The journal Notes on Art Criticism adheres to the principles of COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) and actively combats any violations, particularly concerning the originality of works and avoiding plagiarism. Below are the main aspects related to academic misconduct and correction procedures:

 

Muliple submission and plagiarism

Authors are required to submit only unique manuscripts that have not been previously submitted to other publications (except in cases where resubmission is confirmed by the reviewers). Instances of resubmitting the same article to multiple journals or submitting multiple articles based on a single study also violate the rules. This can manifest in various forms, from literal copying to substantial but partial borrowing, or even paraphrasing. Such violations result in immediate rejection of the article and possible sanctions for the authors.

 

Citation manipulation

If manuscripts are found to intentionally inflate the number of references to increase the citation count of specific works (e.g., citing works to boost the author's citation index or publications in specific journals), these articles will be immediately rejected, and sanctions may be applied to the authors.

 

Data falsification

Any article in which falsified or manipulated experimental data (including image manipulation) is detected will be immediately rejected, and the authors will face sanctions. The journal carefully checks the validity of the provided data and, if violations are discovered, will initiate an investigation.

 

Investigation procedure for violations

In case of suspected misconduct or fraud, the journal’s editorial office will initiate an investigation in accordance with COPE principles. If a violation is found after the investigation, the authors will be informed, and the editorial office will take the following actions:

1. If the article is still under review, it may be rejected.
2. If the article has already been published, depending on the nature of the violation, different measures may be taken, including publishing a correction, an expression of concern, or retraction.

 

Corrections and erratum

In case of a significant error, such as in research results or miscalculations, a correction may be published alongside the original article. If the error occurred during the preparation of the article (e.g., due to negligence in handling materials), an Erratum will be published.

If the error is the result of the authors’ actions, a Corrigendum will be published, acknowledging the authors’ responsibility for the mistakes. All corrections are approved by the editorial board and subsequently published as a separate document linked to the original article, marked as “Correction.”

 

Article retraction

In case of serious violations affecting the scientific integrity of an article, the editorial board may decide to retract the article. Reasons for retraction may include:

• evidence of falsified research results, regardless of whether the results were due to unethical actions (e.g., data manipulation);
• publication of research results elsewhere without proper referencing or in violation of licenses;
• plagiarism;
• fraudulent authorship or violations of authorship ethics.

Requests for retraction may be submitted by authors, editors, or third parties. After an investigation and decision by the editor-in-chief or deputy editor, a retraction notice will be published with the appropriate watermark and DOI, and the article’s title will be changed to “Retraction: [Article Title].”

 

Mass manipulations and “paper mills”

If it is found that an article is part of a group of publications linked to so-called 'paper mills' or other fraudulent practices, the journal may decide to retract this article along with others exhibiting similar violations.

 

Use of artificial intelligence

The undisclosed or undeclared use of artificial intelligence systems for generating text, images, or other data in manuscripts is considered a serious breach of academic integrity and may lead to the retraction of the article. Authors are required to clearly state the use of such tools in their work.

 

Authorship falsification and identity theft

The journal may retract an article if it is confirmed that authorship was fraudulently claimed, or if someone else’s personal data (e.g., name, ORCID, etc.) was used without permission, or other fraudulent practices related to authorship are involved.

 

Expression of concern

If serious doubts arise regarding the validity of an article or its adherence to academic standards, but there is insufficient evidence for immediate retraction, the journal may publish an expression of concern. This statement will provide a brief explanation of the reasons for publication and remain available until the editorial investigation is concluded.

 

Timeliness and accessibility

The journal strives to ensure prompt decisions on corrections, retractions, and expressions of concern, as well as timely actions to maintain academic integrity. All decisions regarding retracted articles will be available in the journal’s archives, clearly marked as “Retraction.” In exceptional cases, an article may be completely removed from the database if required by current legal norms or security considerations.