Publication Ethics and Responsibilities of Participants in the Publication Process

Publication Ethics

Bulletin of Vasyl Stus Donetsk National University. Series: Psychological Sciences is committed to ensuring the high quality of scholarly publications and upholding the principles of academic integrity, research ethics, transparency, responsible dissemination of research findings and publishing integrity.

The journal’s editorial policy is based on the principles of objectivity, independence, professionalism, fairness, openness of editorial procedures and respect for the rights of all participants in the publication process.

All parties involved in preparing and publishing content — editors, members of the Editorial Board, authors and reviewers — undertake to follow internationally recognised standards of publication ethics, including the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

The Editorial Board ensures impartial consideration of submissions regardless of the authors’ gender, age, nationality, citizenship, political or religious beliefs, place of employment, academic status or any other personal characteristics.

The decision to accept an article for publication is based on its scholarly novelty, relevance, alignment with the journal’s scope, quality of presentation, compliance with formatting requirements, academic integrity check results and reviewers’ recommendations.

The editorial office does not accept submissions that show signs of plagiarism, self-plagiarism, fabrication or falsification of data, improper use of other researchers’ results, unreliable information, manipulation of sources or other violations of academic integrity.

Responsibilities of the Editorial Office

The editorial office is responsible for organising a transparent, objective and high-quality editorial and publishing process.

The editorial office undertakes to:
ensure the impartial consideration of all submitted manuscripts;
evaluate submissions according to their scholarly value, relevance and alignment with the journal’s scope;
maintain confidentiality with regard to submitted manuscripts;
not disclose manuscripts to third parties except persons involved in the editorial process;
ensure high-quality independent peer review of scholarly articles;
prevent conflicts of interest among authors, reviewers and members of the Editorial Board;
make publication decisions on the basis of editorial assessment, plagiarism checks and peer review;
take appropriate editorial measures if violations of academic integrity or publication ethics are identified;
ensure transparency of information about the Editorial Board, peer review procedures, journal policies, open access, financial policy and the journal’s actual indexing status;
prevent manipulation of publication dates, DOI metadata, citation indicators or the peer review process.

The editorial office may reject a manuscript if it falls outside the journal’s subject area or fails to meet the journal’s formatting requirements, principles of academic integrity, or scholarly standards.

Responsibilities of Authors

Authors are responsible for the content of their submissions, the reliability of the data presented, the accuracy of citations, the completeness of references to sources used, and compliance with the principles of academic integrity.

By submitting a manuscript to the journal, authors confirm that:
the article is an original scholarly work;
the manuscript has not been published before;
the manuscript is not under consideration by another scholarly journal;
all sources used have been properly cited;
all borrowed ideas, data, text, tables, figures and other materials are properly credited;
the research results are presented accurately and without fabrication or falsification;
all persons who made a substantial contribution to the article are listed as co-authors;
all co-authors have read the final version of the article and agree to its submission to the journal;
sources of funding, potential conflicts of interest and the use of artificial intelligence tools, if any, are disclosed transparently in the manuscript.

Authors must inform the editorial office of any potential conflict of interest, sources of research funding, and other circumstances that may affect the objectivity of the results submitted.

If authors identify errors or inaccuracies in a submitted or already published article, they must promptly inform the editorial office and assist in issuing corrections, publishing clarifications or, if necessary, retracting the article.

Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers provide scholarly assessment of manuscripts in accordance with the principles of objectivity, confidentiality, impartiality and professional ethics.

Reviewers undertake to:
evaluate manuscripts objectively and with reasoned comments;
provide constructive remarks and recommendations;
maintain confidentiality regarding the content of the manuscript;
not use unpublished content for personal benefit;
inform the editorial office of any potential conflict of interest;
draw the editorial office’s attention to signs of plagiarism, incorrect citation, duplicate publication, fabrication or falsification of data, and other violations of academic integrity.

A reviewer must decline to review a manuscript if its subject matter falls outside the reviewer’s scholarly competence or if circumstances exist that may affect the objectivity of the assessment.