Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

«Вісник морфології / Reports of Morphology» believes that the ethical aspects of publication are an important part of editorial work and review process. The Editorial Board, the editorial staff and the «Scientific Society of Anatomists, Histologists, Embryologists, and Topographic Anatomists of Ukraine», as the founder of the journal, support a policy aimed at adhering to the principles of publishing ethics and recognize that tracking the adherence to the principles of publishing (editorial) ethics is one of the main component reviews and publications. The prevention of inappropriate actions, such as plagiarism, is the responsibility of any author, editor, reviewer, publisher involved in the publication process.

The editorial office of the Journal «Вісник морфології / Reports of Morphology» makes every effort to comply with the ethical standards adopted by the international scientific community and to prevent any violations of these norms.

The editorship is based on the recommendations of the Committee of Publication Ethics, Code of Conduct and Best Practices for Journal and Code of Conduct for Journal Publishers, to ensure the ethics and quality of the publication, and take into account the valuable experience of reputable international journals and publishing houses.

Journal’s policy on ethical oversight

We focus on the СОРE definition, of Ethical oversight, namely “Ethical oversight should include, but is not limited to, policies on consent to publication, publication on vulnerable populations, ethical conduct of research using animals, ethical conduct of research using human subjects, handling confidential data and of business/marketing practices”. Based on this definition, the editorial staff of the journals works under the issue of observing the ethical principles. The journals will be bound to consider the appeals from the Ethics and Oversight Committee for professional and scientific activity concerning the non-observance of the ethical principles by our authors. We are also ready to consider other appeals in case they are not anonymous and substantiated.

Process for Identification of and Dealing with Allegations of Research Misconduct

Publisher (Vinnytsia National Pyrogov Memorial Medical University) and the Chairman of the editorial board of the journal will take reasonable steps which include technological and personal knowledge available to identify and prevent the publication of papers where research misconduct has occurred, including plagiarism, citation manipulation and data falsification/fabrication among others.

 «Вісник морфології / Reports of Morphology» follows COPE's guidelines  in dealing with allegations.

Obligations of the Editorial Board and the Editorial Board

Publication decisions

The editorial board decides on the publication of the submitted works. The editorial board is governed by the policy of the magazine and the legal requirements relating to defamation, copyright infringement and plagiarism. Members of the editorial board make decisions based on the recommendations of the reviewers and refer to these decisions.

The editor, members of the editorial board or reviewer must evaluate the manuscripts on their intellectual content, regardless of race, gender, political views, sexual orientation, ethnic origin, nationality, or religious beliefs of the authors.

The editorial board should not use unpublished information in its own research without the written consent of the author. The editorial board must take reasonable, appropriate measures if ethical complaints were filed against the submitted manuscript or published document.

Confidentiality

Editorship and editorial board guarantee confidentiality, that is, they are obliged not to disclose any information about the given manuscript (authors, topic, text, etc.) to anyone other than the respective authors, reviewers, other editorial consultants and the publisher, if necessary.

Disclosure and conflict of interest

Unpublished materials disclosed in the submitted work should not be used in any study by the editor, members of the editorial board, reviewers or any other informed person without the written consent of the authors. Privileged information or arguments obtained through an expert review must be kept confidential and not used to obtain personal or third party benefits. The editor and any member of the editorial board should be free from the duties of reviewing manuscripts in the event of any conflicts of interest arising as a result of joint, competitive or other ties or relationships with any of the authors, companies or institutions that are relevant to manuscripts. Editor-in-chief, the editorial board should require all journal authors to provide information about relevant competing interests and publish corrections if a conflict of interest has been disclosed after publication. If necessary, another action may be performed, such as the publication of a refutation or an expression of concern.

Ensuring integrity: engaging and collaborating

«Вісник морфології / Reports of Morphology» will respond to all claims or doubts as to the unjustified results of research or publications raised by readers, reviewers and other individuals. If there is concern, doubts about the behavior of the authors or the validity of the work provided, the editorial board, with the participation of the relevant experts, will, where appropriate, evaluate the cases of possible plagiarism or duplicate/redundant publications. The editor will also ask the author(s) to answer the questions that arose. The magazine may request an investigation by the institution or other relevant authorities if the authors' response is unsatisfactory.

In cases where the concern is very serious and the published work is likely to affect scientific knowledge or practical application, the «Вісник морфології / Reports of Morphology» may consider informing the readers about these problems, publishing "expression of concern" and then publish them explanations and conclusions of the investigation. The Journal «Вісник морфології / Reports of Morphology» may decide to refuse publication if the editorial board is convinced that there has been a serious violation.

Appeals and Complaints

The complaint is considered by the editor-in-chief, deputy heads of the editorial board, the responsible editor and/or the editor who processed the article. Complaints are submitted to the e-mail addresses indicated in the section Contact data. When writing a complaint, a person must clearly indicate what kind of complaint it is (for example, the refusal to publish an article, the duration of the publication process, review of the article, bias or behavior of the reviewer, etc.).

The complainant is notified of the decision made with an explanation, if necessary. Decisions on appeals are final and new submissions take priority over appeals.

As a result of consideration of the complaint, one of the following decisions may be made:

- to satisfy the complaint

- to reject the complaint

If the complainant remains dissatisfied with the consideration of his complaint, he or she may file a complaint with the Ethics Committee of National Pirogov Memorial Medical University, Vinnytsya (e-mail: khimich@vnmu.edu.ua).

Responsibilities of reviewers

Contribution to editorial decisions

Reviewing is the obligatory link in the adoption of editorial decisions on the publication of the work received and, if necessary, in improving the article through editorial communications to the author.

Efficiency

If the selected reviewer is not sure that his qualification corresponds to the level of research presented in the manuscript, he must immediately return the manuscript.

Confidentiality

Any manuscripts and supplementary materials received for consideration should be treated as confidential documents. They cannot be demonstrated and discussed with third parties, except in cases permitted by the editor.

Standards of objectivity

Reviews should be conducted objectively. Personal criticism by the author of the reviewer is inadmissible. The reviewer should express his point of view clearly and reasonably.

Recognition of sources

If no links have been made to any published work by the authors, the reviewer should mention this fact. Any statement, any data, conclusion or argument already covered in the scientific press must be accompanied by a relevant reference. The reviewer should also draw the attention of the editor-in-chief in the event of any significant similarity or partial coincidence between the manuscript under consideration and any other work published by him personally known to him.

Disclosure and conflict of interest

Privileged information or arguments obtained through an expert review must be kept confidential and not used to obtain personal or third party benefits. Unpublished information disclosed in this article should not be used in any of its own work by the reviewer without the written permission of the author. Reviewers should be free from the obligation to review manuscripts in the event of any conflicts of interest arising as a result of joint, competitive or other ties or relationships with any of the authors, companies or institutions related to the manuscripts.

Improper behavior reviewers

The editors are serious about the behavior of reviewers and investigate any cases of established violation of confidentiality, distrust of conflict of interests (both financial and non-financial), violation of the use of confidential material or delays expert review in order to obtain a competitive advantage.

Responsibilities of the authors

Reporting Standards

The authors of the original study must accurately assess the work done, the objectivity of the discussion and its significance. Basic data must be accurately reflected in the work. The document should contain enough details and links to allow others, if necessary, to repeat the work. Fraudulent or deliberately inaccurate statements, statements are inadmissible.

Access to data and data storage

Authors should, if necessary, provide raw data from their research, the results of which are set forth in the article submitted for editorial review, and be prepared to provide the public with access to such data. The authors must, in any case, keep such data within one year of publication.

Originality and Plagiarism

The authors of the article should ensure that they have written absolutely original work, and in case of use of work and/or statements of other authors, appropriately mention this reference or indicate such fact in the text. The authors of the publication must comply with the relevant copyright laws. The materials used by the author of other researchers (tables, figures, etc.) should be reproduced only with their respective permission and confirmation.

Repeated, backup or simultaneous publications

The author does not have the right to submit an article that has already been published in another journal. The presentation of the same manuscript in more than one journal is at the same time an unethical behavior during publication and is unacceptable.

Confirmation of sources

Authors submit for consideration only entirely original works. The work of other researchers must be duly recognized. Authors should provide links to publications that have influenced the content submitted for consideration before publication of the work.

Authorship of the manuscript

Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the design, execution, design or interpretation of this study. Anyone who has made such a contribution should be registered as co-authors. Other persons who participated in certain key aspects of the research project should be named in the Thanksgiving section.

The author must make sure that all co-authors have approved the final version of the article and get agreement on the submission of the work for publication.

Dangers

If the work involves the use of procedures or equipment, physical, chemical, or other factors that are in danger when using them, the author must clearly indicate them in the manuscript.

Disclosure and conflicts of interest

The authors must disclose in the manuscripts any financial or other conflict of interest that can be interpreted as having an effect on the results or interpretation of their manuscript. All sources of financial support for the project should be disclosed.

Report the main mistakes in published works

If the author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in his own published work, he must immediately notify the editor of the magazine and collaborate with the editor to reject or correct the article.

If the editor-in-chief, the editorial board receives information from a third party that the published work contains a significant error or inaccuracy, the author's responsibility is to promptly refute this fact, or to correct the article, or to provide the editor-in-chief with proof of the correctness of the published work.

Disclaimer

Editors, the editorial board are not responsible for the opinions expressed by the authors, views and contents of the published manuscripts in the journal. Originality, proofreading of manuscripts and errors are the sole responsibility of individual authors.

All manuscripts submitted for review and publication in the journal «Вісник морфології / Reports of Morphology» are subjected to double-blind reviews of authenticity, ethical issues and useful contributions. Reviewers' decisions are the only tool for publication in the magazine and will be final.