Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice Statement

 

The editor and editorial staff of the Journal "Underwater Investigations and Robotics "rely on the core ethical guidelines for publication of research findings set forth in the Declaration of Ethical Principles of Science Publications adopted at the General Meeting of Association of Science Editors and Publishers held as a part of the 5th International Scientific Conference entitled International-Standard Science Publishing-2016: Solution to the Problems of Publishing Ethics, Reviewing and Preparation of Publications in Moscow in May 2016. In addition, the publication ethics of the Journal "Underwater Investigations and Robotics " is based on the rules and standards of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the Code of Conduct and Best-Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors.

 Ethical Principles for Editors.

An editor of a peer-reviewed journal is responsible for deciding which of the articles submitted to the journal should be published. This makes him apply the following guiding principles in his work:

1.      When making his decision the editor should rely on valid data and evaluate the scientific urgency of the study in question.

2.      The editor should evaluate the intellectual meaning of a manuscript without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, social or political status of authors.

3.      Unpublished data of manuscripts submitted shouldn’t be used for one’s own purposes or passed to the third party without written consent of the author. Either information or ideas obtained in the process of reviewing must be kept confidential and not used for anyone’s benefit.

4.      An editor should be alert to intellectual property issues and prevent the manuscript from being published if there are reasons to think that it is plagiarism.

5.      Both an editor and a publisher  should respond to complaints concerning a peer-reviewed manuscript or a published paper. They should take measures to resolve a conflict and to restore the violated rights.

 Ethical Principles for Reviewers.

A reviewer performs peer review of manuscripts submitted therefore he should have an unbiased approach basing on the following principles:       

1.      Any manuscript received for review must be treated as a confidential document not to be passed to or  discussed with the third unauthoritative party .

2.      Reviews should be objective and argumentative. Personal criticism  is inappropriate.

3.      Unpublished data of manuscripts submitted must not be used for  reviewer's benefit.

4.      If an expert feels not qualified enough to evaluate  the manuscript or there is a conflict between him and the author he should ask an editor to have him suspended from reviewing the manuscript in question.

5.      Privileged information or ideas obtained in the process of peer reviewing must be kept confidential and not used for anyone’s personal benefit.  Experts must not perform review of manuscripts if there is a conflict of interests due to competing relations of authors, companies or institutions relevant to studies or manuscripts. 

 Ethical Principles for Authors

Authors should realize that they are responsible for novelty and faithfulness of research results thus should follow the principles:

1.      Authors of manuscripts  must provide valid research data.  Either false or fabricated data is unacceptable.

2.      Authors must ensure that the  research data provided in the manuscript is totally original. If the author refers to somebody’s statements, quotations should be keyed to the specific source. Too much citing as well as plagiarism in all its forms  including unquoted statements, paraphrasing or appropriating somebody’s scientific property are unethical and unacceptable.

3.      Authors should admit the contribution made by all those who has influenced the investigation process and cite the studies important for their investigation.

4.      Authors must neither submit a manuscript to two journals at the same time nor submit the article that has already been published in the other journal.

5.      All those who have made  significant contributions to the investigation should be listed as co-authors. Persons who did not take part in the study are prohibited for including in the list of co-authors.

6.      If an author discovers any significant errors or omissions in the article at the stage of its peer-reviewing or after publishing he should inform editors of the journal about it within the shortest possible time.

 The Editorial Board employs independent experts for peer review of manuscripts submitted for publication. Persons selected should have adequate experience and no conflict of interest.

 Editorial conflicts of interest should be announced. Editors should avoid taking decisions about papers concerning a conflict of interest.

 Publication in the journal is free for authors.

References and notes:

1.  Declaration of Ethical Principles of Science Publications by Association of Science Editors and Publishers, viewed 23 March 2021, < https://rasep.ru/sovet-po-etike/deklaratsiya >, (in Russian).
2.  Guidelines for Publication of a Scientific Journal. International Practice on the Ethics of Editing, Reviewing, Publishing and Authorship of Scientific Publications, viewed 23 March 2021, < https://academy.rasep.ru/files/documents/_____3_1.pdf >, (in Russian).
3.  Code of Conduct and Best-Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors, viewed 23 March 2021, , (in Russian).
4.  Civil Code of the Russian Federation (Part Four) as of December 18, 2006 No. 230-ФЗ as amended on December 30, 2020, viewed 23 March 2021, < http://www.consultant.ru/document/cons_doc_LAW_64629/>, (in Russian); Criminal Code of the Russian Federation as of June 13, 1996 No. 63-ФЗ as amended on February 24, 2021. Article 146. Violation of Copyright and Related Rights, viewed 23 March 2021, <http://www.consultant.ru/document/cons_doc_LAW_10699/b683408102681707f2702cff05f0a3025daab7ab/>, (in Russian); Civil Code of the Russian Federation (Part Four) as of December 18, 2006 No. 230-ФЗ as amended on December 30, 2020. Article 1252. Protection of Exclusive Rights, viewed 23 March 2021, <http://www.consultant.ru/document/cons_doc_LAW_64629/a68c2e03d7967da86ff598906972cd025196845e/>, (in Russian); Civil Code of the Russian Federation (Part Four) as of December 18, 2006 No. 230-ФЗ as amended on December 30, 2020. Article 1301. Responsibility for Violation of the Exclusive Right to Work, viewed 23 March 2021, <http://www.consultant.ru/document/cons_doc_LAW_64629/c2f79b53ce582e92680379e2ebd23eeb9fb7855a/>, (in Russian).