Publication Ethics
The Journal's publication ethics comply with the best international practices and standards for publishing scientific periodicals, in particular EASE Guidelines (European Association of Science Editors), Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing, COPE Guidelines (Committee on Publication Ethics), ICMJE[1], as well as the criteria and recommendations of DOAJ, Web of Science, Scopus.
The publication ethics of the publication include sections that are published separately:
- Open Access Policy
- Authorship and Co-authorship
- Conflict of Interest Policy
- Plagiarism and Duplication of Publications Policy
- Policy on Violations of Academic Integrity
- Complaints and Appeals
- Post-Publication Discussion and Amendments
The publication ethics consists of the following parts: Publication and Sharing of Open Data. General Issues of Submission, Reviewing, and Editorial Processes. Responsibility of Authors. Responsibility of Reviewers. Editors' Responsibilities. Privacy and Confidentiality Statement. Funding Policy. Neutrality on Geopolitical Controversies. Gender Policy.
Publication and sharing of open data
The Editorial Board of the Journal encourages the publication and sharing of open data in accordance with the Panton Principles and the FAIR Data Principles. Materials can be published in various ways, including by storing in data repositories associated with the corresponding article, or as data files or packages that complement the article (e.g., program code, sets of numerical results, algorithms).
For mathematical research involving computational experiments or authored software, the Editorial Board strongly recommends providing access to the source code (scripts) and algorithms. This ensures the reproducibility of the results and increases the scientific weight of the publication.
Data sets should be placed in an appropriate reliable repository, and the associated identifier (URL or DOI) of the data set(s) should be added to the data resources section of the article. References to the data sets should also be added to the article's citation list with DOI (if any). If there is no dedicated repository, authors should store their datasets in a shared repository, such as Zenodo or similar repositories. The use of open licenses (e.g. MIT for code or CC BY for data) is encouraged as a means of encouraging scholarly exchange.
General submission, review, and editorial processes
All editorial processes—submission, review, editing, etc.—are handled by the Open Journal System (OJS) from the Public Knowledge Project. In order to integrate into the international scientific community and ensure transparency of each researcher’s contribution, authors are required to provide an ORCID ID when registering with the OJS system. All accepted articles (Version of Record) and individual large datasets are assigned a unique Digital Object Identifier (DOI).
The journal uses a double-anonymized peer review model.
The editorial board ensures a transparent display of the editorial history of each manuscript, indicating in the final version of the article: the date of receipt, the date of the first decision, the number of review rounds and the date of acceptance for publication.
To ensure high quality peer review, the review period cannot be less than the minimum necessary for thorough analysis (as a rule, not less than 2 weeks).
Special procedures and independence:
The journal implements a separate procedure for reviewing manuscripts submitted by the editor-in-chief, editors or members of the editorial board;
such submissions undergo mandatory review by independent external experts and are coordinated by an independent responsible editor who is not administratively dependent on the author;
the editorial board ensures institutional diversity of the authorship, limiting the share of publications from the founding institution to avoid endogeneity and closedness of the author circle.
All participants in the editorial process receive automated notifications from the editorial board through the OJS system. A detailed description of the submission procedures, reviewer selection criteria, and decision-making procedure is described in the sections “Submit an article” and “Reviewing process” on the official website of the Journal.
Neither Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv nor the editorial staff of the Journal are responsible for the proper functioning of the Open Journal System (OJS) editorial and publishing system from the Public Knowledge Project (link to Disclaimer).
Responsibility of authors
The editorial staff of the Journal proceeds from the principle that all persons listed as authors meet the authorship criteria and have made a significant intellectual contribution to the research. To structure information about the contribution of each co-author and disclose conflicts of interest, the editorial staff recommends using the EASE Interactive Checklist for Submitting Authors tool.
Authors are required to:
Adhere to open access – agree to publish the article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which allows free distribution and adaptation of materials with proper attribution.
Guarantee originality – certify that the manuscript is the result of one’s own research activities, has not been published previously and has not been submitted simultaneously to other journals or editions.
Ensure quality of design – provide the manuscript in competent Ukrainian or English, strictly adhering to the Requirements for the design of articles and standards for structuring the article.
Adhere to citation ethics – correctly indicate all sources and ideas of other researchers. Any forms of citation manipulation (author self-citation for artificially increasing indicators, “honorary” citation or participation in “citation stacking” schemes) are strictly prohibited.
Declare the use of artificial intelligence – transparently report on the use of AI tools when writing an article or processing data. AI tools cannot be listed as authors or co-authors.
Be active participants in the process – take a constructive part in the review process, responding to experts’ comments and responding to editorial inquiries in a timely manner.
Immediately inform the editorial office about any factual or technical errors discovered both during preparation and after publication of the article.
Ensure transparency of funding and conflicts of interest – clearly indicate sources of financial support and disclose all potential financial or non-financial relationships that may affect the objectivity of the research.
Guarantee reproducibility – upon request by the editorial office, be ready to provide source data or detailed proof algorithms to verify the research results.
Apply the CRediT taxonomy – clearly define the role of each co-author (conceptualization, methodology, problem statement, etc.) in accordance with the established contribution standards.
The role of the corresponding author (Corresponding Author). The author who submits the article acts on behalf of the entire team of authors. He is responsible for providing a declaration of conflict of interest and confirming that all co-authors have reviewed the final version of the manuscript and approved its submission. A conflict of interest may relate to a common workplace, grant support, or personal relationships with members of the editorial board.
Responsibility of reviewers
Reviewing is a key stage in ensuring the quality of scientific publications. The Journal's editorial board expects reviewers to adhere to high ethical standards and professional impartiality.
Main responsibilities and principles of reviewer activity.
Professional expertise and deadlines. Each manuscript is reviewed by at least two independent experts. Reviewers are required to promptly provide their conclusions to ensure that a decision on publication is made in the shortest possible time.
Object of evaluation. The reviewer’s main focus should be on the scientific quality of the research and the general style of presentation, which should correspond to the best practices of academic writing (clarity, conciseness, logic). The reviewer is not obliged to carry out linguistic and stylistic editing, but should indicate the need for it in his report.
Quality criteria. The reviewer should check the scientific validity of the material, the clarity of the argumentation and the significance of the results for the mathematical community. Detailed criteria are set out in the section “Recommendations for reviewers”.
Management of discrepancies. In the event of significant discrepancies between the conclusions of two reviewers or disputes between authors and experts, the final decision is made by the responsible editor based on his own experience or after consultation with members of the editorial board.
Selection of priority materials. Reviewers are asked to separately note articles that are of particular scientific significance. The Editorial Board gives priority to such works in dissemination through press releases and mass media to increase their external publicity.
Re-review. During the second round of review (after the authors have made corrections), the thematic editor may involve the same expert to assess the compliance of the revised version with the previously provided recommendations.
Communication ethics. Reviewers should provide constructive and polite reports. Any tactless, offensive or uninformative remarks will be filtered or canceled by the Editorial Board.
Conflict of interest. Reviewers are obliged to immediately inform the Editorial Board of the existence of a conflict of interest (joint publications with the authors in recent years, competitive relationships, financial interests or affiliation with the same institution). In such cases, the reviewer must refuse to consider the manuscript.
Confidentiality. Reviewing is carried out on the basis of strict confidentiality. The manuscript is the intellectual property of the author, which is prohibited from being transferred to third parties or discussed outside the editorial process.
Protection of ideas. Reviewers are not entitled to use the ideas, methods or results presented in the unpublished manuscript, in their own research or for any other purpose until the official publication of the article.
Identification of borrowings and completeness of sources. The reviewer should identify relevant published works that the authors have not cited, and also draw the editors' attention to the significant similarity of the manuscript under consideration with any other works known to them.
Responsibility of editors
The editorial staff and members of the editorial board of the Journal are responsible for maintaining high standards of academic quality and ethical purity of the publication process. In accordance with the COPE approaches, the editorial board ensures complete independence of editorial decisions from administrative or political influence.
Key responsibilities of responsible editors.
Content, originality and transparency control. Editors ensure that manuscripts meet the Journal's profile and organize plagiarism checks. They are required to provide transparent reporting of editorial history: date of receipt, number of review rounds and date of acceptance for publication.
Compliance with ethical standards and conflict of interest (COI) management.
Editors act as guarantors of the absence of conflicts of interest between participants in the process. In the case of a potential COI, the editor is obliged to declare a recusal, and an independent editor-in-chief is appointed to review the manuscript with documentation of the reasons for the decision.
Objectivity and presumption of integrity. The editor's decision should be based solely on scientific reasoning. Editors are not entitled to reject articles based solely on suspicion; any decision to reject due to ethical violations must be justified and substantiated.
Special procedure for internal submissions. For manuscripts submitted by the editor-in-chief or members of the editorial board, a separate review procedure is applied with the appointment of independent external reviewers and an editor-in-chief, who is not administratively dependent on the author. Systematic publication of materials by members of the editorial board without proper resolution of the conflict of interest is unacceptable.
Prevention of institutional endogeneity. Editors must ensure the representativeness of the authorship and the composition of the editorial board, preventing the dominance of publications from the founding institution and the closed circle of authors.
Objectivity and independence. The editor's decisions are based exclusively on scientific reasoning and the content of the reviewer's conclusions. Editors do not have the right to reject articles based on suspicions without proving improper behavior by the author.
Combating manipulation. Editors are obliged to carry out internal control of anomalous citation patterns (excessive self-citation of the journal or authors) and to suppress any forms of "forced" or "honorary" citation.
Ensuring anonymity. The editorial board strictly maintains the confidentiality of reviewers in accordance with the selected review model (double-anonymized), using the unified terminology of the ANSI/NISO Z39.106-2023 standard.
Quality of preparation and design. Literary and technical editors are responsible for the linguistic and stylistic correctness of texts (compliance with the norms of scientific style of Ukrainian and English); quality control of the layout of mathematical apparatus, formulas and graphic materials; checking the correctness of metadata, literature lists and citations in accordance with international standards; preparing the layout for publication on the OJS platform and assigning digital DOI identifiers to articles. Editors ensure the implementation of the taxonomy of author contributions (CRediT) and the policy on the use of artificial intelligence.
Statement on privacy and confidentiality
The Editorial Board of the Journal guarantees the protection of personal data and strict confidentiality of all materials received during the editorial and publishing cycle.
Main provisions of the confidentiality policy.
Protection of personal data. The names, e-mail addresses and other personal information of users (authors, reviewers, editors) registered on the Journal website are used exclusively to ensure the processes of checking, reviewing and publishing articles. The editorial board undertakes not to transfer this data to any third parties.
Intellectual property status. The editorial board recognizes that all manuscripts and accompanying materials submitted to the Journal are the private and confidential property of the authors. Until the time of official publication, any disclosure of the content of the article without the author’s consent is considered a violation of academic ethics.
Prohibition on disclosure of details. In order to avoid causing reputational or professional harm to the participants in the process, it is prohibited to share any details of the submitted articles or review reports with third parties. This applies to:
the content of the manuscript (in whole or in part);
the current status of the article in the review process;
comments, remarks and suggestions of reviewers;
interim or final results of peer review.
Anonymity of review. The editorial board ensures complete confidentiality of the reviewers' identities within the framework of the double-blind review model. Requests from third parties for the identification of experts or the transfer of copies of manuscripts are rejected.
Ethics of personnel behavior. All employees involved in the editorial process must refrain from any public or private comments on the progress of review and editing both during the preparation of the material and after its publication.
Storage of rejected manuscripts. The editorial board does not store copies of rejected manuscripts after the review process is completed. The materials are deleted in order to protect the rights of the authors to their further use in other publications.
Publication of reviews. The texts of reviewer reports cannot be published in the public domain or transferred to other persons without the official permission of the reviewer himself, the authors of the article and the editor-in-chief.
Policy on sources of funding
The Editorial Board of the Journal adheres to the principles of financial transparency and requires authors to disclose information about any financial support that contributed to the conduct of the research or preparation of the manuscript.
Authors should clearly indicate the sources of funding used to create their manuscripts, in particular for conducting theoretical or applied research, computational experiments and/or direct publication of materials.
Information on financial support for research by specific organizations (state foundations, international grantors, university programs, etc.) is indicated by the corresponding author on behalf of all co-authors when submitting the article in the appropriate form on the OJS platform.
The names of sponsoring organizations and the numbers of the relevant grants/projects should be indicated in a special section of the article (usually after the main text, before the list of references) under the title “Acknowledgements, funding sources”.
All other forms of support for publications should be clearly indicated as acknowledgements. This applies to assistance in technical editing, translation, visualization of mathematical data or providing access to specialized software and high-performance computing resources, if such support was provided free of charge by third parties or organizations.
If the research was conducted without external grant or sponsorship funds, the authors should indicate this in the appropriate statement (for example: “This research did not receive a specific grant from any financial agent in the public, commercial or non-profit sectors”).
Neutrality towards geopolitical controversies
The journal adheres to the principle of scientific neutrality and impartiality towards political controversies. The editorial policy is based on an objective assessment of the intellectual contribution of the authors regardless of their origin or beliefs, while being guided by the legal norms of Ukraine and international security standards.
Basic provisions of neutrality and limitations.
Equality of authors. The decision to publish the article is based solely on the scientific quality of the manuscript. It should not be influenced by the nationality, ethnicity, political beliefs, race, religion or country of residence/affiliation of the authors, except in cases provided for by the legislation on sanctions and counter-aggression.
Independence of editorial decisions. Decisions on editing and publication are made exclusively by the editorial board of the Journal. These processes should not be influenced by the policies of governments or other institutions outside the editorial office.
Depoliticization of research. Authored materials should be depoliticized, devoid of provocative remarks, controversial geopolitical statements and incorrect markings on maps. In case of detection of such elements, the Editorial Board reserves the right to mark them as controversial, add editorial comments or reject/withdraw the article.
Special restrictions (Aggressor State). The editorial board reserves the right to reject manuscripts without review in the following cases:
author(s) are affiliated with organizations or institutions located in the territory of the aggressor state or state sponsor of terrorism;
the research is funded by organizations or institutions of these states;
the manuscripts contain calls for the violation of state order, the rule of law, human rights, or the justification of terrorism;
the research is based on the conclusions of authors affiliated with institutions of the aggressor state, without proper justification of their uniqueness and critical importance for world science;
the research focuses unreasonably significant attention on results that reflect subjective assessments based on ideological dogmas or distorted historical and political interpretations.
Gender Policy
The Editorial Board of the Journal adheres to the principles of equality, inclusiveness and non-discrimination at all stages of the editorial and publishing process.
The Editorial Board encourages authors to use gender-neutral language in manuscripts. It is recommended to avoid pronouns indicating a specific gender, where possible (for example, using the plural or restructuring sentences to achieve neutrality), unless the gender of the subject is fundamental to the content of the scientific research.
When considering manuscripts, selecting reviewers and communicating with authors, the Editorial Board and staff adhere to a strict gender-neutral position. No advantage can be given to representatives of a particular gender on the basis of their gender.
The Editors strive to ensure gender balance among reviewers and members of the Editorial Board, involving specialists solely on the basis of their scientific qualifications and professional experience.
The editorial board ensures that scientific results are evaluated regardless of the gender of the authors. This is achieved, in particular, through the use of a double-blind review model, which eliminates any conscious or unconscious gender bias.
