Code of Conduct Ethics

The editorial board of the journal  and Borys Grinchenko Kyiv Metropolitan University, as its publisher, adhere to the standards of publication ethics and make efforts to prevent its violation. Guidelines for us are the principles developed by the Ethics Committee on Publications (COPE).

The task of the journal is to provide an academic discussion of topics, regardless of their nature (religious, gender, environmental, ethical, political or other, related to potentially controversial topics).

1 Ethical expectations

1.1 Editors' responsibilities

○ To act in a balanced, objective and fair way while carrying out their expected duties, without discrimination on grounds of religious or political beliefs, gender, sexual orientation, ethnic or geographical origin of the authors.

○ Adhere to established procedures in the event of a conflict of interest or complaints of non-compliance with ethical standards. To provide authors the opportunity to respond reasonably to any complaints and comments.

1.2 Reviewers' responsibilities

○ To assist in improving the quality of the published papers, to contribute to the decision-making process.

○ Not to keep and not to copy a manuscript. To keep and maintain the confidentiality of any information supplied byan editor or an author.

○ To be aware of any potential conflicts of interest and to alert the chief editor to these.

 

1.3 Authors' responsibilities

○ To submit the most accurate data in the accompanying documents to the manuscript.

○ To ensure that the submitted manuscript is not  considered or was not accepted for publication elsewhere. 

○ To ensure that all researches in the submitted manuscript are original and to  provide references to all material given in the manuscript from other sources.

○ To declare any potential conflicts of interest

○ To cooperate with the editor and publisher for the fastest possible changes, additions, clarifications.

2 Procedures for dealing with unethical behaviour

2.1 Identification of unethical behaviour

○ Unethical behaviour may be identified and brought to the attention of the editor and publisher at any time, by anyone.The informer must provide accurate information and reasonable evidence to initiate an investigation.

2.2 Investigation

○ The necessary evidence should be collected without public coverage.

○ The editorial board must decide on each application.

2.3 Outcomes (in increasing order of severity; may be applied separately or in conjunction)

○ Informing  the author or  reviewer about the facts and circumstances of a misunderstanding, abuse or misuse of ethical standards.

○ Publication of a formal notice detailing the misconduct.

○ Formal retraction or withdrawal of a publication from the journal, in conjunction with informing the head of the author or reviewer's department, Abstracting & Indexing services and the readership of the publication.

○ Imposition of a formal embargo on contributions from an individual for a defined period.

○ Consideration ofthe case and outcome to external official and judicial instances.

 

3. Academic Integrity and Publication Ethics

The journal adheres to international standards of academic integrity and the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). All participants in the publication process, authors, reviewers, and editors, are required to follow high ethical principles to ensure the quality and reliability of scholarly publications.

 

Authorship and contribution

Authorship is based on substantial scholarly contribution. The journal applies the CRediT taxonomy, which specifies individual roles such as conceptualization, methodology, investigation, writing, and editing. All authors share collective responsibility for the content of the publication. Listing individuals who did not make a scholarly contribution is not permitted.

 

Conflict of interest

Authors, reviewers, and editors must declare any potential or actual conflicts of interest, financial, academic, professional, or personal, that may influence the impartiality of evaluation or editorial decisions.

 

Equity and inclusion policy

The editorial board upholds the principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion. Decisions regarding manuscript acceptance are made solely on the basis of academic quality, regardless of the authors’ gender, age, nationality, language, ethnicity, religion, political views, social background, or institutional affiliation. The journal is committed to providing equal opportunities for all researchers and fostering an inclusive scholarly environment.

 

Plagiarism, duplication, fabrication, and falsification

The journal does not accept manuscripts containing plagiarism, self-plagiarism, duplicate publications, or materials based on fabricated or falsified data. All submissions are checked using similarity-detection software. In cases of misconduct, procedures recommended by COPE are applied, ranging from rejection of the manuscript to the retraction of already published articles.

 

Ethical aspects of research involving humans and animals

For studies involving human participants or animals, authors must confirm compliance with relevant ethical standards. Human studies require informed consent from participants and approval from a local or national ethics committee (where required by law or international norms). Research involving animals must adhere to principles of humane treatment and applicable international protocols. Authors must state in their manuscripts whether ethical approval was obtained.

 

Use of prior publications and preprints

The journal accepts submissions that have preprint versions deposited in recognized repositories or platforms. Authors must declare the existence of a preprint at the time of submission and provide a reference to it. The use of material from prior publications is allowed only with proper citation and in compliance with copyright regulations.

 

Policy on advertising materials and external influence

The journal does not consider advertising materials and does not allow the inclusion of hidden advertising or sponsored content that lacks scholarly value. Editorial decisions are made exclusively based onacademic merit. The journal operates independently of commercial, political, or other external influences that could compromise the integrity of the publication process.

 

4. Complaints and Appeals

Submission of complaints

The editorial office accepts complaints from authors, reviewers, readers, and other stakeholders concerning breaches of ethical standards, non-compliance with editorial procedures, or inappropriate conduct by participants in the publication process. Complaints must be submitted in writing to the journal’s official email address, with a clear description of the issue and any supporting documentation (where available).

 

Handling of complaints

All complaints are handled confidentially and without undue delay. The Editor-in-Chief initiates an inquiry and, where appropriate, involves members of the editorial board or independent experts. Decisions are taken in line with the principles of impartiality, transparency, and the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). The complainant receives a reasoned response describing the outcome.

 

Appeals against editorial decisions

Authors have the right to appeal an editorial decision (e.g., rejection, a requirement for substantial revision). Appeals must be submitted in writing and must set out specific grounds for reconsideration. Appeals are reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief together with members of the editorial board who were not involved in the original decision; additional independent experts may be consulted if needed. The decision on appeal is final.

 

5. Policy on the Use of Artificial Intelligence

Large Language Models (LLMs), like ChatGPT, do not meet our authorship requirements. The attribution of authorship carries a responsibility for the paper that cannot be adequately applied to LLMs. The use of an LLM in research should be appropriately documented in the Methods section of the manuscript, or in a suitable alternative part if a Methods section is not available.

The journal promotes transparency and accountability in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in research and publication.

 

AI use declaration

Authors are required to clearly declare any use of AI tools in the preparation of the manuscript. The declaration should appear in an appropriate section of the paper (e.g., Acknowledgements or a designated statement) and must specify the tools used and their roles. Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, and integrity of the content.

 

Automatic text generation

Manuscripts created wholly or partly through automatic text generation without human oversight and substantial authorial revision are not considered. AI systems cannot be listed as authors or co-authors.

 

Editing and language assistance

The use of AI tools for language editing, stylistic improvement, or translation is permitted only if authors retain full control over the content, critically review all outputs, and accept responsibility for every claim made in the manuscript.

 

Peer-review
The use of AI in the peer-review process is strictly prohibited. Reviews must reflect an independent expert assessment undertaken by a human reviewer, who assumes responsibility for the conclusions and recommendations provided.

 

6. Retraction and Corrections

Retraction of articles

The editorial board reserves the right to retract already published articles in cases of serious breaches of academic integrity, including plagiarism, data fabrication or falsification, duplicate publication, false results, or other major ethical violations. Retraction decisions are made by the Editor-in-Chief in consultation with the editorial board, in line with the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

 

Corrections and clarifications

In cases of minor errors that do not affect the overall results of the study, the journal publishes corrections or clarifications (corrigendum/erratum). Such notices are linked to the original article via the DOI system, ensuring transparency of the editorial record.

 

Serious violations

If significant issues are discovered after publication that call into question the scholarly validity or ethical soundness of the work, the article will be retracted. Retracted articles remain accessible but are clearly marked as “Retracted,” accompanied by a statement explaining the reasons. This practice is consistent with international standards and safeguards the integrity of the scholarly record.