Publication Ethics and Editorial Policies

The Editorial Board of "Scientific Bulletin of Uzhhorod National University. Series: Psychology" maintains high standards in the selection and acceptance of manuscripts submitted to the journal. These standards are defined by the journal’s scientific scope and by the quality requirements for scholarly research and academic writing accepted within the international scientific community.

The Editorial Board adheres to the principles of the Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines developed by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), as well as the principles of DORA (San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment).

Ethical obligations of journal editors

Editors ensure:

independence of editorial decisions from owners, institutions, or administrative influence;

objective and unbiased double-blind peer review;

prevention of plagiarism, fabrication, falsification of data, and duplicate publication;

mandatory plagiarism screening of all submitted manuscripts;

transparency of authorship contributions and funding sources.

Decisions on acceptance or rejection of manuscripts are made solely on the basis of scientific merit, originality, relevance to the journal’s scope, and quality of presentation.

Ethical obligations of authors

Authors should ensure that they have written completely original articles, and that if the authors have used the work or words of others, then it has been properly framed in quotation marks or quotes.

Submitting an identical article in more than one journal is considered unethical and unacceptable.

The article should be structured, contain enough links and be designed as required.

Unfair or deliberately inaccurate statements in the article constitute unethical conduct and are inadmissible.

The author who corresponds with the editorial board must ensure that all co-authors have read and approved the final version of the article and have agreed to its publication.

The authors of the articles bear full responsibility for the content of the articles and for the very fact of their publication. The editorial board does not bear any responsibility to the authors for the possible damage caused by the publication of the article. The editorial board has the right to remove an article if it is found out that in the course of publication the article violated someone's rights or generally accepted norms of scientific ethics. The editorial board informs the author of the fact of removal of the article.

Ethical obligations of reviewers

The editorial staff adheres to double-blind peer review to ensure that the manuscripts are evaluated objectively

Since the review of manuscripts is an essential step in the process of publication and, therefore, in the implementation of the scientific method as such, each scientist is obliged to do some work on the review.

If the selected reviewer is not sure that his or her qualification is relevant to the level of research presented in the manuscript, he must return the manuscript immediately.

The reviewer should objectively evaluate the quality of the manuscript, the experimental and theoretical work presented, its interpretation and presentation, and the extent to which the work meets high scientific and literary standards. The reviewer should respect the intellectual independence of the authors.

Reviewers should adequately explain and reason their opinions so that editors and authors can understand what their comments are based on. Any statement that an observation, conclusion, or argument has already been published must be accompanied by a reference.

The reviewer should draw the editor's attention to any significant similarity between this manuscript and any published article or any manuscript submitted to another journal at the same time.

Reviewers should not use or disclose unpublished information, arguments, or interpretations contained in this manuscript unless the author agrees.

 

In accordance with the principles of DORA, the Journal:

• evaluates manuscripts solely on the basis of their scientific quality, originality, methodological soundness, and contribution to the advancement of knowledge;

• does not use journal-based metrics (including the Impact Factor) as a criterion for assessing individual articles or the scientific quality of an author;

• does not encourage artificial inflation of citation metrics;

• supports the responsible use of scientometric indicators.

 

The Editorial Board reserves the right to periodically review and update its policies in accordance with developments in international standards, including COPE and DORA.

 

Plagiarism Policy

The journal considers only original manuscripts that have not been previously published (in whole or in part) and are not under consideration elsewhere.

Plagiarism in any form is unacceptable. All submissions are screened using StrikePlagiarism.com software provided by Plagiat.pl.

 

Conflict of Interest Policy

A conflict of interest refers to any financial, professional, institutional, or personal relationships that may influence or appear to influence editorial decisions or manuscript content.

Disclosure is mandatory for:

authors (financial and non-financial relationships);

reviewers (potential competing interests);

editors (when handling manuscripts involving their institution or colleagues).

If a potential conflict is identified:

the editor or reviewer must recuse themselves;

an independent handling editor is appointed;

independent reviewers are assigned;

decisions and justifications are documented.

Submissions by Editors or Editorial Board Members

Manuscripts submitted by the Editor-in-Chief or editorial board members:

are handled by an independent editor;

undergo standard double-blind peer review;

exclude author involvement in editorial decisions;

include a published COI disclosure statement.

 

Complaints and Appeals Procedure

The journal ensures a transparent procedure for handling complaints regarding:

plagiarism;

research misconduct;

conflicts of interest;

unethical review practices;

authorship disputes or data manipulation.

The process includes:

Preliminary editorial assessment;

Collection of explanations from involved parties;

Evaluation in accordance with COPE guidelines;

Decision (correction, notice, retraction, or dismissal of complaint).

All stages are documented.

 

Retraction and Correction Policy

The journal follows COPE recommendations to ensure transparent and justified retractions and corrections.

Retraction

Retraction may occur in cases of:

plagiarism, fabrication, or falsification;

major errors invalidating findings;

ethical violations;

duplicate publication.

The procedure includes:

editorial investigation;

consultation with authors and institutions if necessary;

formal editorial decision;

publication of a retraction notice.

Retracted articles remain accessible but are clearly marked as “Retracted.”

Corrections

Minor errors not affecting scientific conclusions are addressed via:

publication of an erratum or corrigendum;

preservation of the original version;

clear indication of correction date.

 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy

The journal permits the use of AI tools as supportive instruments; however:

AI cannot be listed as an author;

authors are fully responsible for manuscript content;

AI use (text generation, translation, data analysis) must be transparently disclosed;

AI use does not exempt authors from originality and citation requirements.

The journal may use software tools to detect plagiarism and AI-generated content.

 

Ethical Approval Policy

The journal requires compliance with ethical standards in conducting and publishing research in accordance with COPE principles.

Submission implies confirmation that:

the research was conducted legally and ethically;

all necessary permissions and approvals were obtained;

no rights of individuals, organizations, or data owners were violated;

research does not pose risks to human safety, the environment, or infrastructure;

safety and environmental regulations were observed;

all data and software were used lawfully.

The journal reserves the right to request supporting documentation and to reject or retract manuscripts if ethical violations are identified.

 

Privacy Statement and Personal Data Policy

The Editorial Board respects users’ privacy and ensures the protection of personal data.

Names, email addresses, and other personal information provided by authors, reviewers, and users are used solely for:

managing the editorial and publishing process;

communication regarding submission, review, and publication;

maintaining journal website functionality.

Personal data are not shared with third parties or used for commercial purposes without explicit consent, except as required by law.

Data are retained only as long as necessary for processing purposes or as required by applicable legislation.