Publication ethics

The publication ethics policy of «Scientia Moderna»

The policy is based on Russian copyright legislation, the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics, and the experience of Russian and international journals and publishers.

The editorial team follows the principles of scholarly rigour, objectivity, professionalism and impartiality. It makes every effort to uphold ethical standards accepted by the international research community and to prevent violations in its own work and in its relationships with authors, editors, reviewers, publishers, distributors and readers.

Duties of editors

Publication decisions.

Editors decide whether to publish a submission on the basis of its reliability, relevance to researchers and readers, originality, clarity, novelty and fit with the journal's scope, while taking account of applicable laws on defamation, copyright and plagiarism.

Fairness.

Editors evaluate the intellectual content of manuscripts regardless of the authors' race, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, nationality, origin or political views.

Confidentiality.

The editor-in-chief and editorial staff must not disclose information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than its author, reviewers, potential reviewers, other editorial advisers and, where necessary, the publisher.

Disclosure and conflicts of interest.

— Unpublished data obtained from submitted manuscripts must not be used in the research of the editor-in-chief, editorial board members, reviewers or other staff involved in handling the submission without the author's written consent.

— Information obtained during peer review must remain confidential and must not be used for personal gain.

— The editor-in-chief must withdraw from handling a manuscript where competitive, collaborative or other relationships with its authors or associated organisations create a conflict of interest. In that case, the deputy editor-in-chief or an editorial board member may take over at the editor-in-chief's direction.

— Editors must require authors to disclose conflicts of interest and publish corrections if such conflicts are identified after publication.

— Editors must ensure that peer review procedures are followed. Articles are accepted solely on academic merit, not for commercial reasons.

Handling ethical complaints.

Editors and the publisher take reasonably prompt action on ethical complaints concerning submitted or published work. This normally involves contacting the authors and investigating the complaint, and may involve relevant organisations and research centres. A substantiated complaint leads to a correction or retraction. Every ethical complaint is considered, even if received years after publication.

Citing the journal.

Editors must not compel authors to cite the journal in which their work is to appear. Recommendations to cite particular works must be based on scholarly relevance and aim to improve the submission.

Duties of reviewers

Contribution to publication decisions. Peer review assists editors and the editorial board in making decisions and can help authors improve their work. The publisher considers that all researchers seeking publication may participate in peer review. Visitors to the journal's website may provide feedback on articles.

Timeliness.

A reviewer who considers their expertise insufficient to assess a manuscript, or who lacks time to complete the review promptly, must inform the editor and decline the assignment.

Confidentiality.

All manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents and must not be discussed with others without the editor's prior permission.

Standards of objectivity.

Reviewers must provide an objective assessment. Personal criticism of authors is unacceptable. Opinions must be expressed clearly and supported by reasons.

Acknowledgement of sources.

Reviewers should identify material used in a manuscript that is not acknowledged in its bibliography. Observations, conclusions or arguments drawn from other publications must be cited. Reviewers must also inform the editor of similarities between the submission and any other published work known to them.

Disclosure policy and conflicts of interest.

Unpublished data in a submission must not be disclosed or used in a reviewer's research without the author's written consent. Reviewers must decline an assignment where competition, collaboration or other relationships with the authors or associated organisations create a conflict of interest.

Duties of authors

Manuscript standards. Authors reporting original research must present reliable results and an objective account of their significance. Work must include accurate data and sufficient detail and references to permit replication. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements are unethical and unacceptable. Manuscripts must be objective and contain verified information.

Data access and retention.

Authors may be asked to supply their research data for editorial assessment. They should be prepared to provide public access where practicable and, in all cases, to retain the data for at least ten years after publication while preserving confidentiality.

Originality and plagiarism.

Authors must ensure that their submissions are original. Use of others' work or statements must be appropriately cited. Plagiarism includes presenting another person's work as one's own, copying or paraphrasing substantial parts without acknowledgement, and claiming others' research findings. Plagiarism in any form is unethical and unacceptable.

Multiple, duplicate and simultaneous publication.

Submitting the same manuscript as an original publication to more than one journal at the same time is unethical and prohibited. Authors should not submit an already published article to another journal. Authors retain their rights in the material when submitting it for consideration.

Acknowledgement of sources.

The work of other researchers must always be acknowledged. Authors must cite publications that influenced their submission. Privately obtained information must not be included without written permission from its source.

Authorship.

Authorship is limited to people who made a substantial contribution to the design, execution or interpretation of the research. All such contributors must be listed as co-authors. The submitting author must ensure that all eligible contributors are included and that all co-authors approve the final manuscript. The work is published open access; copyright remains with the authors.

Disclosure and competing interests.

Authors must disclose financial or other significant conflicts that could be perceived as influencing the results. All funding sources must be identified. Disclosable interests include employment, consultancy, share ownership, fees, paid expert work, patents, grants and other financial support. Potential conflicts must also be disclosed.

Significant errors in published work.

Authors who discover a significant error or inaccuracy in published work must promptly notify the editor so that it can be corrected or retracted. If a third party informs the editor of a significant error, authors must promptly retract or correct the work, or provide the editor-in-chief with evidence that it is accurate.

Detection of plagiarism.

The editorial office undertakes to support the scholarly community in all aspects of implementing publication ethics policies.