Consideration of information and appeals
Academic integrity policy and publication ethics, procedure for reviewing complaints regarding their violations
According to the current version of the Law of Ukraine “On Academic Integrity”, the basic values of academic integrity, which are fully recognized by the Editorial Board of the academic journal History and Law Journal, are:
– honesty of the subjects of academic activity toward themselves and other persons;
– trust in the results of the academic activity of other persons, in particular in the fact that these results were obtained honestly and in compliance with the relevant rules and standards;
– respect for the honor and dignity of oneself and other members of the academic community, appreciation of the diversity of opinions, respect for the intellectual property rights of other persons;
– fairness in the treatment of the subjects of academic activity toward one another, in particular the creation of fair policies in educational institutions and research institutions, consistent and impartial response to violations of academic integrity, and fair evaluation of the results of academic activity;
– responsibility of the subjects of academic activity to themselves, to one another and to society for the results of their academic activity;
– persistence in the honest conduct of academic activity regardless of external and internal incentives to violate academic integrity and regardless of the presence or absence of external control;
– determination in the formation and strengthening of a culture of academic integrity and courage in defending academic integrity in academic activity.
The main principles of academic integrity are:
– priority in ensuring compliance with academic integrity by students through the application of appropriate methods of teaching, education, encouragement, and motivation;
– openness of information regarding the rules of academic integrity, types of violations of academic integrity, and responsibility for them;
– intolerance (zero tolerance) for any manifestations of violations of academic integrity;
– respect for the results of another person’s academic activity (authorship) and the inviolability of intellectual property rights;
– avoidance of conflicts of interest.
When creating an academic work, the author must adhere to the values, principles, and rules of academic integrity.
If an academic work uses the results of intellectual creative activity (text, images, ideas, developments, statements, information, opinions, etc.) of another person, this must be indicated in such academic work with reference to the relevant source of information and/or the respective author.
Reference to the source of information must be made in a manner that makes it possible to distinguish the author’s contribution in the academic work from the results of the intellectual creative activity of other persons.
An academic work must contain reliable information and must not contain fabricated or falsified information created by the author.
If assumptions or unproven statements are presented, this must be indicated in the academic work.
All authors of the academic work must be indicated in the published academic work.
If an object generated by artificial intelligence is used in an academic work, the author must report this in the work with an indication of the generation method and/or a reference to the relevant computer program or its description in accordance with the requirements for the formatting and/or publication of relevant academic works established by the relevant subject of academic activity.
In a published academic work, in addition to the authors, other persons who participated in the work on it (providing recommendations, consulting, editing, formatting, performing experiments, calculations, translation, etc.) must also be indicated, specifying the nature of the contribution of each of these persons.
Information about the reviewer (reviewers) of an academic work may not be disclosed in accordance with the editorial policy of the publisher.
If an author uses previously published scientific results (partially or fully) in a new academic work, this must be indicated in the new academic work.
Persons who carry out expert activities within the framework of procedures for reviewing academic works are obliged to adhere to the values, principles, and rules of academic integrity.
Each publisher of an academic work is obliged to have approved and published rules that make it impossible to publish an academic work containing violations of academic integrity. Such rules must define, in particular, procedures for proper peer review of academic works submitted for publication, verification of the presence of signs of violations of academic integrity, and the procedure for considering information about possible violations of academic integrity in a published academic work.
If signs of a violation of academic integrity by the author are identified in an academic work submitted for publication, the publisher has the right to refuse publication of such an academic work and to inform the head of the institution (institutions) where the author works about the violation of academic integrity. A published academic work in which a violation of academic integrity has been identified shall be retracted by the publisher in accordance with the procedure established by the publisher with simultaneous publication of the reason for the retraction. Information about the retraction of the academic work shall be sent by the publisher to libraries to which copies of such academic work were sent.
Types of violations of academic integrity in scientific and publishing activities are:
- misappropriation of authorship; 2) academic plagiarism; 3) attribution of authorship; 4) self-plagiarism; 5) fabrication; 6) falsification; 7) dishonest use of results generated by artificial intelligence; 8) dishonest evaluation; 9) inducement to violate academic integrity; 10) institutional violations of academic integrity. Other types of violations of academic integrity may also be defined by legislation (Article 18 of the Law of Ukraine “On Academic Integrity”).
Violations of publication ethics are recognized as:
- biased or improper peer review; 2) disclosure of confidential information of a manuscript by reviewers; 3) abuse of official position by members of the editorial board; 4) unjustified delay or refusal to consider a manuscript; 5) discrimination against authors on any grounds; 6) improper handling of complaints and appeals from participants; 7) undisclosed conflict of interest among participants in the publishing process (editorial board, reviewers, authors of articles) (according to the generalization of the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)).
A complaint may be submitted by: authors (co-authors) of a scientific article; reviewers of the respective manuscript; members of the editorial board; third parties who have identified violations in a published or submitted work; institutions, organizations or their authorized representatives.
The period for reviewing a complaint is up to 40 working days from the date of its receipt for consideration by the editorial board. If necessary, this period may be extended by up to 20 working days.
The procedure for reviewing complaints regarding violations of academic integrity and publication ethics applies to: authors (co-authors) of unpublished articles submitted for consideration by the editorial board, as well as authors (co-authors) of published articles; reviewers; members of the editorial board; persons associated with the publication of the academic journal History and Law Journal.
A complaint regarding violations of academic integrity or publication ethics is usually submitted in electronic form to the email address info@chasopys.hl.vnu.volyn.ua and must contain:
the full name of the complainant (complainants) and contact details (postal address, email address, etc.);
a bibliographic description of the publication or the title of the manuscript in respect of which the complaint is submitted (authors, title, year of publication or submission for consideration by the editorial board, DOI – if available);
a description of the contested violation of academic integrity or publication ethics indicating specific facts and involved persons;
materials confirming the complaint (files, results of checks using anti-plagiarism software, links, screenshots, etc.);
the date of drafting the complaint and the signature of the complainant (scanned signature or digital signature).
As an exception, a complaint regarding violations of academic integrity and publication ethics may be submitted in written form by postal mail to the address of the editorial board of the academic journal History and Law Journal: 30 Vynnychenka Street, Lutsk, Volyn Region, Ukraine, 43025.
To review the complaint, the Editor-in-Chief forms a temporary commission consisting of members of the editorial board and/or invited experts in the number of 3 persons.
The personal composition of the commission is determined taking into account: the availability of relevant professional competence; ensuring impartiality of consideration and the absence of conflicts of interest. During the investigation the commission has the right to request access to materials and information that were used by the author to prepare the research, send requests for explanations and documents to all interested parties, involve independent experts in the relevant field of knowledge, and use software tools to verify the absence of violations of academic integrity.
The person against whom the complaint is submitted has the right to be informed about the substance of the complaint and the attachments to it in full; to provide written explanations, objections and materials that refute the arguments of the complainant; to be present during oral hearings (if such are conducted); to appeal the decision in accordance with the established procedure.
The complainant has the right to receive information about the progress of the review of the complaint; to be present during oral hearings (if such are conducted); to provide additional explanations and materials during the verification of the complaint; to amend or withdraw the complaint before a decision is made.
Based on the results of the review of the complaint, the editorial board may adopt one or several of the following decisions:
refusal to satisfy the complaint – if the complaint is found to be unfounded or the violation is not confirmed during the review of the complaint;
obligation of the author (co-authors) to correct the violation of academic integrity – if the complaint is found to be substantiated;
obligation of the editorial board, reviewers, or publishers to correct violations of publication ethics – if the complaint is found to be substantiated;
retraction of the article – if the complaint is found to be substantiated.
During the consideration of complaints regarding violations of academic integrity and publication ethics, as well as after their resolution, the editorial board and the experts involved undertake: not to disclose the identity of the complainant without his or her written consent, except in cases where disclosure is necessary for the verification of the complaint; to maintain the confidentiality of the personal data of all participants in the procedure in accordance with the requirements of personal data protection legislation; to store the materials of the complaint review for three years; not to allow the use of information obtained during the review of the complaint for purposes unrelated to such review.
