Ethics and Malpractice Statement
The University of Economics and Human Sciences in Warsaw (Poland) is fully committed to upholding ethical conduct in the publication of its journal, Acta Humanitatis, based on the principles established by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) in the Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors (http://publicationethics.org). It is crucial for all parties involved in the publishing process—editors, reviewers, and authors—to be familiar with and adhere to these terms.
- Publisher’s Responsibilities
- Ensuring Integrity: Uphold the integrity of the academic record. The publisher should ensure that editorial decisions are free from commercial or self-interest.
- Handling Misconduct: Facilitate thorough investigations into misconduct allegations and support the editorial team in resolving these allegations.
- Accessibility and Confidentiality: Maintain accessibility to journal content while respecting the confidentiality of author and reviewer information.
- Editors’ Responsibilities
- Fair Decision-Making: Make impartial and fair decisions on manuscripts without influence from the journal’s owner or commercial interests.
- Peer Review Process: Implement and maintain a rigorous and objective peer review process.
- Ethical Oversight: Monitor and safeguard publishing ethics. This includes investigating ethical complaints regarding a submitted manuscript or published paper.
- Conflicts of Interest: Acknowledge and manage conflicts of interest for all involved parties (editors, authors, and reviewers).
- Correction and Retraction: Issue corrections, clarifications, retractions, and apologies when necessary to ensure the integrity of the published record.
- Authors’ Responsibilities
- Originality and Plagiarism: Ensure the originality of their work and appropriately cite or quote the work and/or words of others.
- Multiple, Redundant, or Concurrent Publication: Avoid submitting the same manuscript to various journals concurrently.
- Acknowledgment of Sources: Please be sure to recognize the work of others properly. Authors should cite influential publications to determine the nature of the reported work.
- Authorship of the Paper: Authorship should be limited to those who have contributed significantly to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study.
- Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest: Disclose any financial or other substantive conflicts of interest that might influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript.
- Reviewers’ Responsibilities
- Contribution to Editorial Decisions: Provide the editor with the necessary information to make informed decisions regarding publication.
- Promptness: Reviewers should be prompt in their reviews and notify the editor if they cannot meet the deadline.
- Confidentiality: Treat received manuscripts as confidential documents and do not use them for personal advantage.
- Objectivity and Constructiveness: Conduct reviews objectively and constructively, without personally criticizing the author.
- Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest: Declare conflicts resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships with any authors, companies, or institutions connected to the papers.
- Handling Allegations of Misconduct
- Investigation and Resolution: In cases of alleged misconduct (e.g., plagiarism, data fabrication), the publisher and editor shall conduct a proper investigation. This may involve consultation with the author(s) and could extend to collaboration with relevant institutions or societies.
- Actions Post-Investigation: Based on the findings, the journal may publish corrections, clarifications, retractions, and apologies as necessary.
- Record Keeping: A record of the misconduct investigation will be maintained to ensure a transparent and responsible process.
Acta Humanitatis adheres to these guidelines to maintain high ethical standards in its publication process.