The Editorial Board of the Collection strictly adheres to the principles of academic integrity in accordance with international standards and best global practices, in particular the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), and ensures the originality of publications.

The policy of academic integrity and publication ethics applies to authors, editors, reviewers, and other participants in the publication process.

The Collection follows these principles of academic integrity:

• Honesty and transparency of research.
• Reliability of scientific results.
• Proper citation of sources.
• Prevention of plagiarism, self-plagiarism, fabrication, and falsification of data.
• Correct determination of authorship.
• Compliance with ethical norms regarding the use of artificial intelligence.

Authors shall guarantee the originality of their work. They bear full responsibility for it. If authors have used the works and/or data of other researchers, such data must be accompanied by appropriate references to the sources.

When submitting their articles to the Collection, the authors confirm that:

• The text is original and does not violate copyright.
• All sources are properly referenced.
• All data, figures, tables, or illustrations are the authors’ proprietary, or the owners have given their consent for using these materials.
• Neither part of the text has been published earlier, except for preprints, conference summaries, or other relevant cases.

When the authors use information from their own previous papers, they must clearly indicate the fact of reuse and ensure significant scientific novelty. If necessary, the authors must provide the Collection’s Editorial Office with copies of previous works.

The Editorial Board complies with Ukrainian legislation on academic integrity (The Law of Ukraine On Education, Article 42: Academic Integrity). Manuscripts containing violations of academic integrity will not be accepted for publication in the Collection.

According to Clause 4 of Article 42 of the Law of Ukraine On Education, violations of academic integrity include academic plagiarism and self-plagiarism.

Plagiarism means any representation of somebody else’s ideas, data, texts, images, or research results as the author’s without proper referencing to the source.

Forms of Academic Plagiarism:

• Text plagiarism: copying fragments of text without references to the source.
• Plagiarism of ideas: appropriation of others’ ideas, hypotheses, or scientific concepts.
• Plagiarism of data: use of others’ research results without proper citation.
• Self-plagiarism: reuse of one’s own previously published materials (text, graphics, data) without proper reference to the earlier publication.
• Mosaic plagiarism: combining copied fragments from different sources without citation, with minor changes in structure or wording.
• Unauthorized co-authorship: listing as a co-author a person who did not participate in the preparation of the manuscript.

Plagiarism is a material violation of ethics, and the Editorial Board has the right to deny article publication or reject it.

For all articles submitted for review, the level of originality of the author’s text is determined using the appropriate software – StrikePlagiarism (https://strikeplagiarism.com) or other software with similar functionality – that analyzes the level of originality of the article, the use of information sources, and partial textual overlap with other works.

Inspection includes:

• Analysis of text matches.
• Checking for the correctness of references in the article.
• Search for matches with the author’s previous papers.
• Analysis of tables, figures, and graphs, if necessary.

The Collection’s Editorial Board does not apply a fixed limitation on similarity, but a comprehensive analysis. It is because even insignificant matches may appear critical, and a high level may be acceptable in methodological sections of a paper when the method description is common to such research activities and when correct referencing is provided.

The following are not allowed:

• Direct or hidden borrowing without referencing.
• Reuse of one’s own publications without indicating the source.
• Translation of another’s text without a reference.
• Incorrect use of ideas, illustrations, or tables.

Peer reviewers must inform the Editorial Board that they have identified signs of plagiarism or excessive copying.

Editors must adhere to COPE recommendations and ensure objective and confidential investigations of plagiarism.

Manuscript confidentiality violations by peer reviewers, e.g., checking using public AI-driven tools, are not allowed.

The Collection’s Editorial Office provides authors with proper substantiations concerning their decision on article denial, including information about plagiarism. However, the Editorial Office is not obliged to provide a detailed analysis or discuss the decision on the article denial in case of a material breach of the academic integrity policy.

If the author does not accept the reviewer’s comments and suggestions, the Editorial Board will examine the conflict situation and make a final decision. If this decision does not satisfy the author, the author has the right to refuse to publish their material.

If a violation is identified, the Editorial Board has the right to:

• Refuse publication.
• Retract the published article in accordance with the Retraction Procedure (the Collection’s Editorial Office adheres to the principles of transparency and does not hide facts of article retraction or correction).
• Notify the author’s institution.
• Limit further cooperation.

When preparing a manuscript, authors should adhere to the following recommendations:

• Always check the text for plagiarism before submission (including their own previously published works).
• Provide references to all sources used, including preprints, dissertations, and conferences, indicating the DOI of the source.
• If reusing any fragments of text, provide proper references and clearly indicate this.
• Do not duplicate results or text without proper transformation and updating.

The Collection’s Editorial Office conducts an objective, confidential analysis of articles and investigates them for plagiarism, adhering to COPE recommendations and registering all decisions of the Editorial Board.

Procedure for Handling Complaints Concerning Violations of Academic Integrity and Publication Ethics

Proposals or complaints concerning violations of academic integrity and publication ethics shall be sent to the Editorial Office of the Collection at StMa@yuzhnoye.com.

All complaints concerning manuscripts under review or articles that have already been published are considered in accordance with the publisher’s policy, which complies with the principles and recommendations of COPE.

Investigations of complaints are initiated only when substantiated evidence is provided.

If the complaint contains signs of defamation and is not supported by facts, the Editorial Office sends a request for substantiated evidence before initiating an investigation.

When considering complaints, the Editorial Office of the Collection guarantees the implementation of all procedures to preserve the principles of academic integrity, ensure compliance with ethical standards, and protect copyright.

If the complaint concerns an already published article and its validity is confirmed, the retraction policy is applied to the publication.