The journal "Architectural Studies" advocates compliance with COPE principles against all possible offences. Particular attention is paid to checking the works for originality and avoiding cases of plagiarism.

Multiple Submission
Authors should submit manuscripts that are unique and should not be submitted to any other journal (except in some unusual circumstances and only with the approval of the reviewer). Sometimes authors may ignore this requirement by submitting the same paper to multiple journals or by submitting multiple papers based on the same research. As in the case of plagiarism, resubmission can take many forms: literal copying, partial but substantial copying, or even paraphrasing of a study. Violation of this policy will result in immediate rejection along with possible sanctions against the authors.

Citation manipulation
Submitted manuscripts that contain citations whose main purpose is to increase the number of references to the work of a given author or articles published in a particular journal will be immediately rejected, and sanctions against the authors are possible.

Falsification of data
If falsified or fabricated data of experimental results (including image manipulation) are found in the submitted article, this will lead to immediate rejection and possible sanctions against the authors.

In the event of suspected misconduct or fraud, the journal will conduct an investigation in accordance with COPE guidelines. If the investigation raises reasonable concerns, the authors involved will be contacted via their email addresses and given the opportunity to resolve the issue. Depending on the situation, this may result in the journal taking some action. If the manuscript is still under review, it may be rejected. If the article has already been published online, depending on the nature and severity of the violation, the journal will immediately take the following measures:
-Correction
A correction may be posted with the article if a fundamental error or mistake (e.g., an experimental error or miscalculation) is found.
-Erratum
Erratum will be used if a significant error was made by the editorial board of the journal during the preparation of the article for publication, including errors of omission, such as failure to correct factual evidence requested by the authors within the time limits set by the journal and within the journal's policy. A significant error is one that affects the scientific record, the scientific integrity of the article, the reputation of the authors or the journal.
-Corrigendum
Corrigendum is a notification of a significant error made by the authors of the article. All corrections are approved by the editorial board.

Procedure for making corrections

1. Corrections can be initiated by authors, editors, or readers.
2. The editorial team evaluates the request and, if necessary, consults with the authors.
3. After approval, the corrections are published as a separate document related to the original article, marked "Corrections".

Retraction
In some cases, the Editorial Board may decide to retract an article. Reasons for potential retraction of a paper:

• there is clear evidence that the results are not reliable, regardless of whether they are the result of misconduct (e.g., fabricated data and image manipulation);
• the results of the study have been previously published elsewhere without proper citation, licence or justification (e.g. in cases of redundant or duplicate publication);
• the research is plagiarised;
• there is evidence of fraudulent authorship;
• the peer review process has been proven to have been compromised;
• there is evidence of unethical research and violation of professional ethical codes.

Retraction requests can be submitted by authors, editors or third parties. The editorial board conducts an investigation with the involvement of the authors and, if necessary, external experts. The decision is made by the Editor-in-Chief or his/her deputy. After the decision to retract the article is made:

• the watermark "Retraction" will be added to the published version of the article;
• the title of the article will be "Retraction: [Title of the article]";
• a separate statement of retraction will be published under the title "Retraction: [Title of the article]".

The editors of the journal sign this message; the retraction statement will be numbered and have a DOI identifier.

In some cases, the authors of a scientific article that is subject to review by the journal may request the withdrawal of their manuscript. The request can be made only before the article is published. In order to withdraw a manuscript, the authors should send a letter to the journal's editorial board containing a clear and understandable explanation of the reasons for the withdrawal. The letter should be concise and signed by all authors of the article. The withdrawn manuscript will be completely removed from the publisher's database, but the copyright remains with the authors of the article.

Additional terms

Mass manipulation and paper mills

If it is determined that an article is part of a group of publications compromised by paper mills or other systematic fraudulent practices, the editorial board may decide to retract the article as part of a package. The retraction statement must indicate that the article belongs to a group of works affected by similar violations.

Use of artificial intelligence

The hidden or undeclared use of artificial intelligence systems to create text, images, or other data in a manuscript is considered a serious violation and may be grounds for retraction. Authors are required to transparently disclose the use of such tools. Concealing such facts may be considered grounds for retraction. The editorial board reserves the right to check manuscripts for the use of generative artificial intelligence systems. For this purpose, automated detection tools, expert evaluation by reviewers, and additional requests to authors may be used.

Falsification of authorship and identity theft

Manuscripts may be retracted in cases of confirmed false authorship, use of someone else's personal data (name, ORCID, etc.), as well as hidden or forced authorship.

Expression of concern

In cases where there are serious concerns about the authenticity of an article or a breach of academic integrity, but there is insufficient evidence for immediate retraction, the editorial board may publish an expression of concern. Such a statement has its own DOI, is linked to the original article, and contains a brief explanation of the reasons for publication. The expression of concern remains available until the editorial investigation is complete.

Promptness of procedures

The decision to publish corrections, expressions of concern or retractions is made by the editorial board and implemented as soon as possible after significant violations are identified. In cases where final agreement on the text with the authors is not possible, the editorial board reserves the right to publish the statement without delay in order to preserve scientific integrity.

Availability of retracted articles

Retracted articles remain openly accessible in the journal's archives and databases with a clear indication of “Retraction”. Complete removal is only possible in exceptional cases when required by applicable legal regulations (in particular, personal data protection, copyright infringement, enforcement of court decisions or security considerations).

The editorial board of "Architectural Studies" informs the authors that they bear full personal responsibility for incorrect borrowing or use of research results of others and adherence to the ethics of scientific citation. Only original materials that have not been published before are accepted for publication.

Authors must ensure:

• the originality of the articles submitted, that is, materials that have not been published in other publications in any languages;
• absence of plagiarism;
• links to relevant sources, if articles or texts of third parties are used.

Anti-plagiarism policy

The journal "Architectural Studies" uses iThenticate software to control and reveal text borrowing in submitted manuscripts. The percentage of plagiarism is calculated with the use of software that checks documents for borrowings both in the local database and on the Internet. The received report is evaluated by the editorial board.

The editorial board of the journal analyses all cases of recorded plagiarism and reserves the right to reject reviewing the submitted manuscript. Scientific articles submitted to the editorial office of the journal are checked according to the following indicators:

• if the originality of the manuscript is more than 85% – the material is allowed for reviewing;
• if the originality of the article is from 75 to 85% – the research paper is sent to the authors for revision with a recommendation to revise the text borrowings and resubmit the revised article;
• less than 75% originality of the text – the material is not accepted for consideration;
• no more than 3% plagiarism from one source is allowed.

Plagiarism in all forms is unacceptable and is considered unethical and as a violation of the system of norms of professional behaviour in the relationship of authors, reviewers, editors, publishers and readers, which contradicts the provision on Publication Ethics. If the fact of text borrowing was registered after publication, then the editorial board conducts a thorough analysis of it. The editorial staff of the journal will contact the author and inform him about circumstances that arose.