The journal must adhere to the ethical standards set by COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics): transparency in the submission, review and publication of articles; impartiality and independence of editors and reviewers; academic integrity – avoidance of plagiarism, falsification, duplicate publication; correct authorship – clear definition of the contribution of each author; handling complaints – open and clear procedures for considering appeals and complaints regarding ethics; retraction and correction of articles – clear procedures for retraction, corrections and error notifications.
The recommendations of WAME (World Association of Medical Editors, principles for editors of all sciences) can be applied in a broader context: editorial independence – editors' decisions are made without pressure from sponsors, institutions or commercial interests; conflicts of interest – all authors, reviewers and editors are required to declare them; peer review – ensuring objective, fair and timely expert evaluation; transparency of funding – disclosure of information about grants, sponsors and sources of research funding; support for young scientists – promoting publications by researchers at the early stages of their careers.
The journal should uphold the principles of fair assessment of scientific activity set out in the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA): not to limit itself to bibliometric indicators (impact factor, h-index), but to evaluate research based on its quality, novelty and contribution to science; value different types of research results – software, data, algorithms, technical solutions, not just articles; recognise interdisciplinary research as equivalent to classical publications; encourage open science – publication of preprints, open access to data and codes.
The editorial board takes into account other contemporary principles (Open Science, Plan S, FAIR Data):
Open Access – promoting open access to scientific results.
FAIR principles for data (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) – ensuring the findability, accessibility, interoperability, and reusability of data.
Plan S – supporting a policy of publishing in open journals and archives.
Ethical use of AI – adherence to transparency and accountability when using artificial intelligence in research.