Publication ethics and publication malpractice statement

Editors are guided by the recommendations and standards of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE’s Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors,  http://publicationethics.org/), and also consider valuable experience of authoritative international journals and publishers.

These guidelines correspond to the editorial policy of the journal.

Editors of Journal do all in their power to adhere to the ethical standards established by the international scientific community and to prevent any breach of these norms.

The code of ethics of scientific publications unites and discloses general principles and rules. All parties involved in the act of publishing: authors, reviewers, editors, publishers, distributors and readers should be guided by them.

Duties of Editors

Review of Manuscripts

The papers submitted to the journal should contain new nontrivial scientific results which haven’t been published earlier.

Each paper is reviewed according to double-blind peer review; experts have all opportunities to express criticism concerning the level and clarity of the submitted content, its compliance with the profile of the journal, novelty and reliability of results. Recommendations of reviewers form the basis for a final decision on publication of articles.

The editor of the journal is completely responsible for deciding which of the articles submitted to the journal should be published.

Editors make the decision on publication being guided by the journal policy, taking into account current legislation in the field of copyright.

The editor should evaluate manuscripts for their intellectual content without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the authors.

In case of accepting by reviewers and the editorial board, the paper will be published in the next issue of the journal, copyright will be retained for respective authors.

Confidentiality

The editor and the editorial staff mustn’t disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone, except the corresponding authors, reviewers, other editorial advisers, and the publisher, if necessary.

Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in an editor’s own research without the express written consent of the author.

Conflicts of Interest and Settlement of Ethical Conflicts

Editors should recuse themselves (i.e. should ask another member of the editorial board) from considering manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the papers.

Editors should require all contributors to disclose relevant competing interests and publish corrections if competing interests are revealed after publication.

The editor should take reasonably responsive measures when ethical complaints have been presented concerning a submitted manuscript or published paper, in conjunction with the publisher (or society). Every reported act of unethical publishing behavior must be looked into, even if it is discovered years after publication. If a complaint is supported, the publication of corrections, disclaimers or apologies follows.

Duties of Reviewers

Contribution to Editorial Decisions

Peer review assists the editor in making editorial decisions; through the editorial communications with the author it may also assist the author in improving the paper.

Promptness

Any selected referee who feels unqualified to review the research reported in a manuscript or knows that its prompt review will be impossible should notify the editor and excuse himself from the review process.

Confidentiality

Any manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents. They must not be shown to or discussed with others except as authorized by the editor.

Standards of Objectivity

Reviews should be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. Referees should express their views clearly with supporting arguments.

Acknowledgement of Sources

Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors. Any statement that an observation, derivation, or argument had been previously reported should be accompanied by the relevant citation. A reviewer should also call to the editor’s attention any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and any other published paper of which they have personal knowledge.

Disclosure of Information and Conflicts of Interest

Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in a reviewer’s own research without the express written consent of the author. Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage. Reviewers should not consider manuscripts in which they have a personal interest.

Duties of authors

Reporting Standards

Authors of reports of original research should present an accurate account of the work performed as well as an objective discussion of its significance. Underlying data should be represented accurately in the paper. A paper should contain sufficient detail and references to permit others to replicate the work. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and are unacceptable.

Data Access and Retention

Authors may be asked to provide the raw data in connection with a paper for editorial review. They must be ready to provide open access to such data, if it is possible, and should in any event be prepared to retain such data for a reasonable time after publication.

Originality and Plagiarism

Authors must submit only original works. When using the text or graphic information received from the papers of other persons, references to the relevant publications or the author’s written permission are necessary.

Multiple, Duplicate or Concurrent Publication

Authors must notify that the paper is published for the first time. If manuscript elements were published earlier in another paper, the authors must refer to the earlier work and specify the essential difference between the new paper and the previous one. Literal copying of own works and their rephrasing are unacceptable; they can be used only as a basis for new conclusions.
Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal concurrently constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable.

Acknowledgement of Sources

Authors must recognize a contribution of other persons who have influenced the submitted research. Bibliographic references to works are obligatory. Information received in private, by means of conversation, correspondence or discussion with third parties should not be used without the explicit written permission of its source.

Authorship of the Paper

Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. All those who have made significant contributions should be listed as co-authors. When there are others who have participated in certain substantive aspects of the research project, they should be acknowledged or listed as contributors. Those who took part in some essential aspects of the research should be listed as participants of the research project.
The author must guarantee that names of all co-authors and participants of the research project are listed and that all co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the paper and have agreed to its submission for publication.

Disclosure of Information and Conflicts of Interest

All authors should disclose in their manuscript any financial or other substantive conflict of interest that might be construed to influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript. All sources of financial support for the project should be disclosed.

The Principles of Humane Care and Use of Animals

Authors should adhere to the principles of bioethics, when studying animal subjects.

Ensuring the Quality of Paper

Paper should be presented in accordance with the requirements of the editorial board. Any discharges from the requirements can be allowed only with permission of the editorial board. Author’s affiliation information should be reliable. In case of any changes coming to affiliation, authors should immediately notify the editorial board.

Fundamental Errors in Published Works

When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in his/her own published work, it is the author’s obligation to promptly notify the journal editor or publisher and cooperate with the editor to retract or correct the paper. If the editor or the publisher learns from a third party that a published work contains a significant error, it is the obligation of the author to promptly retract or correct the paper or provide evidence to the editor of the correctness of the original paper.