Publication Ethics and Editorial Policy

The journal’s editorial board adheres to recognised international standards of publication ethics in its activities. Consequently, the journal follows the guidelines of COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) and adheres to the principles of WAME (World Association of Medical Editors) and DORA (Declaration on Research Assessment).

Alongside international standards, the editorial board adheres to the provisions of current Ukrainian legislation in the field of science and academic integrity.

The primary aim of the editorial policy is to uphold high standards of scientific quality, ensure the objectivity of the peer-review process, and maintain transparency throughout all stages of the publication process.

The journal’s editorial board considers the ethical aspects of publication to be an important part of editorial work and is responsible for ensuring compliance with ethical standards when publishing articles, based on the Code of Academic Integrity.

The principles guiding the work of the journal’s editorial board are:

  • adherence to scientific accuracy, objectivity and academic integrity at all stages of the publication process;
  • equal treatment of authors regardless of any personal or professional characteristics;
  • openness and transparency in the conduct of editorial procedures.

The journal’s editorial board:

  • is responsible for deciding which of the articles submitted to the journal may be published;
  • strives to meet the needs of readers and authors of academic articles;
  • continuously improves the quality of the journal;
  • ensures the quality of the material published;
  • ensures openness in presenting the research topics of scholars from Ukraine and other countries.

The main factors influencing the journal’s editorial board’s decision to publish an article are the verification of the material’s originality, the relevance of the topic, and its significance for researchers and readers.

Authors bear full responsibility for the accuracy of the information presented in their materials, as well as for the compliance of the materials with the law, morality and ethics.

The editorial board is not responsible for the professional, substantive and methodological accuracy of the published materials, nor for the accuracy of references to online resources and literary sources contained within the text of the article.

If the submitted materials comply with the journal’s aims, objectives and editorial policy, the editorial board will publish the articles, usually in the author’s version; otherwise, the material will be rejected.

Authors of scientific articles agree to:

  • be responsible for the accuracy of facts, proper names, photographic materials, other information, and the overall meaning of the article;
  • address all shortcomings in the scientific article (if comments are provided by the reviewer);
  • not to submit an article for publication that essentially describes the same research to more than one journal or primary publication. Submitting an article to more than one journal simultaneously is considered unethical behavior and is unacceptable;
  • not to submit previously published articles for consideration to other journals;
  • to ensure the originality of the article’s content, which must not contain borrowings without proper citation or prior approval;
  • Submit articles that do not contain material prohibited from publication in the open press under current Ukrainian law, and whose publication will not result in the disclosure of restricted information (confidential information, state secrets);
  • correctly cite the works of other authors;
  • guarantee that the names of all co-authors of the scientific article are listed in its text and that no person who is not a co-author is included among them, as well as that all co-authors of the scientific article have reviewed the final version, approved it, and given their consent to publication.

Journal reviewers are required to:

  • provide balanced, unbiased, and well-reasoned evaluations of submitted manuscripts;
  • ensure complete confidentiality regarding the content of materials under review;
  • refrain from using any information from the reviewed manuscripts in their own research;
  • openly disclose any potential conflicts of interest that may affect the objectivity of the evaluation;

A scientific article must comply with the journal’s formatting requirements. The journal’s editorial board publishes submission guidelines, which are regularly updated on the journal’s website.

The journal’s editorial board does not change decisions regarding accepted materials unless there is a serious justification for doing so.

No honorarium is paid for published articles.

Plagiarism Policy

The scientific journal accepts for publication only original materials – articles that have not been previously published and have not been submitted for publication in other journals.

The journal uses software to detect text borrowings in submitted manuscripts. Manuscripts in which plagiarism or text borrowings without references to the original source are detected are rejected by the editorial board prior to publication in the journal.

The editorial board of the journal analyzes each case of plagiarism on its merits. If plagiarism or textual borrowing is detected by the editors or reviewers at any stage prior to the manuscript’s publication, the author(s) are notified of the need to rewrite the text or cite the original source.

The percentage of plagiarism is calculated by software and also assessed by the editorial board.

If plagiarism is detected after publication, the editorial board will investigate the matter. If plagiarism is found, the journal’s editorial office will contact the author. Pages containing plagiarism will be marked in the PDF file. Depending on the extent of the plagiarism, the document may also be retracted (removed).

Recommendations for avoiding plagiarism:

use quotation marks for information taken verbatim from a source;

do not alter parts of a quotation within the context of a sentence;

use an ellipsis (space and three dots) for the omitted part of a quotation;

Use parentheses for added personal words;

Limit the use of direct quotations.

Conflict of Interest

All participants in the publication process (authors, reviewers, editors) must disclose any circumstances that may affect the objectivity of decision-making.

The editorial board ensures the proper handling of conflicts of interest in accordance with international standards.