Retraction procedure
The regulations for retracting published articles include the implementation of the following processes:
- initiating an investigation into the need to withdraw the publication;
- assessment of the possibility of withdrawing the publication;
- contacting the authors' institution( s ) to inform them if there is suspicion of misconduct by their researchers, with the provision of evidence that may indicate possible misconduct that gives rise to these concerns. This step is implemented when necessary and is carried out with the aim of involving the institution in the investigation;
- consideration of the issue of making changes to the published article;
- formation of a notice of publication withdrawal;
- deletion of a published article.
The period for considering complaints lasts from 2 weeks to 3 months and depends on the promptness of receiving responses from all parties involved in the consideration (authors, institutions, etc.).
Initiating an investigation into the need to retract the publication
It is carried out if the editors have received substantiated evidence of improper behavior by the authors during the research process, preparation of the manuscript or after the publication of the article from authors, reviewers, institutions, readers, etc. In doing so, the editors are guided by the principles of objectivity and impartiality. The publishing house ensures the confidentiality of information about ongoing investigations of improper actions (an expression of concern may be appropriate to inform readers about serious allegations).
Consideration of amendments to published articles
This process is initiated in the following cases:
- the revealed fact of violation of the authors' assurances regarding the presence of a conflict of interest may be corrected, the basis for which is exclusively the consent of the party that declared the presence of a conflict of interest and presented substantiated claims regarding this to the authors of the published article. The validity of the claim assumes the presence of proven facts and arguments regarding the actual presence of a conflict of interest;
- inaccuracies were discovered in the information about the authors in the list of authors;
- an error was discovered in the results or research methodology that may mislead potential readers and users of the article, which may lead to negative consequences from using the results or the inability to obtain/reproduce them.
Assessing the possibility of withdrawing a publication
It is carried out in cases where:
- facts of violation of the terms of the License Agreement were discovered;
- facts of manipulation were discovered at the stage of manuscript review;
- the fact of violation by the authors of the assurances regarding the existence of a conflict of interest has been established and confirmed;
- the fact of violation by the authors of ethical norms in the process of conducting the research, preparing the manuscript, and implementing the rules for publishing the article by the publisher has been established. In this case, the editors are guided by the principles of objectivity and impartiality.
Deleting published articles
The decision to delete a published article is made in the following cases:
- the article infringes someone's copyright or causes material or non-material damage to other persons or organizations, which may result in, in particular, legal proceedings;
- the article contains information that may reveal the confidentiality of individuals or organizations, which may result in, in particular, legal proceedings;
- the article contains information that is subject to any object or entity that is the subject of legal proceedings;
- the author(s) of the article or the institutions to which they belong have misrepresented their location, identity, or any other material information in order to avoid restrictions on acceptance of the manuscript for consideration or publication, or for any other reason.
Creating a publication withdrawal notice
The notice of retraction of the publication is formed on the basis of the principle of objectivity and completeness of the reflection of arguments containing an indisputable evidentiary basis regarding the need to remove the article. The notices contain the necessary information that allows the article to be identified by electronic resources of indexing of scientific periodicals.