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PUBLISHING ETHICS
The following are the standards of expected ethical behavior for all parties involved in publishing in „The Koszalin-Kolobrzeg Studies” journal: the author, the editor of the journal and the editorial board, the scientific council, the reviewers, and the publisher.
All the articles submitted for publication in “The Koszalin-Kolobrzeg” Studies are peer reviewed for authenticity, ethical issues and usefulness.
Anti-plagiarism ethics
The scientific journal „The Koszalin-Kolobrzeg Studies” applies procedures for detecting scientific dishonesty, which constitutes a serious violation of scientific and academic integrity standards and norms, undermining the author's scientific reliability and independence. In order to ensure the originality of scientific publications, the Editorial Office uses Plagiat.pl anti-plagiarism software. Anti-plagiarism analysis allows the text to be compared with the resources of the most extensive database on the Polish market, which has access to Internet resources, a database of legal acts containing updated normative acts in force in Poland, as well as RefBooks, which contains over a million documents, mainly in English and Polish, from all fields of science and culture. The result of the anti-plagiarism analysis is prepared as a transparent report containing information about borrowings detected in the analysed text. The anti-plagiarism system used in the journal meets all standards of privacy and data confidentiality in accordance with applicable law.
Ethics in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools
These principles, developed on the basis of the position of the Association of University Publishers on the use of generative artificial intelligence (GAI) in scientific works, define the principles of responsible use of AI tools in the process of creating and publishing texts, graphics, illustrations and charts. Their purpose is to ensure scientific integrity, transparency and respect for copyright.
Only humans can be authors of scientific texts. AI tools (including chatbots such as ChatGPT) cannot be considered authors/co-authors or cited as authors because they do not meet the essential criteria of authorship, in particular they cannot be held responsible for the reliability, integrity and originality of the work. These tools do not have legal capacity and cannot manage copyright or determine the existence or absence of a conflict of interest. AI tools can support the Author in the process of editing, translating, analysing data or preparing graphics, provided that they do not replace the Author's independent, creative scientific contribution.
Authors who use AI tools when writing texts, collecting and analysing data, and creating graphic elements of their work are required to disclose, in a fair and fully transparent manner, which AI tool was used, how exactly and to what extent it was used, and how it affected the work in question. AI may be used to make linguistic corrections and improve the readability of the text, but it cannot replace key creative processes such as formulating scientific conclusions, developing insights, or generating research results.
Authors bear full responsibility for the content of the submitted manuscript, including all sections created using AI tools, and are therefore responsible for any violations of publication ethics. It is important to bear in mind the limitations of tools such as ChatGPT, such as:
• hallucinating, i.e. generating false information that sounds credible and linguistically correct,
• plagiarising, directly quoting or appropriating an idea without indicating authorship,
• generating false bibliographic descriptions or even entire bibliographies.
Any use of AI tools should be disclosed in the publication (e.g. in a footnote, abstract, ‘Methods’ or ‘Acknowledgements’ section), stating the name of the tool used, its version/model and scope of application (e.g. language editing, illustration draft generation, data analysis) along with the commands (prompts) used or a brief description of how it was used (e.g. type of query/commands). In addition, each Author is required to send the Editorial Office of the journal a relevant statement regarding the use of AI-assisted tools in the creation of the work, including chatbots, large language models (LLMs) or image creators, together with a detailed description of the purpose, scope and manner of their use. A template for the statement is attached to this policy (downloadable file)
The creation of images and films by generative AI infringes copyright and violates the principles of scientific integrity. In compliance with applicable copyright laws and best practices in publishing ethics, the Editorial Board does not permit the use of such materials in publications unless they are the subject of the work in question. Such cases should be justified each time a manuscript is submitted and will be subject to individual assessment by the Editors and Reviewers. The use of AI tools to prepare auxiliary illustrations or data visualisations is permitted, provided that:
• the data sources are reliable and documented,
• the graphics do not infringe copyright or licences,
• the materials are marked as ‘generated using an AI tool’ (if applicable),
• they comply with the FAIR Data Principles if they are of a scientific nature.
All materials submitted to the Editorial Office of the journal are checked by an anti-plagiarism system that also detects the use of AI tools.
Rules for Reviewers and Editors regarding the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools:
1. Reviewers and Editors are fully responsible for the reliability, accuracy and integrity of the review and editing process. They must ensure that no part of the work has been processed by AI without the author's consent and without disclosure of this fact.
2. Transparency in the use of AI, protection of confidentiality, and responsibility for the content of works are key principles that must be observed at every stage of the publishing process.
3. The confidentiality of manuscripts is fundamental at every stage of the publishing process. All manuscripts and correspondence relating to publication are treated as confidential documents. Transferring them to AI tools without the author's consent is prohibited.
4. Reviewers, editors and the editorial board of the journal may not use AI tools to evaluate submitted works or to create review content. The evaluation of scientific work requires critical thinking and in-depth analysis that go beyond the capabilities of artificial intelligence and can only be performed by humans.
The Scientific Publishing House of the University of Szczecin, including the scientific journal „The Koszalin-Kolobrzeg Studies”, operates in accordance with the recommendations of the Association of Higher Education Publishers, of which it is a member: Position and recommendations of the Association of Higher Education Publishers on the use of generative artificial intelligence (GAI) tools in writing scientific papers (Stanowisko i rekomendacje Stowarzyszenia Wydawców Szkó³ Wy¿szych w kwestii stosowania narzêdzi generatywnej sztucznej inteligencji (GAI) w pisaniu prac naukowych).
The University of Szczecin Press (WNUS) policy on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools in scholarly publications WNUS Polityka AI ang.
DUTIES OF AUTHORS
Authorship of the manuscript
Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the report study. All those who have made contributions should be listed as co-authors. The corresponding author should ensure that all appropriate co-authors and no inappropriate co-authors are included in the paper, and that all co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the paper and have agreed to its submission for publication.
Ghostwriting firewall and guest authorship
Honesty is one of the fundamental aspects that guarantee the quality of education. Readers must be sure that the authors of the papers present the results of their own research in a transparent, fair and honest way, no matter if they wrote the articles on their own or if they were supported by a specialist. What proves the ethical attitude of a researcher and the highest editorial standards is the transparency of information about the entities that have contributed to the publication (a merit, technical, material, financial input etc.), which is stands for not only a good practice, but also social responsibility. The examples of inappropriate practice are ghostwriting and guest authorship. What is meant by ghostwriting is the lack of information about the people who had a significant contribution to the publication – neither their names nor role is meant in the publication. Guest authorship (honorary authorship) is the situation in which a person has had not much/no contribution to the publication but their name has been place on the list of the contributors.
To prevent from ghostwriting or guest authorship the editors of „The Koszalin-Kolobrzeg Studies” make the following regulations obligatory:
1. In the process of submitting a paper, authors declare the input of each author to the publication (they define their affiliations and contributions, i.e. the information who is the author of the main concept, principles, methods, protocol, etc.); what is important the main responsibility is taken by the author who submits the paper.
2. The editors request the authors to get familiar with the document on ghostwriting firewall below.
3. The editors will keep track of the procedure and all forms of scientific misconduct, especially violating the ethical rules that need to be followed in the scientific research will be reported.
A statement regarding the novelity of the article (ghostwriting) must be attached to the text. The ghostwriting is a procedure required in a parametric assessing of the scientific journal to protect the originality of scientific publications. Readers can not have any doubt that the authors present only the results of their scientific work. If anybody (a natural or legal person) helps them with their work, they should clearly notify the readers about it (for example, through the proper links).
Standards for text submission
Authors of reports of original research should present an accurate account of the work performed as well as an objective discussion of its significance. Underlying data should be represented accurately in the paper. The paper should contain sufficient detail and references to permit others to replicate the work. The fabrication of results and making of fraudulent or inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and may cause rejection or retraction of a manuscript or a published article.
Originality and plagiarism
Authors should ensure that they have written entirely original works, and if the authors have used the work and/or words of others they need to be cited or quoted. Plagiarism and fraudulent data is not acceptable.
Data access retention
Authors may be asked to provide the raw data for editorial review, should be prepared to provide public access to such data, and should be prepared to retain such data for a reasonable time after publication of their paper.
Multiple or concurrent publication
Authors should not in general publish a manuscript describing essentially the same research in more than one journal. Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal concurrently constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable.
Acknowledgement of sources
The proper acknowledgment of the work of others must always be given. The authors should cite publications that have been influential in determining the scope of the reported work.
Fundamental errors in published works
When the author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in his/her own published work, it is the author’s obligation to promptly notify the journal editor or publisher and cooperate with the editor to retract or correct the paper.
Any violation of the abovementioned ethical principles is a reason for rejecting the article.
Publication ethics:
1. The editorial board of the journal „The Koszalin-Kolobrzeg Studies” takes measures to maintain the high quality of published scientific texts and to support and promote scientific integrity.
2. The decision to publish a text is based solely on its scientific value, regardless of the race, nationality, religion, gender or sexual orientation of the authors.
3. The publication ethics principles applied in the journal are based on:
• the ethical principles and procedures recommended by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), https://publicationethics.org,
• the code of ethics for researchers (downloadable file) developed by the Polish Academy of Sciences.
4. In the event of suspected ethical violations, the Editorial Board will follow the procedures described in the COPE diagrams in the following cases:
• suspected redundant (duplicate) publication (downloadable file),
• suspected plagiarism (downloadable file),
• suspicion of data fabrication (downloadable file),
• changes to the list of authors (downloadable file),
• suspicion of ghost, guest or courtesy authorship (downloadable file),
• when the Reviewer suspects an undisclosed conflict of interest (COI) in the submitted manuscript (downloadable file),
• when a reader suspects an undisclosed conflict of interest (COI) in a published article (downloadable file),
• when the Editor suspects that there is an ethical problem with a submitted manuscript (downloadable file),
• suspicions that the Reviewer has appropriated the author's ideas or data (downloadable file).
The editorial team follows the rules of correspondence established by COPE with persons raising objections (downloadable file).
Procedure in the event of breaches of publishing ethics after publication
In the event of post-publication disclosure of breaches of publishing ethics (in particular: plagiarism, self-plagiarism, data manipulation, unreliable authorship), the Editorial Board will take appropriate action in accordance with COPE guidelines. At the same time, the Editorial Board will immediately ask the Author to comment on the disclosed breach.
In the case of the electronic version of the publication, it will be removed from the journal's website with information about the reasons for its withdrawal. In the case of the paper version, information about the violation will be published in the next issue and made available on the journal's website, while a note with information about the reasons for the withdrawal will be attached to the printed copies.
RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE JOURNAL EDITOR AND EDITORIAL TEAM
Monitoring the ethical standards
Editorial board is monitoring the ethical standards of scientific publications and takes all possible measures against any publication malpractices.
Fair play
Submitted manuscripts are evaluated for their intellectual content without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, citizenship, or political ideology.
Publication decisions
The editor is responsible for deciding which of the submitted articles should or should not be published. The decision to accept or reject a paper for publication is based on its importance, originality, clarity, and its relevance to the scope of the journal.
Confidentiality
The editor and the members of the editorial board must ensure that all materials submitted to the journal remain confidential while under review. They must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the authors, reviewers, potential reviewers, other editorial advisers, and the publisher.
Disclosure of information
Unpublished materials disclosed in the submitted manuscript must not be used by the editor and the editorial board in their own research without written consent of authors. Editors always dismiss business needs as a violation of intellectual and ethical standards.
Conflict of interest between the Author and a member of the Editorial Board
Members of the Editorial Board are required to disclose any potential conflicts of interest related to the scientific publication being evaluated, in particular those concerning personal relationships, professional dependencies or scientific cooperation with the Author within the last 2 years from the date of submission of the text for publication. In the event of a conflict of interest being disclosed, the Editorial Board member is subject to mandatory exclusion from the evaluation procedure for the scientific publication in question and from the decision-making process regarding its publication. When a conflict of interest arises, the Editor-in-Chief appoints another, independent member of the Editorial Board to take over the duties related to the evaluation of the publication. Failure to comply with the obligation to disclose a conflict of interest constitutes a violation of publication ethics and may result in further investigative or disciplinary action being taken by the Editorial Board against the Editorial Board member.
Maintain the integrity of the academic record
The editorial board is responsible for upholding the principle of scientific integrity, particularly with regard to combating research misconduct in accordance with established principles of publication ethics, including COPE procedures and guidelines. Editors will safeguard the integrity of the published academic record by issuing corrections and retractions where necessary, and by investigating suspicions or allegations of improper research conduct and publication. Plagiarism and fraudulent data are unacceptable. The editorial board is always prepared to publish corrections, clarifications, retractions and apologies where necessary.
Retractions of the articles
Journal editors will consider retracting a publication if:
- they have a clear evidence that the findings are unreliable, either as a result of misconduct (e.g. data fabrication) or honest error (e.g. miscalculation or experimental error),
- the findings have previously been published elsewhere without proper cross-referencing, permission or justification (cases of redundant publication), - it constitutes plagiarism or reports unethical research.
Notice of the retraction should be linked to the retracted article (by including the title and authors in the retraction heading), clearly identify the retracted article and state who is retracting the article. Retraction notices should always mention the reason(s) for retraction to distinguish honest error from misconduct. Retracted articles will not be removed from printed copies of the journal nor from electronic archives but their retracted status will be indicated as clearly as possible.
RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE SCIENTIFIC COUNCIL
The Scientific Council supervises compliance with ethical principles related to the publication of scientific texts in the journal and counteracts practices that are inconsistent with accepted ethical standards. In addition, it ensures the integrity of scientific research and oversees the development of knowledge and awareness of the importance of publication ethics.
DUTIES OF REVIEWERS
Contribution to editorial decisions
Peer reviews assist the editor in making editorial decisions and may also help authors to improve their manuscript.
Promptness
Any selected referee who feels unqualified to review the research reported in a manuscript or knows that its timely review will be impossible should inform the editor about it.
Confidentiality
All manuscript received for review must be treated as confidential documents. They must not be shown to or discussed with others except those authorized by the editor.
Objectivism
Reviews should be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. Referees should express their views clearly with appropriate supporting arguments.
Acknowledgement of sources
Reviewers should identify the relevant published work that has not been cited by authors. Any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and any other published paper should be reported to the editor.
Disclosure and conflict of interest
Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage. Reviewers should not consider evaluating manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relations with any of the authors, companies, or institutions involved in writing a paper.
The statement is attached skk_oswiadczenie_autora_zapora_ghostwriting_ang.pdf
A certificate of authenticity article is attached skk_zaswiadczenie_autora_ang.pdf
Reviewer's declaration WNUS-Deklaracja-recenzenta.doc
General requirements for WNUS WNUS-Ogolne-wymogi-wnus-ang.doc
Chicago Style WNUS WNUS-Styl-Chicago.docx
Committee of Publication Ethics (COPE) skk_cope_pol.pdf
Committee of Publication Ethics (COPE) skk_cope_eng.pdf
Ethical principles were developed on the basis of the recommendations of the COPE Committee on Publication Ethics (Komisji Etyki Publikacji) contained in the Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors (Kodeks postêpowania i wytyczne dotycz±ce najlepszych praktyk dla redaktorów czasopism naukowych), COPE Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers (Wskazówki etyczne Komisji Etyki Publikacji dla recenzentów prac naukowych) and the elaborations of Best Practices in Review Procedures in Science (Dobre praktyki w procedurach recenzyjnych w nauce).
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