Policy on the retraction of publications
The journal “Advances in Cyber-Physical Systems” advocates compliance with COPE principles against all possible offences. Particular attention is paid to checking papers for originality and avoiding cases of plagiarism.
Repetitive sending
Authors should submit manuscripts that are unique and have not been submitted to any other journal (except in some unusual circumstances and only with the approval of the reviewer). Sometimes authors ignore this requirement by submitting the same paper to multiple journals or by submitting multiple papers based on the same research. As in the case of plagiarism, resubmission can take many forms: literal copying, partial but substantial copying, or even paraphrasing of a study. Violation of this policy will result in immediate rejection along with possible sanctions against the authors.
Citation manipulation
Submitted manuscripts that contain citations whose main purpose is to increase the number of references to the work of a given author or articles published in a particular journal will be immediately rejected, and sanctions against the authors are possible.
Data falsification
If falsified or fabricated data of experimental results (including manipulation of images) are found in the submitted article, this will lead to immediate rejection and possible sanctions against the authors.
In cases of suspected misconduct or fraud, the journal will conduct an investigation in accordance with COPE guidelines. If, after investigation, reasonable concerns remain, the authors involved will be contacted via their email addresses and given the opportunity to resolve the issue. Depending on the situation, this may lead the journal to take certain measures. If the manuscript is still under review, it may be rejected. If the article has already been published online, depending on the type and severity of the violation, the journal will immediately take the following measures:
- Corrections
A correction may be posted with the article if a fundamental error, experimental error, or miscalculation is detected. - Erratum
An erratum will be used if a significant error was made by the editorial board of the journal during the preparation of the article for publication, including errors of omission, such as failure to make corrections to factual evidence requested by the authors within the time frame set by the journal and within the framework of the journal's policy. A significant error is one that affects the scientific record, the scientific integrity of the article, or the reputation of the authors or the journal. - Corrigendum
A corrigendum is a notice of a significant error made by the authors of an article. All corrections are approved by the journal's editorial board.
Correction procedure
- Corrections may be initiated by authors, editors, or readers.
- The editorial board evaluates the request and, if necessary, consults with the authors.
- Once approved, corrections are published as a separate document linked to the original article, marked “Corrections.”.
Retraction
In some cases, the editorial board may decide to retract an article. Reasons for potential retraction (withdrawal) of a work:
- there is clear evidence that the results are not reliable, regardless of whether they are the result of misconduct (e.g., fabricated data and image manipulation);
- the research results have been published elsewhere without proper references, licences or justification (e.g. in cases of redundant or duplicate publication);
- the research is plagiarised;
- there is evidence of fraudulent authorship;
- it has been proven that the review process has been compromised;
- there is evidence of unethical research and violation of professional codes of ethics.
Requests for retraction may be submitted by authors, editors, or third parties. The editorial board conducts an investigation with the involvement of the authors and, if necessary, external experts. The decision is made by the editor-in-chief of the journal or his/her deputy. Once a decision to retract an article has been made:
- A watermark reading “Retraction” will be added to the published version of the article.
- The title of the article will be “Retraction: [Article Title]”.
- A separate retraction statement will be published under the title “Retraction: [Article Title]”.
The editors of the journal sign this notification; the retraction statement will be numbered and have a DOI identifier.
In some cases, authors of a scientific article submitted for consideration by the journal may request to withdraw their manuscript. Such a request can only be made before the article is published. To withdraw a manuscript, authors must contact the journal's editorial office with a letter containing a clear and understandable explanation of the reasons for the withdrawal. The letter should be concise and signed by all authors of the article. The withdrawn manuscript will be completely removed from the publisher's database, but the copyright remains with the authors of the article.
Additional statements
Mass manipulation and “paper mills”
If it is determined that an article is part of a group of publications compromised by “paper mills” or other systematic fraudulent practices, the editorial board may decide to retract the article as part of a package. The retraction statement must indicate that the article belongs to a group of works affected by similar violations.
Using artificial intelligence
Hidden or undeclared use of artificial intelligence systems to create text, images, or other data in a manuscript is considered a serious violation and may be grounds for retraction. Authors are required to transparently disclose the use of such tools. Concealing such facts may be considered grounds for retraction. The editorial board reserves the right to check manuscripts for the use of generative artificial intelligence systems. For this purpose, automated detection tools, expert assessment by reviewers, and additional requests to authors may be used.
Falsification of authorship and identity theft
Manuscripts may be retracted in cases of confirmed false authorship, use of another person's personal data (name, ORCID, etc.), as well as hidden or forced authorship.
Statement of concern (Expression of Concern)
In cases where there are serious concerns about the integrity of an article or a breach of academic integrity, but there is insufficient evidence for immediate retraction, the editorial team may publish a statement of concern. Such a statement has its own DOI, is linked to the original article, and contains a brief explanation of the reasons for publication. The statement of concern remains available until the editorial investigation is complete.
Efficiency of procedures
The decision to publish corrections, statements of concern or retractions is made by the editorial board and implemented as soon as possible after significant violations have been identified. In cases where final agreement on the text with the authors is not possible, the editorial board reserves the right to publish the statement without delay in order to preserve scientific integrity.
Availability of retracted articles
Withdrawn articles remain publicly available in the journal archives and databases with a clear indication of “Retraction”. Complete removal is only possible in exceptional cases when required by applicable legal regulations (in particular, personal data protection, copyright infringement, enforcement of court decisions or security considerations).