Publication ethics and standarts

The Publishing House of the Institute of Agriculture of the Carpathian Region of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine adheres to the highest ethical standards in scientific publishing and strives to ensure integrity, transparency, and accountability at all stages of the publication process.

This policy applies to all scientific publications of the Institute, including:

"Foothill and Mountain Agriculture and Stockbreeding"
ISSN: 0130-8521 (Print), 2786-5231 (Online)

"Agroscience and Practice"
ISSN 2786-6939

INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS AND STANDARDS

The Publishing House and journals of the Institute support the principles and recommendations of the following international organizations:

COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics)

The Publishing House adheres to:

  • Core Practices – fundamental practices of ethical publication
  • Flowcharts – algorithms for handling ethical cases (plagiarism, data fabrication, authorship conflicts, etc.)
  • Guidelines for Editors and Publishers – guidelines for editors and publishers

DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals)

The Publishing House adheres to:

  • Transparency principles
  • Open access standards
  • Quality requirements for open access publications

STM Association

The Publishing House adheres to:

  • Peer review standards
  • Best practices in scientific publishing

 

KEY INTERNATIONAL DOCUMENTS

The Publishing House is guided by the principles outlined in the following international declarations and codes:

Singapore Statement on Research Integrity (2010)
Singapore Statement on Research Integrity

Montreal Statement on Research Integrity in Cross-Boundary Research (2013)
Montreal Statement on Research Integrity in Cross-Boundary Research

European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity (2017)
European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity

Declaration of Helsinki (1964, revised 2013)
Declaration of Helsinki (for biomedical research involving human subjects)

The Farmington Consensus (1997)
Farmington Consensus (regarding experiments on animals)

ARRIVE Guidelines (Animal Research: Reporting of In Vivo Experiments)
Guidelines for reporting animal research

 

ETHICAL PRINCIPLES

FOR AUTHORS

Authors submitting manuscripts to the Publishing House journals are required to adhere to the following principles:

1. Originality of Research

  • Submitted works must contain original results that have not been published previously
  • Submitting manuscripts that are simultaneously under consideration by other journals is prohibited
  • Authors must avoid research fragmentation (salami slicing)
  • Self-plagiarism (reuse of one's own text without citation) is not permitted

2. Honesty in Reporting

  • Authors must accurately present the results of their research
  • Fabrication (inventing data) and falsification (manipulating data) are strictly prohibited
  • All results must be reported, including negative or unexpected findings
  • Methods, results, and conclusions must be presented clearly and accurately
  • Statistical methods must be applied correctly

3. Proper Citation

  • All sources that influenced the work must be properly cited
  • Authors must acknowledge the contributions of other researchers
  • Using others' ideas, methods, or texts without citation constitutes plagiarism
  • Excessive self-citation without necessity is discouraged

4. Authorship and Contribution

Authorship must meet ICMJE criteria. All authors must:

  • Make substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data
  • Participate in drafting the article or critically reviewing important intellectual content
  • Provide final approval of the version to be published
  • Agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work

Unacceptable practices:

  • Ghost authorship (concealing individuals who made substantial contributions)
  • Guest authorship (adding authors without real contribution)
  • Gift authorship (adding authors out of courtesy)

Author contributions: The article must clearly specify the roles of each author according to CRediT taxonomy (Conceptualization, Methodology, Investigation, Writing, etc.)

5. Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest

  • Authors must disclose all financial and non-financial conflicts of interest
  • Funding sources for the research must be specified
  • Conflicts of interest of reviewers must also be disclosed

6. Obtaining Necessary Approvals

Authors must obtain:

  • Ethics committee approval (for research on animals, humans, GMOs)
  • Land use permissions (for field research)
  • Consent for publication from research participants
  • Permissions to reproduce copyrighted materials

7. Data Availability

  • Authors must be prepared to provide raw data upon request by the editorial office
  • Depositing data in public repositories is encouraged
  • The article must include a Data Availability Statement

8. Reporting Errors

  • If authors discover a significant error in their published work, they must immediately notify the editorial office
  • The editorial office will publish a correction (Correction, Erratum) or, in cases of serious violations, retract the article (Retraction)

 

FOR REVIEWERS

Reviewers play a key role in ensuring publication quality. They are required to:

1. Objectivity

  • Provide unbiased, constructive, and substantiated reviews
  • Evaluate work solely based on its scientific merits
  • Avoid personal comments about authors
  • Clearly distinguish between substantial concerns and subjective opinions

2. Confidentiality

  • Manuscripts under review are confidential documents
  • Reviewers must not discuss the work with others without the editor's permission
  • Using information from manuscripts prior to publication is prohibited
  • After completing the review, manuscripts and supporting materials must be destroyed or returned

3. Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest

Reviewers must decline to review if there are:

  • Personal or professional connections with the authors
  • Financial interest in the research results
  • Competition in the same narrow field
  • Any other circumstances that may affect objectivity

4. Timeliness

  • Reviewers must provide reviews within established deadlines
  • If a reviewer cannot meet the deadline, they must immediately notify the editorial office
  • If a reviewer lacks competence or time for review, they must decline

5. Identifying Ethical Issues

Reviewers must notify the editorial office about:

  • Suspected plagiarism or self-plagiarism
  • Duplicate publications
  • Research ethics violations
  • Data fabrication or falsification
  • Insufficient disclosure of conflicts of interest

6. Quality Enhancement

  • Reviewers should help authors improve their manuscripts
  • Reviews should be constructive and courteous
  • Reviewers may recommend additional literature

 

FOR EDITORS

Editors bear primary responsibility for everything published in the Publishing House journals. They must:

1. Fairness and Impartiality

  • Make decisions based solely on the scientific quality of manuscripts
  • Prevent discrimination based on gender, nationality, religion, or institutional affiliation
  • Ensure equal opportunities for all authors
  • Consider all properly submitted manuscripts

2. Confidentiality

  • Maintain confidentiality of information about manuscripts, authors, and reviewers
  • Not disclose information about manuscripts to anyone except authors, reviewers, and the publisher
  • Ensure confidentiality of the peer review process

3. Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest

  • Editors must recuse themselves from handling manuscripts where a conflict of interest exists
  • Personal, financial, or professional connections with authors must be disclosed
  • In such cases, decisions are made by another editor

4. Responsibility for Published Materials

Editors are responsible for:

  • Ensuring publication quality
  • Maintaining ethical standards
  • Responding promptly to complaints and suspected violations
  • Publishing corrections, clarifications, and apologies when necessary
  • Retracting articles in cases of serious violations

5. Process Transparency

  • The editorial process must be transparent and understandable
  • Decision-making criteria must be clear
  • Review timelines must be adhered to
  • Authors have the right to appeal editorial decisions

6. Continuous Improvement

  • Editors must continuously raise journal standards
  • Implement best practices in scientific publishing
  • Respond to changes in the field and the needs of the scientific community

7. Combating Violations

Editors must act according to COPE Flowcharts in cases of:

  • Plagiarism and self-plagiarism
  • Data fabrication and falsification
  • Duplicate publications
  • Authorship conflicts
  • Data inconsistencies
  • Ethical violations

 

RESEARCH ETHICS

Research on Animals

All research involving animals must comply with:

  • EU Directive 2010/63/EU on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes
  • The 3Rs principles (Replacement, Reduction, Refinement):
    • Replacement – replacing animals with alternative methods where possible
    • Reduction – minimizing the number of animals used
    • Refinement – improving housing conditions and minimizing suffering
  • National legislation of Ukraine on animal protection
  • ARRIVE Guidelines (Animal Research: Reporting of In Vivo Experiments)

Authors must provide:

  • Ethics committee approval number from the institution
  • Description of adherence to animal housing and care standards
  • Methods for minimizing pain, suffering, and distress
  • Justification for the necessity of using animals
  • Number and species of animals with statistical justification of sample size

Field Research

For research on land not owned by the authors:

  • Written permission from the owner/user of the land plot is required
  • Compliance with environmental legislation and biosafety rules
  • Respect for local communities and traditional knowledge
  • Minimization of environmental impact
  • Compliance with biosafety rules when working with soil and plants

Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs)

Research on GMOs must comply with:

  • Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety
  • National legislation of Ukraine on biosafety and GMOs
  • Requirements for biological safety and control of GMO spread
  • International risk assessment standards

Authors must provide:

  • Approval from the relevant regulatory authority
  • Description of biosafety measures
  • Environmental risk assessment

Research Involving Humans

If research involves humans (sociological surveys, farmer questionnaires, etc.):

  • Informed consent from participants is required
  • Protection of personal data in accordance with GDPR and national legislation
  • Anonymization of data in publications
  • Participants have the right to refuse or withdraw consent at any time
  • Research must be approved by an ethics committee (where applicable)

Environmental Responsibility

Authors must:

  • Minimize negative impact of research on the environment
  • Comply with nature conservation legislation
  • Obtain permits for collecting samples of rare or protected species
  • Report any environmental risks associated with the research

 

PROCEDURES FOR HANDLING ETHICAL VIOLATIONS

Suspected Violations

If the editorial office, reviewers, or readers suspect ethical violations, the editorial office:

  1. Investigates each case according to COPE procedures
  2. Consults COPE Flowcharts to determine appropriate actions
  3. Contacts authors for clarification
  4. Consults with the institution where authors work, if necessary
  5. Makes a decision based on collected evidence

Possible Editorial Actions

Depending on the severity of the violation, the editorial office may:

  • Reject the manuscript before publication
  • Publish a correction (Correction, Erratum) for minor errors
  • Retract the article (Retraction) for serious violations
  • Publish an Expression of Concern when there are suspicions requiring investigation
  • Ban authors from submitting manuscripts for a certain period
  • Notify the authors' institution about the violation
  • Notify other journals where authors may have committed similar violations

 

CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

The editorial boards of the Publishing House journals:

  • Regularly review and update ethical policies
  • Monitor the development of international standards
  • Conduct training for editors and reviewers
  • Encourage open dialogue on ethical issues
  • Collaborate with the international scientific community to raise standards

 

CONTACT

For questions regarding publication ethics, please contact:

Address:
Institute of Agriculture of the Carpathian Region NAAS
5 Hrushevsky Street, Obroshyne village, Lviv district
Lviv region, Ukraine

 

Last updated: October 2025

 

This policy is based on the recommendations of COPE, ICMJE, WAME, DOAJ, and other recognized international organizations. The Publishing House of the Institute of Agriculture of the Carpathian Region NAAS is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and research integrity in all its publications.