Policies on plagiarism, use of AI applications, and retraction of a published article

Elimination of the Plagiarism, Libel and Copyright Infringement

Our journal rejects any material that breaks legal requirements regarding plagiarism, libel and copyright infringement. If the text of the article contains data borrowed from other literary sources, then these fragments should be marked with bibliographic references. All submitted manuscripts are checked by online plagiarism search service "Turnitin".

The author is responsible for the scientific content of the materials provided. In case of plagiarism or self-plagiarism, or the use of generative AI, the manuscript will be rejected. If the manuscript contains borrowed text, figures, tables, or illustrations without references to the original source, the manuscript will be rejected. The criticality of the percentage of plagiarism established using automated verification systems is assessed by members of the editorial board.

AI and Authorship

"Science and Transport Progress" follows Committee on Publication Ethics Guidelines on artificial intelligence (AI) and authorship. Our policy is that AI software cannot be listed as an author on a paper.

ChatGPT and similar software is not human, and for this reason cannot independently design studies, create and critique methodologies, interpret data, or be held responsible for the outcomes and implications of the study in question. For this reason, ChatGPT and similar software should be treated as a tool, not an author. For more information on COPE’s guidance on AI and authorship, please visit the COPE website.

AI and Automated Tools

"Science and Transport Progress" policies on the use of AI and automated tools are the following:

  • " Science and Transport Progress" will not review or accept manuscripts written by nonhuman authors. Large Language Models (LLMs) and AI tools should not be listed in a byline for any reason.
  • Authors are required to disclose whether AI tools were used in the creation and preparation of their manuscripts. "Science and Transport Progress" reserves the right to ask for and receive detailed information on how LLMs and AI were used in the creation of a manuscript.
  • Reviewers shall not use LLMs or AI tools when reviewing manuscripts or preparing comments to authors.

View COPE’s guidelines and recommendations regarding AI tools and automation for more information.

RETRACTION OF PUBLISHED ARTICLES (RETRACTION)

Retraction Policy

In certain cases, a published article may be retracted (withdrawn). The grounds for retracting an article (withdrawal) are gross violations of legal, publication and ethical standards by the author(s). The journal will follow COPE recommendations in such cases, in particular in the event of:

● clear evidence that the data is unreliable or falsified;
● a conflict of interest that has been concealed or disguised;
● if the article contains plagiarism;
● undisclosed use of tools based on large language models and generative AI;
● honest errors reported by the authors (for example, errors due to the mixing up of samples or use of a scientific tool or equipment that is found subsequently to be faulty);
● if the results have been previously published elsewhere without proper cross-referencing, permission or justification;
● unethical research has been reported;
● serious errors have been found in the scientific work, which are a valid reason to doubt the scientific value of the material, or the research results have been misinterpreted;
● the list of authors/sponsors contains errors (i.e. an author who deserves to be a co-author has been omitted or someone who does not meet the criteria for authorship has been included).

Procedure for Withdrawing Articles

The journal follows the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics when considering the retraction of published articles. Retraction may be issued in cases of serious violations of academic integrity or publication ethics, including plagiarism, data fabrication or falsification, duplicate publication, unethical research practices, or significant errors that render the results unreliable.

The decision to retract an article is made by the Editor-in-Chief after an investigation and consultation with the editorial board. Authors are informed about the investigation and given the opportunity to respond.

If a retraction is confirmed, the journal publishes a retraction notice explaining the reasons for the decision. The original article remains accessible online to maintain the scholarly record but is clearly marked as “Retracted.” The retraction notice is permanently linked to the article and communicated to relevant indexing and abstracting services.

For any retracted article, the reason for retraction and who is instigating the retraction will be clearly stated in the Retraction notice. Standards for dealing with retractions have been developed by a number of library and scholarly bodies, and this practice has been adopted for article retraction by "Science and Transport Progress":

– The electronic version of the retraction note, a link is made to the original article;

– In the electronic version of the original article, a link is made to the retraction note where it is clearly stated that the article has been retracted;

– The original article is retained unchanged, save for a watermark on the PDF indicating on each page that it is “retracted.”