The journal adheres to the principles and recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and does not tolerate any form of academic or publication misconduct. The Editorial Office pays particular attention to checking the originality of submitted manuscripts, identifying improper borrowing, and preventing plagiarism.
SIMULTANEOUS AND DUPLICATE MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION
Authors must submit original manuscripts that have not previously been published and are not under consideration by another scientific journal at the time of submission. Exceptions are permitted only in exceptional circumstances and with the prior approval of the Editorial Office.
The simultaneous submission of the same manuscript to several journals is unacceptable. It is also unacceptable to submit several articles based on the same study where there is substantial overlap between them and this has not been properly disclosed.
Duplicate or repeated submission may take the form of complete reproduction of the text, partial but substantial copying of materials, repeated use of the same findings, or the paraphrased presentation of the same study as an independent work.
The identification of such a breach constitutes grounds for the immediate rejection of the manuscript. Depending on the circumstances and seriousness of the breach, the Editorial Office may also take additional measures against the authors.
CITATION MANIPULATION
Manuscripts containing unjustified references or citations unrelated to the content of the research, whose primary purpose is to increase artificially the citation count of a particular author, group of authors, individual article, or publications in a particular journal, are subject to rejection.
The Editorial Office also prohibits editors, reviewers, or other participants in the publication process from pressuring authors to include unnecessary references.
Where deliberate citation manipulation is confirmed, appropriate measures may be taken against the authors or other persons involved.
DATA FABRICATION AND FALSIFICATION
The identification of fabricated, falsified, or deliberately distorted data in a submitted manuscript constitutes grounds for its immediate rejection.
Such breaches include, but are not limited to, invented experimental findings, the alteration or selective omission of data, manipulation of statistical indicators, and improper alteration of images, graphs, tables, or other research materials.
Where fabrication or falsification is established after an article has been published, the Editorial Office may publish a correction or an expression of concern, or retract the publication, depending on the nature and seriousness of the breach.
INVESTIGATION OF POSSIBLE MISCONDUCT
Where there are reasonable grounds to suspect scientific misconduct, fraud, or another breach of publication ethics, the journal conducts an investigation in accordance with the recommendations of COPE.
The Editorial Office conducts a preliminary assessment of the available information, collects the necessary materials, and, where appropriate, requests explanations from authors, reviewers, editors, scientific institutions, or independent experts.
Authors concerned by the alleged breach are notified through the email addresses they have provided. They are given an opportunity to submit explanations, documents, and other materials necessary for an objective consideration of the matter.
The Editorial Office’s subsequent actions depend on the stage of the publication process, the nature of the alleged breach, and the outcome of the investigation.
Where the manuscript is still under consideration, it may be rejected and returned to the authors.
Where the article has already been published in electronic or printed form, the Editorial Office determines the necessary measures in light of the nature, extent, and consequences of the identified breach. Such measures may include the publication of a correction, notification, expression of concern, or retraction.
The list of possible measures is not exhaustive. The Editorial Office may take other actions provided for by the recommendations of COPE and the journal’s policies.
CORRECTIONS
A correction is published where a substantial factual, methodological, experimental, statistical, technical, or other error is identified after an article has been published.
A correction may be published where the identified error does not render the principal findings and conclusions of the article entirely unreliable but requires an official clarification of the scientific record.
The correction is linked to the original article and must clearly identify the information that has been amended and explain how the amendment affects the content of the publication.
ERRATUM
An erratum is published where a substantial error attributable to the Editorial Office or publisher occurred during the editing, typesetting, proofreading, or publication of an article.
Such errors may include omissions, the incorrect reproduction of text, tables, figures, authors’ names, affiliation details, or other inaccuracies introduced after the authors’ final version was accepted.
An erratum may also be published where the Editorial Office has failed to introduce factual corrections that were agreed with the authors and complied with the journal’s policies within the appropriate period.
An error is regarded as substantial where it affects the scientific content of the publication, the integrity of the scientific record, the correct understanding of the article, or the reputation of the authors or journal.
CORRIGENDUM
A corrigendum is an official notice concerning a substantial error made by the authors in a published article.
Authors must promptly notify the Editorial Office of any identified inaccuracy and provide the correct information.
The text of the corrigendum is reviewed and approved by the Editorial Office. Where necessary, the Editorial Office may engage independent experts or reviewers to assess the proposed corrections.
CORRECTION PROCEDURE
A proposal to make a correction may be submitted by authors, editors, reviewers, readers, or other interested parties.
Upon receiving such a request, the Editorial Board assesses the nature and significance of the identified error. Where necessary, the Editorial Office requests explanations from the authors, examines the original research materials, or consults independent experts.
Where the need for an amendment is confirmed, the correction is published as a separate document linked to the original article. The document is given a title that clearly identifies it as a correction and includes a reference to the original publication.
Information about the correction must be made available alongside the electronic version of the article and transmitted to bibliographic and indexing databases to the extent that this is technically possible.
RETRACTION
Where a published article contains serious breaches or its findings can no longer be regarded as reliable, the Editorial Office may decide to retract the publication formally.
Grounds for retraction may include:
- clear evidence that the findings are unreliable, regardless of whether this resulted from an honest error or misconduct, including data fabrication or image manipulation;
- prior publication of the principal findings elsewhere without appropriate citation, permission, licensing, or justification, including duplicate or redundant publication;
- the identification of plagiarism;
- confirmed fraudulent, fictitious, concealed, or otherwise unreliable authorship;
- evidence that the peer-review process was compromised or manipulated;
- confirmation that the research was unethical or breached applicable professional or research ethics standards.
Consideration of a possible retraction may be initiated by authors, editors, reviewers, readers, representatives of scientific institutions, or other third parties.
The Editorial Office investigates the information received, requests explanations from the authors, and, where necessary, consults independent specialists. The final decision on retraction is made by the Editor-in-Chief or by the Deputy Editor-in-Chief where the Editor-in-Chief has a conflict of interest or is unable to participate in the consideration of the matter.
Once a decision to retract a publication has been made:
- a clearly visible “Retracted” label or watermark is placed on the electronic version of the article;
- the title of the record may be amended to read “Retraction: [Article Title]”;
- a separate notice entitled “Retraction: [Article Title]” is published and linked to the original publication.
The retraction notice is signed by an authorised editor or representatives of the Editorial Board. It is published as a separate item, has its own pagination or article number, and is assigned a DOI.
The notice states the reasons for retracting the article and identifies the person or organisation that initiated the retraction, provided that disclosure of this information does not conflict with legal or ethical requirements.
AUTHOR WITHDRAWAL OF A MANUSCRIPT BEFORE PUBLICATION
Authors may request the withdrawal of a manuscript that is under consideration by the journal. Such a request may be accepted only before the article has been officially published.
To withdraw a manuscript, the authors must send the Editorial Office a letter containing a clear and reasoned explanation of their decision. The request must be concise and signed by all authors of the manuscript.
Until the consent of all co-authors has been obtained, the Editorial Office may suspend the withdrawal procedure and request additional confirmation.
Once the request has been approved, the withdrawn manuscript is removed from the active editorial process and deleted from the active publishing database. However, information necessary to document the editorial history, prevent duplicate submission, and comply with the journal’s legal obligations may be retained in a restricted editorial archive.
Copyright in the unpublished manuscript remains with its authors.
LARGE-SCALE MANIPULATION AND PAPER MILLS
Where a publication is found to form part of a group of materials produced or compromised through the activities of so-called paper mills or other organised schemes of systematic fraud, the Editorial Office may consider the work in the context of the entire identified group of publications.
In such cases, the article may be retracted as part of a group of materials affected by the same or related breaches.
The retraction notice states that the publication belongs to a group of works in which indications of systematic fabrication of data, images, authorship, peer review, or other elements of scientific research have been identified.
USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Authors must disclose openly any use of artificial intelligence systems or generative digital tools in preparing the text, images, computer code, analytical materials, or other elements of a manuscript where such tools have substantially influenced the content of the submitted work.
Authors must not present information, text, images, or data generated by artificial intelligence as findings independently produced by the authors. Such systems must not be used to fabricate or distort research materials.
Undisclosed use of artificial intelligence is assessed according to its nature, extent, and effect on the reliability of the publication. Where the use of such systems has resulted in data falsification, copyright infringement, concealment of sources, unreliable findings, or other substantial breaches, it may constitute grounds for rejecting the manuscript, publishing an expression of concern, or retracting the article.
The Editorial Office reserves the right to examine manuscripts for indications of improper use of generative artificial intelligence systems. Such examination may involve editorial and expert assessment, analysis of the original research materials, requests for information from the authors, and supporting automated tools.
The results of automated detection are not regarded as the sole or definitive evidence of misconduct and must be considered by the Editorial Office together with all other relevant circumstances.
AUTHORSHIP FALSIFICATION AND IDENTITY THEFT
A manuscript may be rejected, and a published article may be retracted, where the inclusion of fictitious authors or the unauthorised use of another person’s personal data, name, email address, affiliation, or ORCID iD is confirmed.
Breaches also include listing as authors individuals who did not participate in the work, excluding genuine contributors to the research, concealed authorship, coercive authorship, and adding co-authors without their consent.
Where such circumstances are identified, the Editorial Office conducts an investigation and, where necessary, contacts the institutions with which the persons concerned are affiliated.
EXPRESSION OF CONCERN
Where there are serious grounds to question the reliability of a published article or the authors’ compliance with the principles of academic integrity, but the available information is insufficient to justify an immediate retraction, the Editorial Office may publish an Expression of Concern.
Such a notice may be published where an investigation remains in progress, the relevant institution has not issued a final conclusion, the evidence of misconduct is conflicting, or obtaining the necessary information is taking a considerable period of time.
An Expression of Concern is published as a separate document, is assigned its own DOI, and is linked to the original article. It briefly and objectively explains the reasons for the Editorial Office’s concerns.
The notice remains available until the investigation has been completed. Once sufficient evidence has been obtained, the Editorial Office may publish a correction, retract the article, or withdraw the concern through a separate notice.
TIMELINESS OF EDITORIAL PROCEDURES
Decisions to publish corrections, expressions of concern, or retraction notices are made and implemented by the Editorial Office without unjustified delay after a substantial error or breach has been confirmed.
The Editorial Office seeks to give authors an opportunity to review the text of the proposed notice and submit their explanations. However, a failure to respond, a refusal to cooperate, or an inability to agree on the final wording must not prevent the scientific record from being corrected promptly.
In such cases, the Editorial Office may publish the relevant notice without the authors’ consent where this is necessary to protect readers and preserve the integrity of the scientific literature.
AVAILABILITY OF RETRACTED PUBLICATIONS
Retracted articles are not normally removed from the journal’s electronic archive or scientific databases. They remain available with a clearly visible “Retracted” label and a link to the corresponding retraction notice.
Retaining the retracted material ensures transparency of the scientific record, enables readers to understand the reasons for the editorial decision, and helps prevent further use of unreliable findings without acknowledgement of the retraction.
The complete text of a publication may be removed only in exceptional circumstances where its continued availability would breach applicable law or create a substantial risk of harm.
Such grounds may include personal data protection requirements, copyright infringement, the need to comply with a court order, the dissemination of unlawful information, or the existence of a serious security risk.
Even where the full text is removed, the bibliographic record of the article and a notice explaining the reasons for its removal should, wherever possible, remain available in the journal’s archive.