Complaints Procedure for Breaches
1. General Provisions
This Policy defines the principles and procedure for submitting, reviewing, and resolving complaints related to possible violations of ethical standards in the activities of the scientific periodical publications.
The Policy is based on international standards of publication ethics, in particular the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), as well as the principles of academic integrity, impartiality, confidentiality, and transparency.
This Policy applies to authors, peer reviewers, members of the editorial board, editors, and other persons involved in the preparation, review, and publication of materials in the Publication.
2. Subject Matter of Complaints
Complaints may concern actions or omissions that contravene the ethical standards of scientific publications. Such violations include, in particular, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, fabrication or falsification of data, unlawful determination of authorship or concealment of co-authors’ contributions, undisclosed conflicts of interest, biased or unethical peer review, violations of confidentiality principles, as well as the use of discriminatory, offensive, or other unethical language in publications or editorial communications. Complaints may also concern any other actions that do not comply with the generally recognized standards of publication ethics.
3. Submission of a Complaint
A complaint is submitted in written form, by electronic or postal correspondence, to the official address of the Publication’s editorial office.
The complaint must include the name and contact details of the complainant. Anonymous submissions are not subject to review and are not registered as complaints, except for reports of corruption, which are handled in accordance with the Law of Ukraine “On Citizens’ Appeals” (Article 8). Anonymous reports may only be brought to the attention of the editor-in-chief and the editorial board.
The editorial office confirms receipt of the complaint within a specified period, no later than 10 working days from the date of receipt.
4. Complaint Review Procedure
The initial review of the complaint is carried out by the editor-in-chief or a person authorized by them, in order to verify its applicability under this Policy and to conduct a preliminary assessment of the validity of the claims made.
If necessary, an ethics committee may be established for a more detailed review, or the complaint may be referred to the editorial board. Persons against whom a complaint has been filed have the right to provide written explanations and additional materials.
The complaint is reviewed impartially, ensuring equality of the parties and adherence to the principle of confidentiality. If necessary, the editorial office may engage independent experts or use specialized tools, including text plagiarism detection systems.
5. Decisions and Measures Following the Review
Following the review of the complaint, the editorial office makes a decision commensurate with the nature and severity of the identified violation. Depending on the circumstances, the complaint may be deemed unfounded and closed without further action, or the editorial office may require additional explanations, corrections, or a public apology.
If violations are confirmed, the editorial office may publish a correction or retraction, or decide to retract the publication, as well as restrict or terminate cooperation with persons who have committed violations of ethical standards.
The complainant and other involved parties are informed of the decision taken.
6. Right of Appeal
In the event of a complaint or the identification of possible violations of this Policy, the author(s) of the scientific article have the right to submit an appeal.
The appeal is submitted to the journal’s editorial office in written form within the period established by the editorial office and must contain a clear and reasoned statement of the authors’ position and, where necessary, supporting materials or explanations regarding the use of artificial intelligence tools.
The journal’s editorial office undertakes to ensure an impartial and objective review of the appeal in compliance with the principles of confidentiality, equality of the parties, academic integrity, and ethical standards of publishing. The appeal is reviewed by an editor or members of the editorial board who were not directly involved in the initial review of the complaint, and where possible, with the involvement of independent experts.
Until the completion of the appeal review procedure, final editorial decisions regarding the manuscript or already published article shall not be applied, except in cases where further dissemination of the material may cause substantial harm to the academic community, violate legal requirements, or contravene the principles of research ethics.
The decision made following the review of the appeal is final, is formalized in writing, and is communicated to the authors in the manner established by the editorial office.
7. Confidentiality and Protection of Complainants
All information received during the review of a complaint is confidential and is used exclusively for the purpose of conducting an ethical investigation.
8. Final Provisions
This Policy enters into force upon its approval by the Academic Council of ONTU. It may be reviewed and updated in accordance with changes in international standards of publication ethics and the practice of the Publication’s activities.
By submitting a manuscript to the scientific periodical publication, authors automatically confirm that they have read this Policy and undertake to comply with its provisions.
Similarly, all participants in the editorial process – peer reviewers, members of the editorial board – confirm their familiarization with the Policy and their commitment to comply with its provisions.
References
- Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Core Practices.
- Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Guidelines on Good Publication Practice.
- Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Flowcharts and Ethical Guidelines for Editors and Publishers.
- The European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity. (Revised Edition, 2023).
- Law of Ukraine “On Education”.
- Law of Ukraine “On Higher Education”.
- Law of Ukraine “On Scientific and Scientific-Technical Activity”.
- Law of Ukraine “On Citizens’ Appeals”.
- Law of Ukraine “On Prevention of Corruption”.
- National Agency for Higher Education Quality Assurance (NAQA). Recommendations on Compliance with Academic Integrity Principles in Higher Education Institutions.
- COPE Council. Retraction Guidelines. – COPE, 2019.
- International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals (regarding general principles of publication ethics).