Academic integrity is a vital component of scientific activity. According to sub-paragraph 31 of paragraph 1 of Article 58 of the Law of Ukraine “On Higher Education”, academic, scientific, and pedagogical staff are obliged to: “adhere to academic integrity in the educational process and scientific (creative) activities and ensure its observance by higher education seekers”.

Violations of academic integrity that may be identified during the editorial and publishing process include:

academic plagiarism – publishing (partially or fully) scientific (creative) results obtained by other persons as the results of one’s own research (creativity) and/or reproducing published texts (works of art) of other authors without proper attribution;

self-plagiarism – publishing (partially or fully) one’s own previously published scientific results as new scientific results;

fabrication – inventing data or facts used in the educational process or scientific research;

falsification – deliberate change or modification of existing data related to the educational process or scientific research;

deception – providing knowingly false information regarding one's own educational (scientific, creative) activity or the organization of the educational process; forms of deception include, in particular, academic plagiarism, self-plagiarism, fabrication, falsification, and cheating by authors (para. 4 of Article 42 of the Law of Ukraine “On Education”);

bribery – providing or receiving by a participant in the editorial process, or an offer to provide (receive) funds, property, services, benefits, or any other assets of a material or non-material nature to distort the publication process and obtain a positive decision regarding the publication of an article;

biased Evaluation – deliberate overestimation or underestimation of the evaluation of results or the content of the research by reviewers or editors;

unauthorized Changes – making changes to the text of the submitted manuscript without the agreement of the authors.

All reports of academic integrity violations must be submitted to the Editor-in-Chief.

If reviewers or editors comment on a potential violation of academic integrity, the authors will be invited to provide an explanation. If the explanation is satisfactory and the issue is the result of an error or misunderstanding, the problem can be resolved. If not, the manuscript will be rejected or retracted, and the editorial office may impose a ban on the publication of such author(s) in the journal for a specific period of time.

In the case of published plagiarism or duplicate publication in several journals, an announcement explaining the situation will be made.

If the allegations concern authors, the review and publication process for their submission will be suspended until the end of the specified investigation. The investigation is conducted even if the authors withdraw the manuscript. If the allegations concern reviewers or an editor, they will be replaced in the review process during the ongoing investigation.

For violations of academic integrity, authors, reviewers, and/or the editor may be held academically liable:

1. Refusal to publish with notification to the institution (the primary affiliation of the author or reviewer) regarding the violation identified during the editorial process.
2. Revocation of the right for the editor or reviewer to participate in the work of the journal’s editorial office.

The procedure for reviewing violations of academic integrity involves the participation of the head of the relevant institution or department where the accused author works, as well as the Editor-in-Chief and representatives of the founding institution.

Every person accused of violating academic integrity has the following rights:

– to familiarize themselves with all investigation materials and provide comments;

– to provide oral and written explanations personally or through a representative, or refuse to provide any explanations, and participate in the examination of evidence;

– to be informed of the date, time, and place of the review and be present during the consideration of the case;

– to appeal the decision to an authorized body or to a court (para. 8 of Article 42 of the Law of Ukraine “On Education”).

“Honest error” or differences of opinion do not constitute violations of academic integrity.