Publication Ethics

The members of the Editorial Board of the scientific-methodological journal “Zhana Arkhiv” (hereinafter referred to as the Journal) adhere to the principles of academic integrity, scientific objectivity, transparency of editorial procedures and a responsible approach to the publication of scientific materials.

The Publication Ethics have been developed in accordance with the international standards of publication ethics of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). They define the principles and norms of ethical conduct for authors, reviewers, members of the Editorial Board and other persons involved in the preparation and publication of the Journal’s materials.

Ethical Principles of the Editorial Office

The Editorial Board ensures the objective and impartial consideration of manuscripts. Decisions on whether a manuscript may be published are made on the basis of the scientific significance of the material, its relevance to the Journal’s subject areas, its originality, the quality of the research and compliance with the established requirements.

The editorial office undertakes:

• to maintain the confidentiality of information on submitted manuscripts, authors and reviewers;
• to ensure that editorial decisions are independent of personal, financial, administrative and other external interests;
• not to allow the publication of materials where there are reasonable doubts about their scientific integrity;
• to take the necessary measures to consider reports of possible breaches of publication ethics;
• to take measures to correct significant errors and clarify published information where there are sufficient grounds to do so.

Ethical Obligations of Authors

Authors are responsible for the content of the manuscripts they submit, the verification of facts and references, the originality of the text, the correct use of sources and compliance with copyright, and for ensuring that no confidential data are used without proper permission.

Authors must promptly inform the editorial office of any significant errors or inaccuracies discovered in a submitted or published work and assist in their correction.

Originality of Manuscripts and Inadmissibility of Unethical Borrowing

The minimum text originality score is 75%. The editorial office has the right to reject a manuscript without sending it for peer review if its originality score is below the established threshold.

Breaches of publication ethics include:

• plagiarism – claiming authorship of another person’s ideas, texts, results or other materials without proper acknowledgement of the source;
• self-plagiarism – reusing one’s own previously published materials without appropriate disclosure of their prior publication;
• duplicate publication – resubmitting or republishing substantially overlapping material without proper notification of the editorial office and justification;
• data fabrication – creating non-existent facts, results or research data;
• data falsification – intentionally distorting, altering or selectively presenting data in a way that may affect the conclusions of the research;
• improper citation – omitting necessary references, misrepresenting the content of a source or using references that do not support the corresponding statements;
• citation manipulation – artificially increasing the number of citations to particular works or authors without scientific justification.

Authorship

Authorship must reflect a genuine intellectual contribution to the preparation of the scientific work. It is not permitted to include among the authors persons who did not take a substantial part in the research, or to exclude persons who made a significant contribution without proper grounds.

Use of Artificial Intelligence Tools

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the preparation of scientific articles is permitted to an extent not exceeding 10%. If the share of AI use is found to be between 11% and 15%, the manuscript is returned to the author for revision. Manuscripts with an AI use score above 16% are not accepted for consideration by the editorial office.

Acceptable use of AI: language and style editing of the text without distorting its scientific content; visualisation of research data and results; technical formatting of the article. Authors must disclose the use of AI tools, specifying the technology applied, the purposes of its use and the dates on which it was accessed and/or used.

Unacceptable use of AI: developing the main scientific idea and formulating conclusions instead of the author; substituting independent scientific research, the author’s own analysis and interpretation of results; generating text that wholly or predominantly replaces the author’s independent preparation of sections of the article.

The editorial office assesses compliance with the requirements of academic integrity, taking into account the nature and extent of AI use, the independence of the author’s scientific contribution and the reliability of the results presented.

Peer Review and Reviewers’ Responsibilities

Reviewers must:

• evaluate manuscripts objectively, with reasoned arguments and independently;
• base their conclusions on the scientific content, relevance and validity of the results and the quality of the material submitted;
• observe the established deadlines for reviewing manuscripts or promptly notify the editorial office if they are unable to meet them;
• point out significant shortcomings of the research, improper borrowing, errors in the interpretation of data and the absence of necessary references.

A reviewer who has a personal, professional, financial or other interest that may affect the objectivity of the evaluation must inform the editorial office and, if necessary, decline to review the manuscript.

Confidentiality and Information Protection

The editorial office ensures the confidential handling of manuscripts, peer review materials and personal data obtained in the course of the editorial and publishing process.

Authors, reviewers and members of the Editorial Board must maintain the confidentiality of unpublished materials and prevent their unauthorised dissemination.

Conflict of Interest

Authors must disclose any potential conflicts of interest that may relate to the preparation of the research, its funding, the interpretation of results or publication.

Reviewers and members of the Editorial Board must report any circumstances that may affect the impartiality of the consideration of a manuscript.

Where a conflict of interest is identified, the editorial office takes measures to ensure the independence of the procedure, including assigning the consideration of the manuscript to another authorised editor or engaging an independent reviewer.

Correction and Retraction of Published Materials

If, after publication, significant errors, inaccurate information or circumstances casting doubt on the reliability of the scientific results are discovered, the editorial office considers whether it is necessary to make corrections, publish an appropriate notice or retract the article.

Corrections are made in cases where the inaccuracies identified can be eliminated without compromising the reliability of the main results and conclusions of the work.

The retraction of an article may be initiated when significant breaches of publication ethics are confirmed.