Retraction Procedure

The editorial board of the Collection adheres to the COPE Retraction Guidelines. Retraction is applied as a measure of last resort to protect the integrity of the scholarly record.

Corrections

If an error is identified in a published material, the editorial board publishes an appropriate correction: Correction – in the case of a significant error that does not affect the reliability of results; Erratum – if the error was made by the editorial board during the preparation of the material; Corrigendum – if the error was made by the author. A correction may be initiated by any party (author, editorial board). After verification, a separate document linked to the original article is published.

Retraction

Retraction is applied on the following grounds:

• plagiarism or improper borrowings that substantially affect the integrity of the work;
• fabrication or falsification of data, results or images;
• duplicate publication without appropriate disclosure;
• significant errors leading to unreliable conclusions that cannot be corrected through the publication of a corrigendum;
• copyright infringement or improper attribution of authorship;
• unethical research (absence of participant consent, violation of ethical standards).

After a retraction decision is made, the corresponding marking is added to the PDF, and the article remains in open access. Complete removal is possible only in exceptional cases – violations of legislation, copyright or security concerns.

Expression of Concern

If there are suspicions regarding the reliability of the data but insufficient evidence for retraction, the editorial board may publish an "Expression of Concern" with its own DOI. The document remains accessible until the investigation is completed and serves as a signal to readers about potential issues with the material.

Review Procedure

An investigation is initiated by the editorial board or upon a request from the author or a third party. Authors receive notification of the review and have the right to provide explanations. The final decision regarding correction, retraction or publication of an expression of concern is made by the Editor-in-Chief or their deputy within the shortest possible timeframe.

Voluntary Withdrawal

Prior to publication, authors may withdraw their manuscript by submitting an official letter explaining the reasons, signed by all co-authors. The manuscript will be removed from the journal’s database; however, the copyright remains with the authors.