PUBLISHING ETHICS

ETHICS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY IN KATOWICE PRESS

The University of Technology in Katowice Press follows the standards of ethical proceedings during all stages of the publishing process in compliance with the guidelines of the COPE Committee on Publication Ethics.

PUBLISHING PROCEDURES DEVELOPED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PRINCIPLES OF PUBLISHING ETHICS IN ORDER TO COUNTERACT DISHONEST PUBLISHING PRACTICES (IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE GUIDELINES OF THE COMMITTEE ON pUBLICATION ETHICS – COPE):

Publishing scientific texts is connected with the systematic, comprehensive, and ethical activities of all those involved in the publishing process.

1. Guidelines of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education found in the publication  Dobre praktyki w procedurach recenzyjnych, Warsaw 2011:

(https://www.archiwum.nauka.gov.pl/g2/oryginal/2014_02/307f933b1a75d6705a4406d5452d6dbf.pdf)

2. Regulations of the Committee on Publication Ethics  (COPE):

(www.publicationethics.org)

3. Recommendations of the European Charter for Researchers:

(https://euraxess.ec.europa.eu/jobs/charter/european-charter)

All publications are also checked as far as plagiarism and auto-plagiarism with the use of an anti-plagiarism program: Plagiat.pl

In the case of finding any irregularities during the first control, the Press requests that the author/s explain and correct them. If the suspicions regarding plagiarism or auto-plagiarism, or other irregularities which would suggest abuse in science connected with the authorship are once again confirmed, the work is rejected.

In order to ensure precise citation of publications, the Press recommends the Vancouver system (system author-number).

The guidelines listed above are mandatory for all members of the editorial team both for non-serial publications as well as magazines, authors, text editors, reviewers, as well as publishers.

Ethical principles mandatory for authors:

  1. The work must be original and free of plagiarism.
  2. The work must not have been previously published or submitted to another publisher.
  3. A potential conflict of interests must be clearly specified.
  4. The required permissions to use other sources must be obtained, while the approval of the bioethical commissions must be presented if such is required.
  5. The authors include all persons who have in a significant way contributed to the interpretation or content of the work. All other co-authors are listed as such.

Ethical principles mandatory for the editorial team:

  1. All manuscripts are to be objectively evaluated as far as their academic, scientific, and intellectual value, meaning excluding any and all personal or commercial interest and without any prejudice regarding gender, race, religion, or nationality of the author.
  2. In case of confirming ethical discrepancies in research or the suspicion of any other abuse, a detailed control is immediately carried out in accordance with the procedures in force.
  3. No information regarding the authors of manuscript content may be made public prior to publication.

Ethical principles mandatory for reviewers:

  1. Objectively evaluates manuscripts, meaning with the exclusion of any and all personal or commercial interest, without any prejudice regarding gender, race, religion, or nationality of the author.
  2. Provides a detailed timely review of the content and originality of the scientific work.
  3. Potential conflicts of interest must be clearly specified.
  4. In case of the possibility of a conflict of interests, the reviewer informs the editorial team of his inability to carry out the review.
  5. In case of confirmation of ethical irregularities in research or suspicion of another abuse the reviewer immediately informs the chairman of the Scientific Council.
  6. Maintains confidentiality of all works and evaluations connected with the review process

Ethical procedures mandatory for the publisher:

  1. Ensures the integrality and originality of the published texts as far as: publishing ethics, conflict of interests at various stages of the publication development, confidentiality, authorship, author’s corrections, publication timeliness.
  2. Collaborates with the editors from the Press defining their tasks in order to ensure clarity of actions and the high quality of publication procedures.
  3. Informs the appropriate institutions or organs in case of the abuse of scientific reliability or principles of scientific and publication ethics.
  4. The publisher reserves the right to recall a publication after it has been published if there is evidence as far as lack of accuracy of research results, falsifying research, or the revealing of unintentional mistakes. The same applies if the work bears the hallmarks of plagiarism or abuses the principles of publishing ethics

Publishing procedure.pdf

The editorial team reserves the right to edit texts as long as the changes do not have an influence on the substantive content of the text.