The editorial board of the journal «GRAIL OF SCIENCE» adheres to the principles of maintaining the integrity of the scholarly record and responsibility for published research results. The retraction procedure (withdrawal of published works) is carried out in accordance with the recommendations, principles, and approaches of international organizations and relevant national regulations, in particular:
– recommendations on retraction by
Committee on Publication Ethics
– recommendations on retraction format by
European Association of Science Editors
– recommendations on editorial processes by
World Association of Medical Editors
– approaches to assessing research reliability from
San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment
– as well as the definition of retraction provided in
Procedure for the Formation of the List of Scientific Professional Publications of Ukraine, as amended by the Order of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine dated January 19, 2026, № 56
Procedure for the Formation of the List of Scientific Professional Publications of Ukraine
More details
Definition of retraction.
Retraction of a scientific work is the formal withdrawal (cancellation), including at the author’s initiative, of an already published scientific work. The decision on retraction is made by the editorial board in cases where violations of publication ethics and/or other significant shortcomings are identified that make the reliable use of the results of such a scientific work impossible.
Grounds for retraction of a scientific work:
– The following may constitute grounds for retraction:
– identification of plagiarism or improper use of text, ideas, data, or results;
– identification of self-plagiarism and excessive self-citation;
– fabrication or falsification of data, conclusions, or research results;
– absence of proper references to primary sources;
– duplicate publication of the same work without proper justification and agreement with the journal’s editorial board;
– violation of authorship principles, including inclusion of individuals who did not contribute or exclusion of those who did;
– presence of an undisclosed conflict of interest that influenced or could have influenced the results;
– presence of an undisclosed use of AI and/or AI-assisted technologies;
– other significant violations of academic integrity and/or publication ethics that call into question the reliability of the research results.
Initiation of the retraction procedure.
Retraction of a published scientific work may be initiated by:
– the authors of the work;
– the editorial board;
– reviewers;
– readers or other interested parties.
The basis for initiating the procedure is a substantiated notification (complaint) or the independent identification of potential violations by members of the editorial board, formalized in an appropriate record. The complaint or editorial record must include:
– a clear description of the issue;
– a reference to the relevant publication or manuscript;
– supporting materials (if available).
Review and investigation. 3 to 60 days
All cases are considered in accordance with the Complaints Handling Procedure. The editorial board of the journal «GRAIL OF SCIENCE»:
– conducts an initial assessment;
– if necessary, initiates an investigation involving authors, reviewers, and independent experts;
– ensures impartiality, confidentiality, and absence of conflicts of interest throughout the process.
Decision-making. 1 to 3 days
In cases where the retraction procedure is initiated not by the authors, the authors are given the opportunity to provide objections/explanations before a final decision is made. The decision is taken by the editorial board based on the results of the review and/or investigation, considering all provided information and in accordance with best practices of international organizations in the field of publication ethics.
If violations are confirmed, the editorial board may:
– approve the retraction of the scientific work;
– publish an Expression of Concern in cases of ongoing investigation or inability to confirm/refute the violation (in accordance with the Policy on Corrections and Updates);
– issue a correction if the violations do not critically affect the research results or their usability (in accordance with the Policy on Corrections and Updates).
Procedure for publishing retraction information (if a decision is made):
– the scientific work is NOT removed from the journal archive but remains in open access with a clear «RETRACTED» label in the title and a watermark in the full-text PDF;
– a separate official Retraction Notice is published, ensuring a clear link between the original article and the notice, and обязательно includes the reason for retraction, information about the initiator, and the date of the decision.
The editorial board of the journal «GRAIL OF SCIENCE» prepares the official Retraction Notice based on the Standard Retraction Form proposed by the European Association of Science Editors (EASE), in accordance with COPE recommendations.
Notification of parties and indexing.
The editorial board informs the authors of the decision and notifies the institutions affiliated with the authors (if necessary). The editorial board also initiates updates in scientometric and abstracting databases, including adding the relevant note to the DOI metadata.
Appeal of editorial decisions.
If the applicant or author disagrees with the editorial decision, they may submit a reasoned appeal. The editorial board reconsiders the case taking into account new arguments or evidence. If the issue cannot be resolved at the journal level, it may be referred to relevant external bodies or reviewed with the involvement of independent experts.
n complex or disputed cases, the editorial board reserves the right to seek guidance or recommendations from the Committee on Publication Ethics.
Edition dated 23.01.2026
