This applies to both full copying and substantial borrowing of text or paraphrasing one’s own previously published works.
  • Citation manipulation: if a paper is found to contain references added solely to artificially inflate the ratings of an author or a specific journal, the manuscript will be rejected.
  • Data falsification: any distortion of experimental results, data fabrication, or manipulation of graphical images will lead to an immediate rejection.

In cases where signs of fraud are detected, the Editorial Board conducts an investigation according to COPE protocols. Authors are given the opportunity to provide an explanation. Based on the investigation results, the board may impose sanctions: rejecting the manuscript or taking action regarding an already published article.

Mechanisms for Amendments

Depending on the nature of errors in published materials, the following tools are applied:

  • Correction: published alongside the article in the event of significant factual or computational errors.
  • Erratum: used if an error (technical or substantive) was made by the editorial office during the production process, and it affects the scientific value of the work or the authors' reputation.
  • Corrigendum: a notice of a significant error made by the authors themselves. Such amendments must be approved by the Editorial Board.

Procedure: changes can be initiated by authors, readers, or editors. Once verified and approved, the correction is issued as a separate document linked to the original article.

Retraction

The Editorial Board may decide to retract a published work on the following grounds:

  • Proven unreliability of results (fabrication, manipulation).
  • Duplicate publication (the article was already published elsewhere without proper justification).
  • Detection of plagiarism or unethical research methods.
  • Authorship fraud or compromise of the peer-review process

Retraction Process:

  1. The decision is made by the Editor-in-Chief or their Deputy following an investigation.
  2. The article is watermarked “Retracted”, and a corresponding note is added to the title.
  3. An official retraction statement is published with a DOI identifier.

Author-initiated withdrawal: this is only possible prior to publication. Authors must submit a letter signed by the entire team stating the reasons. In such cases, the work is removed from the database, but the rights remain with the authors.

Emerging Challenges and Systemic Violations

  • Paper mills: if an article is found to be part of systemic fraud or mass production of forged works, it will be retracted along with the group of related materials.
  • Use of Artificial Intelligence: authors must openly declare the use of AI. The undisclosed use of generative systems to create text or data is grounds for retraction. The editorial office uses specialised tools to detect hidden AI use.
  • Authorship falsification: retraction is provided for using others' data (ORCID, names), concealing actual authors, or the forced inclusion of individuals in the author list.
  • Additional Measures and Accessibility
  • Expression of concern: published if there are serious suspicions of misconduct while an investigation is still ongoing. The statement has its own DOI and remains active until the review is complete.
  • Timeliness: the Editorial Board aims to implement all corrections and publish retraction statements as swiftly as possible. If author consent cannot be obtained, the board will publish the statement independently to protect scientific integrity.
  • Access to archives: retracted articles remain in archives and databases marked as “Retracted”. Full removal of a file is only possible upon a legal requirement (court order, copyright infringement, or data protection).