The journal's editorial board adheres to high standards of academic integrity and ethical publishing practice. In cases where, after publication of an article, substantial violations, errors, or data that affect the reliability of the scientific content are identified, the editorial board implements a retraction procedure in accordance with the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
1. Grounds for Retraction
An article may be retracted in the following cases:
• Detection of plagiarism, self-plagiarism, or duplicate publication;
• Establishment of data falsification, fabrication, or manipulation;
• Serious methodological errors that call the research results into question;
• Violation of ethical standards in conducting research (human participants, animals, personal data protection, etc.);
• Unauthorised use of materials, copyrights, or confidential data;
• Undeclared conflict of interest that significantly influenced the results;
• Other violations that undermine trust in the scientific validity of the article.
2. Initiating the Retraction Procedure
The procedure may be initiated by:
• The journal's editorial board;
• Reviewers;
• The authors of the article;
• Readers, institutions, or third parties who provide evidence of a violation.
A notification of a possible violation is considered by the editorial board, which conducts an investigation and, if necessary, contacts the authors, reviewers, or relevant institutions for clarifications.
3. Decision-Making
The decision to retract is made by the Editor-in-Chief after:
• Analysis of the provided evidence;
• Consultations with the editorial board;
• Receiving clarifications from the authors (where possible).
If the violation is confirmed, the editorial board approves an official decision to retract the article.
4. Publication of the Retraction Notice
In the event of a retraction, a corresponding notice is published, which:
• Must be openly accessible;
• Contains the title of the article, names of the authors, bibliographic information, and reasons for retraction;
• Has a clear "Retracted" designation in all electronic and bibliographic records;
• Is linked to the original article via the DOI.
The original article is not deleted but is marked as retracted in order to preserve scientific transparency.
5. Indexing and Notification of Databases
The journal notifies all databases in which it is indexed (Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, etc.) about the retraction of the article and submits an official notice in accordance with indexing standards.
6. Voluntary Retraction by Authors
Authors may voluntarily request retraction if, after publication, they discover a significant error or ethical violation. In such a case, the editorial board publishes a notice indicating the initiator of the retraction.
7. Correction Instead of Retraction
If the shortcomings of the article do not affect the overall reliability of the scientific results, the editorial board may issue a corrigendum or an expression of concern instead of a retraction.
8. Principles of Transparency
The retraction procedure is intended not to punish authors, but to:
• Preserve the quality of scientific knowledge;
• Prevent the spread of misleading information to readers;
• Maintain trust in the journal and the scientific community.
The journal guarantees the transparency of all stages of the process and strict adherence to ethical standards.
