General principles of action in case of detection of errors in a publication:
- respect and professionalism (criticism is directed at the text, not at the author’s personality);
- efficiency (the earlier an error is detected and corrected, the less damage to reputation);
- substantiation (any remark must be justified by a reference to a source, an authoritative reference book, fact-checking);
- transparency (the author understands what and why is being corrected, and the editorial board explains its actions to the author and readers, especially in post-publication).
Detection of an error BEFORE publication (at the editorial stage)
The author bears responsibility for the factual materials and data presented in the articles. If errors are detected in the manuscript after its submission for publication, the author must report this to the editorial board. If an error is detected during the editorial process, the editorial board:- clearly indicates revisions – all revisions in the article are coordinated with the author of the article. If a change requires additional explanations, a comment is added;
- comments on each substantial revision – all proposed corrections are substantiated and explained;
- divides revisions into categories: 1) technical and obvious: typos, grammar, punctuation. Corrected without coordination, but the author must see the list; 2) stylistic: reformulations for clarity, improvement of style. Proposed to the author for approval; 3) factual and substantive: doubts about facts, figures, logic, conclusions. Mandatorily require coordination with the author. The editor asks questions, asks to provide a source, but does not substitute for the author;
- observes deadlines – provides the author with time to correct errors and make revisions.
- records the dialogue – all correspondence regarding revisions is conducted via the official email of the editorial board.
- make revisions within the agreed deadlines;
- argue their position if they disagree with a revision;
- be ready to provide sources for disputed facts.
Detection of an error AFTER publication
In the event of detection of substantial errors in an already published article, a retraction procedure is carried out.
Retraction
This document has been prepared on the basis of the Rules for withdrawal (retraction) of an article from publication of the Association of Science Editors and Publishers (ASEP) and describes the procedure for eliminating violations in scientific materials published in the online periodical.
Retraction is a procedure for the official withdrawal of a publication by the editorial board of the online periodical. It is applied if, after the article’s release, serious violations of scientific or publication ethics are revealed, errors that make the research results unreliable, or other grounds that call into question the scientific value of the work.
Grounds for retraction:
- plagiarism – verbatim copying of someone else’s text without indicating the source, borrowing of ideas, tables, images, concepts, and even the structure of the research;
- self-plagiarism – the author republishes the same work or a significant part of it under a different title in another publication, presenting it as new;
- duplication of an article in several publications;
- falsification or fabrication of data (for example, manipulation of experimental data);
- detection in the publication of serious errors (for example, incorrect interpretation of research results) that call into question its scientific value;
- incorrect composition of authors (persons who do not meet the criteria for authorship have been included);
- undeclared hidden conflict of interest;
- re-publication of the article without the author’s consent;
Retraction may be initiated by the editorial board of the online periodical itself based on the results of an internal verification, complaints from readers or reviewers, as well as upon the application of the author himself, if he discovered substantial errors or violations after publication.
The decision to withdraw the article is made by the editorial board of the online periodical.
If the initiative comes from the authors, they write a reasoned letter to the editorial board explaining the reasons for retraction.
If the initiative comes from a third party, the editorial board conducts an expert review, on the basis of which a decision on retraction is made, and notifies the author team.
The decision is formalised by a protocol of the meeting of the editorial board.
The article is excluded from the number of valid scientific sources, and it is not recommended to cite it in subsequent works.
In scientific publication databases (for example, RSCI), a special marking appears indicating that the article has been withdrawn. An accompanying notice indicating the reasons is also published.
The retracted article remains on the website of the online periodical as part of the corresponding issue, but the electronic version of the text is marked with the inscription WITHDRAWN/RETRACTED and the date of retraction; this same marking is placed next to the article in the table of contents of the issue. The comment to the article indicates the reason for retraction (in the case of detection of plagiarism, with an indication of the sources of borrowing). Mechanical removal of the article from the issue of the online periodical on the website and from the archive does not occur; the texts of withdrawn articles remain where they were previously, with the corresponding marking. Only in extreme cases, when the text remaining on the website and in the publication can cause harm to a certain part of the community or to science, may the article be removed from the website of the online periodical.
Information about withdrawn articles is transmitted to the Ethics Committee for Scientific Publications of ASEP (for inclusion of information in the unified database of retracted articles) and to the National Electronic Library (elibrary.ru) (information about the article and the full text remain on elibrary.ru, but are supplemented with information about retraction. Withdrawn articles and references to them are excluded from the RSCI and do not participate in the calculation of indicators).
