Procedure for retracting an article

Retraction of a scientific article is a mechanism for correcting the scholarly record, intended to inform readers about significant flaws, errors, or violations that affect the reliability and scientific validity of published results. This procedure is applied in cases of non-compliance with the principles of academic integrity, publication ethics, or applicable legal requirements.

In its activities, the editorial office follows the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) regarding corrections and retractions, adhering to the principles of transparency, objectivity, and responsibility to the scientific community.

Grounds for retraction may include, but are not limited to:

  • confirmed cases of plagiarism or improper use of results from other studies;
  • duplicate (redundant) publication without proper citation or permission;
  • identification of significant errors that invalidate the results or conclusions;
  • evidence of data fabrication or falsification;
  • incorrect authorship attribution or unresolved authorship disputes;
  • нарушения процедуры рецензирования или её отсутствие;
  • other breaches of publication ethics.

The retraction process may be initiated by:

  • the author(s) of the publication through an official request to the editorial office;
  • the journal’s editorial office following an internal review;
  • the editorial office of another scientific journal;
  • third parties (reviewers, readers, institutions) provided that substantiated evidence of violations is presented.

Procedure for review and decision-making:

  • the editorial office conducts a preliminary assessment of the request and, if necessary, establishes a committee or involves independent experts;
  • verification of the reported facts is carried out, including the possibility of obtaining explanations from the authors;
  • based on the results of the review, a decision is made to retract the article, reject the retraction request, or apply other measures (e.g., publication of a correction or clarification);
  • if violations are confirmed, the decision is formalized in an official record indicating the grounds and the date of retraction.

Retraction notice and disclosure:

  • the article is not removed from the journal’s electronic archive but is clearly marked as “Retracted” with the indication of the date and reason;
  • relevant information is displayed in the issue’s table of contents and on the article’s webpage;
  • notification of the retraction is sent to indexing databases, repositories, and libraries where the journal is indexed;
  • if necessary, a separate retraction notice is published explaining the reasons for the retraction.

The editorial office reserves the right to limit further cooperation with authors in cases of confirmed serious violations of academic integrity. At the same time, all decisions are made in accordance with the principles of fairness, confidentiality, and the presumption of integrity until the review process is completed.