A complaint must be submitted in written form to the editorial office via email:
The complaint should include:
- A detailed description of the situation;
- Evidence (publications, screenshots, documents);
- Contact information of the complainant (full name, position, organization).
Anonymous complaints are considered only if sufficient evidence is provided and at the discretion of the editorial board.
Handling Complaints
After receiving a complaint, the editor-in-chief or responsible person conducts an initial review within 10 working days.
If the complaint is justified, the following is established:
- The Journal Ethics Committee, which includes the editor-in-chief and members of the editorial board;
- If necessary, external experts in the fields of geology and geochemistry of fossil fuels are involved.
The Committee conducts a detailed analysis of the complaint within 20 working days, checking:
- The originality of the publication (using plagiarism detection systems);
- The correctness of citations and use of sources;
- Compliance of the submitted results with scientific standards.
Decision Making
The Committee makes one of the following decisions:
- Confirmation of a violation and implementation of corrections (editorial clarification, article retraction, refusal to publish);
- Rejection of the complaint if no violations are found;
- Recommendation to refer the matter to the author’s organization or scientific institution for further review.
The complainant and authors receive a written notification of the results within 10 working days after the decision is made.
If a violation is confirmed, the decision is published in the “Publication Ethics” section on the journal’s website while maintaining confidentiality.
Confidentiality
All information regarding the complaint and its review is confidential and is used solely for fact-checking and decision-making purposes.
Members of the committee and editorial board are obliged not to disclose information to third parties.
Responsibility
Authors who violate academic integrity and publication ethics are held accountable in accordance with the legislation of Ukraine and the journal’s internal rules.
The editorial office reserves the right to refuse further publications from individuals who violate ethical standards.
Contact Information
- Editor-in-Chief: [Full Name]
- Email: [email]
- Phone: [number]