Declaration of the Moral and Ethical Principles of Publication
Decisions Regarding Publication
The editor-in-chief and the editorial board of the journal decide on which of the articles received for publication are actually published in the journal. The editor-in-chief may be guided by the principles set by the editorial board of the journal, and can be restricted by the currently prevailing laws on defamation, on copyright infringement and on plagiarism. To support him/her in his/her decision, an editor may request help from the other editors or from the reviewer. The editor of the journal may run a computer program to filter out plagiarisms.Equal Opportunities
The editor must at all times evaluate the intellectual content of the manuscripts without regard to the race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnicity, citizenship or political affiliations of the author.Confidentiality
The editor and the members of the editorial board may not disclose to any parties any information in relation to the manuscript submitted for publication. Exceptions to this rule include the author, the reviewers, the potential reviewers and other consultants to the editor and the publisher.Publication and Conflict of Interest
The editor may not use the unpublished materials of the submitted manuscript for his/her own research without the author’s written consent.THE DUTIES OF PEER REVIEWERS
1 Contribution to the Editor’s Decisions.
The reviewer should help the editor in making decisions where required, and support the author during the double-blind peer review to achieve academic standards in the article.
2 Efficiency
If in the selected reviewer’s opinion his/her professional background is insufficient for the evaluation of the research presented in the manuscript, or if he/she is aware that he/she is not in a position to complete the evaluation efficiently and by the deadline set, then he/she is obliged to notify the editor and cancel his/her participation in the review procedure.
3 Confidentiality
Every manuscript received for evaluation must be considered to be a confidential document. They may only be disclosed to the public or discussed with others with the editor’s consent.
4 Objectivity
Evaluation must be unbiased. Criticism of the author’s person is unbefitting. Reviewers must clearly formulate and support their opinions with arguments.
5 Citations and References
Reviewers must identify the relevant published works not quoted by the authors. Any statement that contains an observation, train of thought or argument from a previously published work must be accompanied by an appropriate citation. The reviewer must also call the editor’s attention to any essential similarities or overlaps between the reviewed manuscript and other materials known to him/her or published earlier.
6 Publication and Conflict of Interest
The privileged information or ideas obtained during the evaluation must be held in confidence and may not be used to promote one’s personal career. Reviewers may not evaluate the submitted manuscript if, due to any competition, cooperation or other factor, their interests are in conflict with those of the authors, companies or institutions related to the study.
THE DUTIES OF AUTHORS
7 Communication Guidelines
Authors presenting the outcome of original research must compile an accurate report of the work performed. Interpretations and conclusions may exclusively be based on unbiased and logical evidence. The data underlying the study must be presented accurately. A sufficient amount of detail and references must be given in the study to allow others to repeat the procedures described. False or consciously inaccurate statements are considered to be unethical and unacceptable conduct.
8 Originality and Plagiarism
Authors must guarantee that their studies are their own original intellectual property, or, if they have used others’ work and/or expressions, that they have properly quoted and appropriately referenced them.
9 Multiple, Redundant or Simultaneous Publication
The appearance of a manuscript describing the same research in several independent publications or journals is considered to be incorrect practice. The submission of the same manuscript to several journals at a time is considered to be unethical and unacceptable conduct.
10 Citations and References
Quoted works must in each case be given a proper citation. Authors must reference all the publications that have influenced their work.
11 The position of the Author of a Study
Every person who has made a substantial contribution to the concept, plan, implementation or interpretation of the presented study must be included as an author. Every person who has contributed to the study to a major extent must be indicated as a co-author. At the same time, every person who participated in specific relevant stages of the research project must be mentioned as a contributor. The correspondent author must guarantee that he/she has mentioned every significant co-author of the study, that no ineligible person has been named as a co-author, and that every co-author has initialled and approved the final version of the study and has consented to its publication.
12 Publication and Conflict of Interest
In his/her study every author is required to disclose the financial or other fundamental conflicts of interest that may influence its results or interpretation. All sources of financial support for the project must be published.
13 Fundamental errors in published works
If the author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in his/her published work, he/she must promptly notify the editor or publisher of the journal and must cooperate with the editor in the recall or correction of the study.
Our scientific journal’s application to join COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics, at http://publicationethics.org/) is currently in progress.