Publication Ethics

Ethical aspects of publication play an essential role in the editorial work and the review process. The editorial board, editorial council, and editorial staff of the journal “Bulletin of Problems in Biology and Medicine”, as well as the Ukrainian Academy of Sciences as a co-founder, support the policy that ensures compliance with the principles of publishing ethics and recognise that verification of compliance with these principles is an important part of the review and publication process. All participants in the process – authors, editors, reviewers, and publishers – are responsible for preventing misconduct such as plagiarism. Therefore, the Editorial Board independently checks all submitted manuscripts for plagiarism and borrowings using Unicheck and Turnitin.

The editorial board of the Journal “Bulletin of Problems in Biology and Medicine” does its best to comply with the ethical standards set by the international scientific community and to prevent any violations of these standards. In particular, depending on the object of research, authors must strictly adhere to the ethical principles of the European Convention for the Protection of Vertebrate Animals, WMA Declaration of Helsinki, and indicate the presence of voluntary written informed consent to conduct research, as well as the collection and processing of data on participants, and in the case of children – their parents or legal representatives.

The journal’s policy is based on the Committee on Publication Ethics, the Code of Conduct and Best Practices for Journal and the Code of Conduct for Journal Publishers to ensure ethics and quality of publication and takes into account the valuable experience of reputable international journals and publishers.

Journal policy on ethical supervision

In matters of ethical supervision, we adhere to the definition of COPE: “Ethical supervision should include, but not be limited to, policies on consent to publish, publication on vulnerable populations, ethical conduct of animal research, ethical conduct of human research, handling of confidential data, and business/marketing practices”. The Editorial Board is committed to ensuring compliance with ethical principles and reviewing appeals and other requests regarding violations of these principles by our authors.

Detection and consideration of allegations of misconduct in research

Poltava State Medical University (the publisher) and the editorial board chairman will use reasonable measures, including available technology and personal knowledge, to detect and prevent the publication of articles containing research misconduct, including plagiarism, manipulation of citations, and falsification or fabrication of data.

When faced with an allegation, we adhere to the systematic guidelines provided by COPE.

Responsibilities of the authors

Data storage and access

Authors should, if necessary, provide raw data of their research described in the article submitted for review and be ready to make these data available for public access. In any case, the authors must keep such data for one year after publication.

Originality and plagiarism

The article’s authors must ensure that their work is absolutely original and, if they use materials or statements of other authors, correctly indicate this link or note it in the text. They must also comply with applicable copyright laws. Materials used from the work of other researchers (tables, illustrations, etc.) may be included only if appropriate permission and acknowledgement have been obtained.

Repeated, alternate or simultaneous publications

The author has no right to submit an article that has already been published in another journal. Submission of the same manuscript to several journals is unethical and unacceptable.

Authorship of the manuscript

Authorship should be given only to those who have contributed significantly to the development, execution, design or interpretation of the study. All those who have made such contributions should be listed as co-authors. Individuals who assisted in certain key aspects of the project should be acknowledged in the acknowledgements section. The author should ensure that all co-authors have agreed to the final version of the article and have consented to its submission for publication.

Conflict of interest and disclosure

Transparency in disclosing conflicts of interest is a cornerstone of maintaining the integrity of academic research. Authors should openly disclose any financial or other conflicts of interest that could influence the results or interpretation of their work. Additionally, all sources of financial support for the project must be fully disclosed.

Reporting errors in a published work

Suppose the author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in their published work. In that case, they must immediately notify the editorial board and cooperate to retract or correct the article. Suppose the editor or the editorial board receives information from a third person about a significant error or inaccuracy in the published work. In that case, the author must immediately either refute it, correct the article, or provide the editorial board with confirmation of the correctness of the published work.

Responsibility

The author is responsible for the expressed opinions, views, and content of the published manuscripts and originality and stylistic errors.

All manuscripts submitted for review and publication in the journal Bulletin of Problems in Biology and Medicine are double-checked for authenticity, compliance with ethical standards, and scientific value. The reviewers’ decision is the main criterion for publication and is considered final.

Guidelines for editors and reviewers

The Editorial Board consists of Ukrainian and International experts in their fields. All members of the Board occupy the positions in educational and research institutions. The roles of the Editorial Board members are the following:

provide expertise in definite research field;
judge the submitted manuscripts and involve in the process independent reviewers;
advise on journal policy and scope and participate in the journal development;
propose subject definition and conference choice for special issues. Also, editorial members may be guest editors of special issue;
promote the journal at conferences, seminars, workshops, and relevant public events;
attract new potential authors.

We appreciate applications from editorial candidates. To apply, please send an e-mail to the editor-in-chief of the journal and attach a file with your CV (including your current place of work, occupation, education, area of research interest, activities, list of publications, list of journals where you hold the position of editor or reviewer, contact e-mail and a link to your page at your university).

Duties of editors

We strongly recommend that Editors get acquainted with and follow COPE Core practices (Core practices | COPE: Committee on Publication Ethics).

The editors of the journal are responsible for deciding which of the articles submitted to the journal will be published. The editor may confer with the members of the Editorial Board in making this decision.

Fair play. The editors evaluate manuscripts without regard to the nature of the authors or the host institution including race, gender, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the authors.

Confidentiality. The editors, members of the Editorial Boards, and any editorial staff must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone except the authors of the paper, reviewers, potential reviewers, and the publisher, for appropriate reasons.

Disclosure. Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted paper should not be used in the own research of the editors or the members of the Editorial Board without the express written consent of the author.

Ensuring integrity: engagement and cooperation. “Bulletin of Problems in Biology and Medicine” answers all claims or doubts about the unlawful results of research or publications (possible plagiarism or duplicate/redundant publications) raised by readers, reviewers and others. In this case, the editorial board, with the participation of relevant experts, will evaluate each paper and ask the author(s) to answer the questions that have arisen. The journal may request an investigation by the institution or other relevant authorities if the authors’ response is unsatisfactory. If the concerns are very serious, and the published work is likely to affect scientific knowledge or practical application, “Bulletin of Problems in Biology and Medicine” may consider informing readers about these issues, publishing an “expression of concern”, followed by the publication of explanations and conclusions of the investigation. If the editorial board is convinced that a serious violation has occurred, the journal may decide not to publish.
Appeals and complaints. The complaint should be sent to the email address specified in Contacts and considered by the editor-in-chief or executive secretary of the journal. When submitting a complaint, it is necessary to indicate its type (for example, refusal to publish an article, the duration of the publication process, review of an article, bias or behaviour of a reviewer, etc.) The decision with explanations is provided to the complainant. Decisions on appeals are final, and new submissions take precedence over appeals.
When considering a complaint, one of the following decisions may be made:
– to satisfy the complaint;
– to refuse to satisfy the complaint.
Suppose the complainant remains dissatisfied with the consideration of their complaint. In that case, they may submit a complaint to the Ethics and Bioethics Commission of Poltava State Medical University (e-mail naukoviy@pdmu.edu.ua).

Guidelines for Reviewers

We clearly understands the importance of an effective peer review process when authors choose to submit their manuscripts to our journals.

We strongly recommend that our reviewers are familiar with and follow COPE Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers.

Potential reviewers should provide personal and professional information that is accurate and a fair representation of their expertise, including verifiable and accurate contact information.

During the peer review process, Reviewer’s report preparation, and after reviewing we expect from our reviewers following:

Confidentiality

In order to maintain the integrity of the review process, the reviewers shouldn’t discuss the reviewed manuscript with anyone without specific permission from the Editor.
The reviewers are welcome to solicit input from one or two colleagues in performing the review, but this should only be done with explicit permission from the Editor. In addition, colleagues’ (with names and affiliations) involvement should be mentioned in the Comments to Editors section of the Reviewer’s report.
The reviewers shouldn’t copy, disseminate, or share information, concerning the manuscript for any purpose (including advancement of their own research).
If any clarifications from the author/authors are needed, they should be included into the Comments section of the Reviewer’s report.

Standards of objectivity

Reviewers should be objective while conducting reviews. All the comments and recommendations should be supported with relevant arguments.

Timeliness

It is necessary to respond to an invitation to peer review within a reasonable time-frame.
If the reviewers feel qualified to assess a particular manuscript, they should agree to review only in case of possibility to return a review within the proposed or mutually agreed time-frame.
The reviews should be completed by the deadline indicated in invitation. If any difficulties arise that may prevent from submitting the Reviewer’s report in time, the reviewers are obliged to contact the Handling Editor immediately.

Competing interests

It is important to remain unbiased by considerations related to the nationality, religious or political beliefs, gender and/or other characteristics of the authors, origin of a manuscript or by commercial considerations.
We kindly ask our reviewers to reveal any potential competing interest that may bias the review of the submitted manuscript (including any financial interest in the publication or non-publication of the manuscript; a recent or ongoing collaboration with the authors; a history of dispute with the authors).
If the reviewer is currently employed at the same institution as any of the authors or has been recent (e.g., within the past 3 years) mentors, mentees, close collaborators or joint grant holders, the invitation of the manuscript reviewing should be rejected.
The reviewers should not agree to review a manuscript just to gain sight of it with no real intention of submitting a Reviewer’s report.
The reviewers are not precluded from reviewing the manuscript because of previously reviewing a version of it for another journal. However, this should be noted in the Comments to Editors