Publishing Ethics of the Journal

• Procedures for handling complaints concerning breaches of academic integrity and publication ethics
• Procedures for retracting published articles
• Policy on the use of artificial intelligence and AI-assisted technologies
• Publication ethics and editorial policies consistent with COPE recommendations
• Adherence to the principles and guidelines of COPE, WAME, DORA, and related organizations
• Archiving and long-term preservation policy ensuring permanent open access to published content
• Ethical requirements for research involving human participants, animals, biological materials, personal data, or confidential information

Procedure for Handling Complaints Concerning Academic Integrity and Publication Ethics

The Journal follows the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) when investigating alleged breaches of publication ethics. The review process is guided by the principles of timeliness, impartiality, confidentiality, and proper documentation.

The Editorial Office accepts complaints from authors, reviewers, readers, institutions, and other stakeholders.

Types of Ethical Violations

The following types of misconduct may be subject to investigation:

• Plagiarism (full or partial);
• Self-plagiarism and duplicate publication;
• Fabrication or falsification of research data;
• Inappropriate attribution of authorship;
• Undisclosed conflicts of interest;
• Violations of the peer-review process;
• Violations of human rights, animal welfare, or research ethics requirements.

Submission of Complaints

Complaints should be submitted in writing to:

E-mail: [email protected]

The complaint should include:

• A detailed description of the alleged violation;
• A reference to the published article or manuscript concerned;
• Supporting evidence, where available;
• Contact information of the complainant.

Investigation Procedure

1. Preliminary assessment by the Editor-in-Chief (within 7 working days);
2. If necessary, establishment of an expert committee consisting of 3–5 members of the Editorial Board;
3. Request for an explanation from the author(s) (response period: 10 days);
4. Additional expert evaluation, where required;
5. Final decision by the Editorial Board (within 30 working days from the date of complaint submission).

Possible Outcomes

Following the investigation, the Editorial Board may decide to:

• Dismiss the complaint as unfounded;
• Require corrections to the published work;
• Publish an erratum or corrigendum;
• Retract the article.

Confidentiality

All parties involved in the investigation process are required to maintain strict confidentiality until a final decision has been reached. Information related to the complaint will be disclosed only to individuals directly involved in the investigation and decision-making process.

Retraction Policy for Published Articles

The Journal follows the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) regarding the retraction of published articles.

Grounds for Retraction

An article may be retracted in the following cases:

• Discovery of serious errors or inaccuracies that affect the validity of the study's conclusions;
• Plagiarism or duplicate publication;
• Fabrication or falsification of research data;
• Violations of research ethics;
• Improper attribution of authorship;
• Other serious breaches of publication ethics.

Parties Authorized to Initiate Retraction

A retraction may be initiated by:

• The author(s) of the article;
• The Editorial Board;
• The institution with which the author is affiliated;
• A third party, provided that sufficient evidence is submitted.

Retraction Procedure

1. Identification of the issue and preliminary assessment;
2. Investigation of the case, including the establishment of an expert committee and requests for explanations where necessary;
3. Provision of an opportunity for the author(s) to respond (within 10–15 days);
4. Decision-making by the Editorial Board;
5. Publication of a retraction notice.

Content of the Retraction Notice

The retraction notice shall include:

• The title and DOI of the retracted article;
• The names of all authors;
• The publication date of the article;
• The reason(s) for retraction;
• The party initiating the retraction;
• The date of retraction.

Technical Implementation

• The retracted article remains accessible in the Journal archive and is clearly marked as “RETRACTED” in both PDF and HTML versions;
• The DOI remains active and redirects readers to the retraction notice;
• Information about the retraction is communicated to all databases and indexing services that include the Journal;
• A link to the retraction notice is added to the archived version of the article.

Timeline

The entire retraction process should not exceed 60 days from the date on which the issue was identified.

Policy on the Use of Artificial Intelligence and AI-Assisted Technologies

The Journal recognizes that artificial intelligence (AI) tools can be useful in scientific research and scholarly publishing. However, their use must be responsible, transparent, and consistent with the principles of academic integrity and research ethics.

Acceptable Uses of AI

The use of AI-assisted tools is permitted for the following purposes:

• Grammar correction and language editing;
• Translation of individual text passages;
• Literature search and organization of references;
• Supporting calculations and data analysis;
• Data visualization.

Unacceptable Uses of AI

The following uses of AI are not permitted:

• Generating all or substantial portions of a manuscript without a significant intellectual contribution from the author(s);
• Generating research data, experimental results, or scientific findings;
• Creating images that are presented as original experimental or observational results;
• Generating reference lists without verifying the existence, accuracy, and relevance of the cited sources.

Disclosure Requirements

1. Authors must disclose all AI tools used during the preparation of the manuscript in the Methods section or another appropriate section of the paper.
2. Authors must clearly describe the specific purpose and extent of the AI-assisted contribution.
3. Authors bear full responsibility for the content of their manuscript, regardless of whether AI tools were used.
4. Artificial intelligence systems, chatbots, or AI-assisted tools may not be listed as authors or co-authors of a manuscript.

Example of Disclosure

"The Grammarly software was used to improve the readability and linguistic quality of the manuscript. All scientific ideas, research methodology, data analysis, and interpretation of results were developed and performed by the authors."

Verification

The Editorial Office reserves the right to use appropriate software and other methods to identify AI-generated content. Where necessary, authors may be asked to provide additional information or clarification regarding the use of AI-assisted technologies during manuscript preparation.

 

Publication Ethics and Editorial Policy in Accordance with COPE Recommendations

The Editorial Board of the Ukrainian Journal of Information Technology, published by Lviv Polytechnic National University, adheres to the ethical principles and best practices established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) when evaluating and processing submitted manuscripts.

Responsibilities of Authors

Originality and Plagiarism

• Authors must ensure that submitted manuscripts are original works.
• Submission of previously published materials is prohibited.
• All sources used in the manuscript must be properly cited and referenced.
• Self-citation should be justified, relevant, and proportionate.

Authorship

• Authorship should be limited to individuals who have made a substantial contribution to the research.
• All co-authors must approve the final version of the manuscript before submission.
• Gift, honorary, or guest authorship is prohibited.
• Changes to authorship after submission are permitted only with the consent of all co-authors.

Conflict of Interest

• Authors must disclose all actual or potential conflicts of interest.
• Sources of financial support must be clearly identified.
• Any commercial, financial, or personal interests that could influence the interpretation of the results must be disclosed.

Research Ethics

• Research involving human participants must receive approval from an appropriate ethics committee or institutional review board.
• Informed consent must be obtained from participants where applicable.
• Research involving animals must comply with internationally recognized ethical standards.
• Personal data must be processed and protected in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and applicable legislation of Ukraine.

Responsibilities of Reviewers

Objectivity

• Reviews must be objective, constructive, and respectful.
• Personal criticism of authors is unacceptable.
• Manuscripts must be evaluated solely on the basis of scientific merit and scholarly quality.

Confidentiality

• Manuscripts under review are confidential documents.
• Reviewers must not discuss the manuscript with third parties without authorization from the Editorial Office.
• Information or ideas obtained through peer review must not be used for personal advantage prior to publication.

Conflict of Interest

• Reviewers must promptly disclose any conflict of interest that may affect their impartiality.
• Suspected plagiarism, duplicate publication, or other ethical concerns should be reported to the Editorial Office.

Timeliness

• Reviewers are expected to complete reviews within the agreed timeframe or promptly inform the Editorial Office if they are unable to do so.

Responsibilities of the Editorial Board

Fairness and Editorial Independence

• Editorial decisions are based exclusively on the scientific quality, originality, significance, and relevance of the manuscript.
• All submissions are evaluated without regard to the authors' gender, nationality, institutional affiliation, ethnic background, religious beliefs, or political views.

Confidentiality

• Information regarding submitted manuscripts is accessible only to authorized editorial staff and reviewers.
• Personal data provided by authors are protected and processed in accordance with applicable privacy regulations.

Prevention of Conflicts of Interest

• Members of the Editorial Board must not participate in editorial decisions concerning manuscripts for which a conflict of interest exists.
• Manuscripts submitted by Editorial Board members are subject to enhanced independent peer review procedures.

Corrections and Retractions

• The Editorial Board is committed to publishing corrections whenever significant errors are identified.
• In cases of serious ethical violations, articles may be retracted in accordance with COPE guidelines and the Journal's Retraction Policy.

Prohibition of Predatory Publishing Practices

The Journal strictly rejects all forms of predatory publishing practices, including:

• Guaranteeing publication in exchange for payment;
• Providing manuscript-writing services;
• Selling authorship or co-authorship positions;
• Artificially inflating citation metrics through coercive or inappropriate citation practices.

 

Compliance with the Principles and Recommendations of COPE, WAME, DORA, and Other International Standards

The Ukrainian Journal of Information Technology adheres to internationally recognized standards of publication ethics and follows the recommendations and best practices developed by leading international organizations.

COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics)

The Journal supports the principles of COPE and follows its recommendations regarding:

• Publication ethics for editors, authors, and reviewers;
• Procedures for handling cases of publication misconduct;
• Retraction and correction policies;
• Prevention of plagiarism and academic misconduct.

The Journal follows, among others, the following COPE documents:

• COPE Core Practices;
• Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers;
• Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing;
• COPE Flowcharts for Handling Publication Misconduct.

Reference: https://publicationethics.org/

WAME (World Association of Medical Editors)

The Journal applies relevant WAME recommendations concerning:

• Authorship ethics;
• Disclosure and management of conflicts of interest;
• Protection of personal data of research participants (where applicable, particularly in biomedical and interdisciplinary research);
• Transparency regarding research funding.

Reference: https://wame.org/

DORA (San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment)

The Journal supports the principles of DORA regarding research assessment and scholarly evaluation:

• The Journal does not use journal impact factors as the sole criterion for evaluating the quality of submitted manuscripts;
• Articles are assessed on the basis of their scientific merit, originality, and contribution rather than the prestige of the publication venue;
• The Journal does not promote practices that artificially manipulate citation metrics;
• Authors are encouraged to report and document a broad range of scholarly contributions and research outputs.

Reference: https://sfdora.org/

Other Principles and Standards

ICMJE (International Committee of Medical Journal Editors)

The Journal follows relevant ICMJE recommendations regarding:

• Authorship criteria and responsibilities;
• Standards for the registration of clinical trials, where applicable.

Transparency and Openness Promotion (TOP) Guidelines

The Journal encourages:

• Openness of research data;
• Openness of research materials;
• Transparency of analytical methods;
• Preregistration of studies where appropriate.

FAIR Data Principles

The Journal supports the FAIR principles for research data management:

• Findable;
• Accessible;
• Interoperable;
• Reusable.

Authors are encouraged to deposit research data in trusted open repositories and, where available, provide dataset DOI identifiers within their manuscripts.

Transparency Statement

The Journal is committed to maintaining the highest standards of transparency throughout all stages of the publishing process and regularly reviews its policies in accordance with updated international recommendations and best practices.

 

Archiving and Long-Term Preservation Policy

The Journal ensures long-term preservation of its scholarly content and continuous access to published materials regardless of technological changes or potential discontinuation of the Journal's activities.

All published articles are made available in open access on a permanent basis through the electronic repositories of the Scientific and Technical Library of Lviv Polytechnic National University and the V. I. Vernadskyi National Library of Ukraine.

Self-Archiving Policy

Authors retain the unrestricted right to deposit any version of their manuscript in repositories and academic networking platforms, including but not limited to:

• Institutional repositories of universities and research institutions;
• arXiv.org;
• ResearchGate;
• Academia.edu;
• Zenodo;
• OSF (Open Science Framework).

Policy on Mandatory Ethical Approval for Research Involving Humans, Animals, Biological Materials, Personal Data, or Confidential Information

Scope of the Policy

The Journal considers manuscripts for publication only if they comply with applicable ethical standards and the legislation of Ukraine when the research:

• involves human participants (patients, healthy volunteers, survey respondents) and/or uses human biological materials;
• involves animals and/or uses animal biological materials;
• includes the processing of personal data or confidential information.

Mandatory Requirements for Publication

Authors must ensure that, prior to the commencement of the research:

• approval from an ethics committee (institutional or local) or another appropriate authorization was obtained where required;
• informed consent was obtained from participants (or their legal representatives) whenever applicable;
• confidentiality, anonymization, and lawful data processing procedures were ensured;
• for animal studies, requirements regarding humane treatment and minimization of suffering were followed.

Requirements for the “Ethics Statement” Section

All manuscripts subject to this policy must contain a separate subsection entitled “Ethics Statement” providing the information specified below.

1. Research Involving Human Participants and/or Human Biological Materials

The manuscript must include:

• the name of the ethics committee or institution that granted approval;
• the protocol/approval number and date;
• a statement confirming that informed consent was obtained, or a justified waiver approved by the ethics committee;
• confirmation that confidentiality and anonymity requirements were respected, particularly in relation to medical information.

2. Clinical Trials of Medicinal Products

The manuscript must include:

• confirmation that the study was conducted in accordance with the requirements of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, including approval by an ethics committee where applicable;
• details of the relevant approvals and authorizations.

3. Research Involving Animals and/or Animal Biological Materials

The manuscript must include:

• the name of the ethics committee or competent authority that granted approval;
• the approval number and date;
• a brief description of measures taken to minimize pain and suffering, including adherence to the principles of the 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction, Refinement) and, where applicable, humane endpoints.

4. Personal Data and Confidential Information

The manuscript must include:

• the status of the data (personal, pseudonymized, or anonymized);
• the legal basis for data processing;
• a description of basic access-control and data-protection measures;
• confirmation of compliance with the Law of Ukraine “On Personal Data Protection” and applicable requirements governing confidential information.

Documents That May Be Requested by the Editorial Office

The Editorial Office reserves the right to request:

• a copy of the ethics committee approval or protocol;
• a sample informed consent form and/or participant information sheet;
• documentary evidence confirming lawful access to data or biological materials (e.g., agreements, permits, approvals, or official decisions).

Editorial Actions in Cases of Non-Compliance

• Failure to provide appropriate ethical or legal documentation may result in the manuscript being returned for revision or rejected.

If ethical violations are identified after publication, the Journal may apply correction or retraction procedures in accordance with its publication ethics and integrity policies.