RETRACTION POLICY
The journal Public Administration and State Security Aspects retracts published articles in accordance with the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Retraction Guidelines and the requirements of international scientific databases. The purpose of this policy is to ensure the integrity of the scientific record and to protect the trust of readers and the scholarly community.
1. Grounds for Retraction
An article is subject to retraction upon identification of one or more of the following violations:
› Falsification or fabrication of data — deliberate distortion, invention, or manipulation of research data, results, or methodology.
› Plagiarism — use of others' texts, ideas, or data without proper attribution at a level that renders the article's main conclusions unreliable.
› Duplicate or redundant publication — the article was previously published in another journal or substantially overlaps with another publication by the same authors.
› Research ethics violations — absence of required approval from a competent authority, violation of research participants' rights, or other ethical violations that undermine the validity of results.
› Authorship misconduct — inclusion of persons who did not make a substantial contribution, or exclusion of those who did, where this constitutes a deliberate violation.
› Undisclosed conflict of interest — a material conflict of interest that may have influenced the results or conclusions and was not declared.
› Errors rendering results unusable — significant uncorrectable errors in methodology, analysis, or interpretation that invalidate the article's conclusions.
2. Initiating Retraction
The retraction process may be initiated by:
› The authors of the article — by submitting a written request to the editorial office with justification of the reasons.
› The editorial board — based on its own investigation or upon receipt of credible information regarding a violation.
› Third parties — readers, reviewers, other researchers, or institutions by submitting a formal complaint.
3. Review Procedure
1 Receipt of notification. The editorial office registers the submission and confirms receipt within 5 business days.
2 Preliminary investigation. The Editor-in-Chief assesses the validity of the submission. The person against whom the complaint is filed does not participate in the review.
3 Notification of authors. The authors receive written notice of the commencement of the review and are given the opportunity to provide explanations within 14 calendar days.
4 Full investigation. The editorial board reviews all submitted materials. Independent experts may be engaged if necessary. The total review period is up to 60 calendar days.
5 Decision. The editorial board adopts one of the following decisions: close the review, issue a correction (Erratum), publish an Expression of Concern, or retract the article.
6 Notification of parties. The authors and the person who initiated the review receive written notification of the decision taken.
4. Retraction Notice
Preservation of the article
A retracted article is not removed from the journal website or repository. It is retained in its original form with a clearly visible watermark or label "RETRACTED" on every page of the PDF.
Retraction notice
A separate retraction notice is published stating: the title and authors of the article, the reason for retraction, the date of retraction, and the person or body that initiated the process. The notice is indexed and assigned its own DOI.
Metadata
The article's metadata in all databases (Crossref, repository) is updated with a retraction mark in accordance with the technical requirements of each platform.
Cross-linking
The retracted article page links to the retraction notice and vice versa — to ensure transparency of the scientific record.
5. Alternative Measures
Erratum (Correction)
Published when significant editorial or author errors are identified that do not affect the main conclusions of the article. The correction is assigned its own DOI and linked to the original article.
Expression of Concern
Published when the editorial board has credible grounds to believe there are problems with a publication, but the investigation has not yet been completed or its results are inconclusive. It does not constitute a final retraction decision.
6. Authors' Appeal
› Authors have the right to appeal the retraction decision within 30 calendar days of receiving notification.
›The appeal must contain clear scientific arguments and new evidence refuting the grounds for retraction.
›The appeal is reviewed by an editorial board panel that did not participate in the original review. The appeal decision is final.
Regulatory Basis
›COPE Retraction Guidelines (2019). Committee on Publication Ethics. publicationethics.org/retraction-guidelines
›COPE Core Practices. Committee on Publication Ethics.
›Order of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine No. 32 dated 15.01.2018 "On Approval of the Procedure for Forming the List of Scientific Professional Publications of Ukraine".
