Compliance with the principles and recommendations of COPE, WAME, DORA

The Editorial Board of the journal “Visnyk of Kherson National Technical University” adheres to internationally recognized principles and recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME), the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), as well as the principles of Open Science, including FAIR and other modern initiatives.

1. Academic Integrity and Publication Ethics (COPE)

The journal upholds high standards of publication ethics and does not tolerate any forms of academic misconduct. Submitted manuscripts must be original, unpublished, and not under consideration elsewhere. Duplicate submission of the same or substantially similar materials, regardless of the form of reproduction, is strictly prohibited.

Any attempts to manipulate citations in order to artificially increase citation metrics are considered unethical and are addressed in the author guidelines. Likewise, data falsification, fabrication, or manipulation of visual materials is unacceptable.

In cases where signs of misconduct are detected, the editorial board conducts an investigation in accordance with established international procedures. Authors are given the opportunity to provide explanations, after which editorial actions may be taken—from manuscript rejection to correction or retraction of already published materials.

The journal ensures:

  • transparent submission, peer review, and publication procedures;
  • regulated use of artificial intelligence tools;
  • clear authorship criteria with specification of each author’s contribution;
  • mechanisms for handling complaints and ethical issues;
  • a procedure for the retraction of published articles.

2. Editorial Policy and Independence (WAME)

Editorial decisions are made independently of any third-party influence—financial, institutional, or commercial. All participants in the publication process (authors, reviewers, editors) are required to disclose potential conflicts of interest.

The peer review process is conducted in accordance with the principles of objectivity, impartiality, and confidentiality (including double-blind peer review). Disclosure of research funding sources is required.

The journal supports early-career researchers by encouraging their involvement in scholarly publishing.

3. Principles of Research Assessment (DORA)

The editorial board does not use journal-based metrics (including the impact factor) as a determining criterion for evaluating the quality of research. Publication decisions are based on the content of the research, its scientific novelty, methodological rigor, and the significance of the results.

Evaluation is carried out regardless of the authors’ institutional affiliation, status, or sources of funding. The journal welcomes various types of research outputs, including data, software, methodologies, replication and interdisciplinary studies, as well as results with negative findings.

The journal supports the principles of Open Science by encouraging the dissemination of preprints and providing open access to research results and accompanying materials.

4. Authorship and Research Ethics Requirements (ICMJE)

Authorship is recognized only in cases of substantial contribution to the conception, execution, or interpretation of the research. All authors share responsibility for the content of the publication.

Research must be conducted in accordance with ethical standards, including proper data handling and, where applicable, compliance with standards for research involving humans or animals.

5. Data Openness and FAIR Principles

The journal supports the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable), aimed at ensuring the accessibility and reusability of research data.

Authors are required to:

  • provide complete and accurate metadata;
  • deposit data in appropriate repositories with persistent identifiers;
  • ensure open access to data or clearly describe access conditions;
  • use standardized data and metadata formats;
  • provide sufficient methodological and contextual information to enable reproducibility;
  • define conditions for data reuse through appropriate licensing.

In cases of restricted access (due to ethical or legal reasons), authors must provide a justified explanation.

6. Open Science

The editorial board supports an open access policy for research results and promotes the development of Open Science practices, including FAIR and Plan S initiatives. Transparency of research, reproducibility of results, and accessibility of supporting materials are strongly encouraged.