Publishing ethics

Publishing ethics

The University of Gdańsk Press has the highest publication standards and is guided by the principles of publishing ethics, which aim to counteract dishonest publication practices. In our mission we implement the guidelines of the Ethics Committee of COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics). Our principles of publishing ethics apply to all publications, including monographs, collections, publishing series, and academic journals published by the University of Gdańsk Press.


ETHICAL PRINCIPLES FOR THE PUBLISHER, THE EDITORIAL COUNCIL OF THE PUBLISHER, SCHOLARLY-SCIENTIFIC EDITORS, AND JOURNAL EDITORS

Monitoring ethical standards

The University of Gdańsk Press is obliged to comply with the applicable rules of publishing ethics and publishing standards, and to prevent practices that are inconsistent with the current law on copyright, personal data protection, defamation, plagiarism, and guest authorship and ghostwriting practices.

The principle of fair play

Submitted works are assessed only in terms of content. The race, sex, religion, citizenship, and political beliefs of the authors do not in any way affect the assessment of the texts.

Publishing decisions – criteria for accepting works for publication

The publisher decides which texts will be published based on the opinion of reviewers regarding the value, originality, and academic lucidity of the work.

The principle of confidentiality

The University of Gdańsk Press does not disclose to unauthorized persons any information about submitted texts. The persons authorized to have this information are: the publisher, editors, the author, designated reviewers, members of the Editorial Board, and other authorized persons participating in the publishing process.

Counteracting and disclosing conflicts of interest

Unpublished texts may not be used by any person participating in the publishing process with-out the written consent of the authors.

Verification of already published texts and withdrawal of publications

The University of Gdańsk Press has the right to withdraw a text both during the publication procedure and after it has been published, if:

• it is revealed that the work bears signs of plagiarism or violates other rules of publishing ethics (including self-plagiarism, ghostwriting, and guest authorship),

• evidence is uncovered about the lack of reliability of research results, falsification of data, and the commission of serious unintentional errors (e.g. methodological or computational ones).


ETHICAL PRINCIPLES FOR AUTHORS

The principle of scholarly-scientific integrity

The author is obliged properly to conduct, present, and objectively interpret his/her research. The text should contain information permitting the identification of the sources of its data, verification of the research problem presented, and repetition of the research. It is unacceptable to present/interpret data and research results in an unreliable or non-ethical manner.

The principle of originality of the work

The author certifies that the submitted publication is entirely his/her original work, that he/she has exclusive and unlimited economic and personal copyright to the publication, and that he/she does not infringe any personal or property rights of third parties. The author’s declaration of the originality of the work is an integral part of the publishing contract.

The principle of avoiding multiple, redundant, or parallel publication

Submitting the manuscript for publication at the University of Gdańsk Press is tantamount to a declaration that the submitted text has not been published anywhere before, that it is not a part of another publication, and that it has not been submitted to another publisher.

Sources of financing for a publication

The author must provide the University of Gdańsk Press with information about any sources of funding for the submitted work, the contribution of research institutions, associations, and other entities (financial disclosure).

Principles of authorship of a text

When submitting co-authored texts for publication, it is necessary to disclose the contribution of individual authors to the writing of such texts.

It is not permitted to omit people who have contributed to the text (ghostwriting) in the publication.

It is not permitted to indicate the participation of an author whose contribution is negligible or which did not take place (guest authorship).

All authors must approve the final version of the text and agree to its publication.

The principle of reliability of sources

All publications, research results, or data developed by other authors and used in the creation of the submitted text must be annotated and listed in the bibliography.

Principles relating to errors in published texts

The author should immediately notify the University of Gdańsk Press of any errors/inaccuracies discovered in his/her publication. The University of Gdańsk Press will correct any errors in a subsequent edition/reprint or publish an errata note, an annex, or a correction.


ETHICAL PRINCIPLES FOR REVIEWERS

The principle of counteracting a conflict of interest

The reviewer should not undertake the evaluation of a text if there may be a conflict of interest with the author(s) of the text or the institutions involved in its preparation. Any conflict of interest should be reported to the publisher or (in the case of journals) to the appropriate editor or editorial team.

The principle of timeliness

The reviewer is obliged to prepare his/her review within a set time limit. The reviewer should immediately inform the publisher or the appropriate editorial team of the journal about any delay in or withdrawal from writing the review.

The principle of confidentiality

The reviewer is obliged to maintain confidentiality with regard to the evaluation process, the content of the evaluated work, and the evaluation. Disclosing the reviewed work and its evaluation to unauthorized persons is inadmissible. The research results contained in the text submitted for publication may not be used by the reviewer in his/her own research until the publication of the article or book.

The principle of maintaining standards of objectivity

The review should be objective, reliable, impartial, and properly justified. The reviewer evaluates: the substantive content of the text, its originality, the validity of the research undertaken and theses put forward, methodology, correctness of the conclusions formulated, language, style and method of preparing footnotes and the bibliography. Non-substantive criticism of the author is inadmissible.

The principle of reliability of sources

The reviewer should disclose all cases that arouse any suspicion of the use of publications of other authors in the reviewed work. The parts of the text that raise doubts should be clearly indicated. The reviewer should also indicate important publications related to the subject of the text that were not used by the author.


ANTI-PLAGIARISM PROGRAMME

In order to prevent plagiarism, the University of Gdańsk Press uses the Crossref Similarity Check anti-plagiarism system.