Policy of retraction and correction of published article

All articles published in the ScienceRise: Medical Science journal undergo editing and double-blind peer review. However, despite the detailed review of all submitted manuscripts, the scientific evaluation process may continue after the article is published. The editorial board supports the principles of ensuring the reliability and integrity of the scientific literature, which is why sometimes expressions of concern may be identified, corrections applied, retractions or deletions of published articles.

The retraction and correction policy for published articles is based on the COPE guidelines for Expressions of Concern and Retractions. The retraction and correction policy for published articles may be reviewed and updated as standards and best or editorial practices develop.

Detection of errors in published articles and initiation of investigation

  1. If authors or readers discover errors in published articles, the editorial office urges them to immediately report them. All submitted requests will be considered by the editorial office. Confirmation of receipt of the request will be provided by the editorial office within 3 business days. The request will be assessed for scientific justification. Requests that are defamatory in nature and not supported by a scientifically substantiated explanation will not be considered. The editorial office may also initiate an internal review of published articles without receiving any external requests.
  2. Investigation of detected errors is carried out by the editorial research ethics specialists and reviewers. An integral stage of the investigation is sending a request to the authors of the article with a request to provide additional comments, justification and clarification. Depending on the scope and scale of the impact on the scientific content of the study, the authors' institutions and other third parties may be involved in the investigation.
  3. The journal guarantees the anonymity of the reader or detective who discovered an error in the published article.
  4. The journal reserves the right to maintain the anonymity of all participants in the investigation process and not to provide intermediate investigation results (reviews, inspection results, etc.) to third parties. However, the transparency of the investigation process will be maintained.
  5. The final decision to correct, retract or delete the article is made by the journal based on the investigation results. Disagreement of the authors with the investigation results or the lack of a response from the authors cannot be the reason for a delay or change in the decision.
  6. The term of the investigation cannot be clearly defined, since it is individual for each article.

Disclosure of concerns regarding published articles

  1. A concern may be applied to an article that is under investigation, if the investigation is likely to last more than 3 weeks, to inform readers of serious and well-founded concerns about the validity of the published research. The published article will be flagged with a concern until the investigation is complete and a further decision is made on the status of the published article.
  2. The concern will be publicly posted on the journal website to inform readers of the cause of the concern.
  3. Depending on the outcome of the investigation, the published article may be corrected, retracted, or removed. The published article may remain flagged with a concern as the final outcome of the investigation, which will indicate that the concerns raised have not been substantiated.

Correction of published articles

  1. Correction of a published article may be implemented if the identified errors do not constitute a serious violation of publication ethics or editorial policy and do not affect the main scientific content of the article. Examples (but not an exhaustive list) of such errors may include:
    – minor errors in citation;
    – minor technical errors in formulas, images or tables that do not affect the results of the study;
    – undeclared use of artificial intelligence tools in an amount that does not exceed the permissible by the editorial policy and does not contradict the tasks permitted by the editorial policy;
    – changes in the composition of the authors, in the event of a substantiated and proven fact of the need for such changes;
    – undeclared conflict of interest that is not material and does not affect the reliability of the study.
  2. In the event of a correction, all versions of the article and a correction notice will be posted in the public domain, detailing the changes that were made to the published article.

Retraction of published articles

  1. Retraction of published articles occurs in cases of proven serious violations of the reliability of the presented data, proven manipulation or falsification of data or the manuscript review process, proven undeclared or improper use of artificial intelligence tools, proven concealment of a conflict of interest, etc. Examples (but not an exhaustive list) of such errors may include:
    – detection of plagiarism or a duplicate article;
    – undeclared use of artificial intelligence tools in an amount exceeding the permissible by the editorial policy and contradicting the tasks permitted by the editorial policy;
    – a significant error (for example, a miscalculation or experimental error);
    – the authorship of the publication cannot be verified or there are serious concerns about the contribution of the authors;
    – identity theft or fictitious authorship;
    – review or publication process has been compromised;
    – concealment of a significant conflict of interest;
    – the main scientific conclusions are based on publications that have been subsequently corrected or retracted.
  2. Retracted articles remain publicly available in the journal archive. Information about the retraction is also provided by the journal to all journal indexing resources.

Deletion of published articles

  1. In rare cases, it may be necessary to delete part or all of the text of an article. Examples (but not an exhaustive list) of such errors may include:
    – the article violates the confidentiality of personal life;
    – the article is the subject of a court decision;
    – the article may pose a serious threat to the health of the general public or the environment.

In the event of deletion of part or all of the text of the article, the article metadata (title, abstract, keywords, information about the authors, list of references) and the deletion notification remain publicly available.