All participants in the publishing process, including authors, editors, reviewers, and publishers, must adhere to the principles set out below. Our policy on ethical conduct in publication is based on the best practices developed by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) for editors of scientific journals.
The editor-in-chief of a journal is responsible for selecting manuscripts for publication. In this process, he or she is guided by the editorial policy, applicable law, and takes into account issues related to defamation, copyright protection, and the prevention of plagiarism. The editor may consult with members of the editorial board or involve independent experts to make an informed decision.
The editor evaluates manuscripts solely on the basis of their scientific content, without regard to factors such as the author's race, gender, sexual orientation, religious or political beliefs, ethnic origin, or nationality.
The editor and members of the editorial board are obliged to maintain the confidentiality of information contained in submitted manuscripts, not disclosing it to anyone other than the authors, potential reviewers, consultants, and, when necessary, the publisher.
Resolution of Conflicts of Interest and Disclosure of Relevant Information
The editor should not use data from unpublished manuscripts in his or her own research without the prior written consent of the author.
Responsibilities of REVIEWERS
The peer reviews provided by reviewers serve as an important basis for the editor to make a publication decision. Communication between the editor and the author also helps improve the quality of the submitted manuscript.
If a reviewer is not qualified to evaluate the submitted work or is unable to provide a review within the specified time, the reviewer should promptly notify the editor and withdraw from the review process.
Manuscripts submitted for review should be treated as strictly confidential materials. They may not be shown or discussed with any third party without the prior permission of the editor.
Reviewing should be unbiased. Personal criticism of the author is unacceptable. Reviewers should express their point of view clearly and concisely, supporting it with convincing arguments.
Reviewers should identify works that are directly related to the topic under study, but not mentioned by the author. Any claim that a certain observation, conclusion, or argument has already been discussed in the scientific literature should be supported by appropriate citations. A reviewer should also draw to the editor's attention any significant overlaps or overlaps between the manuscript under review and other published works of which he or she has become aware.
Confidential information or ideas obtained through peer review must not be used for personal benefit or disclosed to others. Reviewers should not consider manuscripts in which they have a conflict of interest resulting from a competitive, collaborative, or other relationship with any of the authors, company, or organization related to the manuscript.
Authors of a scientific article should present an accurate description of the research performed and an objective assessment of its significance. Primary data should be presented with a high degree of reliability. The article should contain sufficient information and references to allow other researchers to reproduce the presented research. Knowingly false or distorted data is considered a serious misconduct of scientific ethics and is unacceptable.
Authors are encouraged to provide primary data for peer review with their manuscript and to make them available for open publication (in accordance with the Association of Scientific and Professional Publishers and Databases guidelines). Authors are encouraged to retain primary data from their research for a sufficient period of time after publication of the results.
Authors are responsible for the originality of the submitted work and must cite the work of other researchers if they use their claims or results.
Authors should not publish the results of the same research in more than one journal. Submitting a manuscript to multiple journals at the same time is considered a violation of scientific ethics and is unacceptable practice.
All borrowed materials used in the manuscript must be accompanied by references to the relevant sources. Authors are required to cite those studies that have had a significant influence on their work.
The list of authors should include only those individuals who have made a significant contribution to the conception, implementation, and interpretation of the results of the study. Participants who have made less significant contributions may be mentioned in the acknowledgments. If individual stages of the work were performed by other people, they should also be mentioned as contributors. The corresponding author should provide the final version of the article to all co-authors for review and to obtain their consent for the evaluation of their contribution to the work.
Authors are required to disclose in the manuscript any information about financial or other conflicts of interest that could influence the interpretation of the results of the study. All sources of financial support should also be indicated.
If a significant error is discovered in a published work, the author should immediately notify the editor or publisher and assist in correcting or retracting the article.
