Ethics and publishing policy

The editorial board of the collection «Scientific Problems of Architecture and Urban Planning» adheres to the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) in the acceptance, peer review, and publication of articles.

The journal’s policy is aimed at preventing unethical publishing practices (plagiarism, self-plagiarism, falsification, fabrication, inappropriate authorship, and other violations of academic integrity), in accordance with general principles and rules recognized by the scientific community and provided for by legislation and recommendations of international organizations.

 Principles of ethical policy

  • Organization of the editorial and publishing process. The editorial board is responsible for ensuring honesty, objectivity, and transparency at all stages of manuscript submission, review, and publication, including systematic checks for compliance with academic integrity standards.
  • Compliance with legislation and international standards. The editorial policy takes into account the requirements of current Ukrainian legislation on academic integrity, as well as recommendations of leading international organizations (in particular COPE).
  • Prevention of unethical practices. The journal does not allow plagiarism, data falsification, or inappropriate attribution of authorship, and provides mechanisms for responding to identified violations in accordance with procedures defined by the editorial board and the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine.

Adherence to the principles and recommendations of COPE, WAME, DORA, etc.

The collection of scientific papers “Scientific Problems of Architecture and Urban Planning” adheres to the ethical standards defined by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), namely:

  • transparency in the submission, peer review, and publication process;
  • impartiality and independence of editors and reviewers;
  • academic integrity: avoidance of plagiarism, falsification, duplicate publications, etc.;
  • correct authorship: determining the contribution of each author;
  • complaint handling: availability of open procedures for appeals and ethical complaints;
  • retraction and correction of articles: availability of transparent procedures for retraction, corrections, and error reporting.

The editorial board also takes into account the recommendations of the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME), whose principles for editors in all fields are applied in a broader context:

  • editorial independence: editorial decisions are made without pressure from administration, sponsors, institutions, or commercial interests;
  • conflicts of interest: all authors, reviewers, and editors are required to disclose them;
  • peer review: ensuring objective, fair, and timely expert evaluation;
  • transparency of funding: disclosure of grants, sponsors, and sources of research funding;
  • support for early-career researchers: promoting publications of researchers at the beginning of their careers.

The journal supports the principles of fair research assessment set out in the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA): not limiting evaluation to bibliometric indicators, but assessing research based on its quality, novelty, and contribution to science; valuing different types of research outputs—software, data, algorithms, technical solutions—not only articles; recognizing interdisciplinary research as equal to traditional publications; encouraging open science—preprints, open access to data and code.

The editorial board also follows other modern principles, including:

Open Access – promoting open access to scientific results;

FAIR principles for data (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) – ensuring data can be found, accessed, integrated, and reused;

Plan S – supporting policies for publishing in open-access journals and repositories.

Ethical principle regarding the use of artificial intelligence – ensuring transparency and responsibility in the use of artificial intelligence in research.

 Ethical responsibilities of editorial board members

The Editor-in-Chief is responsible for deciding which submitted articles should be published. The Editor-in-Chief is guided by the journal’s editorial policy and current legal requirements regarding plagiarism, copyright infringement, defamation, etc. In making decisions, the editor may consult other editors or reviewers.

Manuscripts are evaluated based on their scientific merit and content, without regard to race, gender, religious or political beliefs, ethnic origin, or nationality of the authors.

The Editor-in-Chief and all members of the editorial board must not disclose any information about submitted manuscripts to anyone except the corresponding author and reviewers (including potential reviewers).

 Author responsibilities

Authors submitting manuscripts to the journal are responsible for the originality and reliability of the results and guarantee that all persons who made a significant contribution to the research are listed as co-authors.

Simultaneous submission of a manuscript to more than one journal is not allowed. Authors are not permitted to submit previously published work (including translated versions of articles already published in another language).

Authors must disclose any actual or potential conflicts of interest that may influence research results or their interpretation. All potential conflicts of interest must be disclosed before submission. The editorial board ensures objective and fair evaluation of manuscripts and prevents any actual or potential conflicts of interest between authors, editors, and reviewers.

Authors must present their research results clearly and ensure objective discussion of findings. Data and methods used in the study must be presented in sufficient detail for analysis.

Borrowed fragments or statements must include proper references to original sources. If the article includes previously published data or images not intended for free use, permission from the copyright holder must be obtained.

If errors or inaccuracies are discovered after publication, authors must immediately inform the editorial board for appropriate action. If the editorial board learns from a third party that a published article contains a significant error, authors must promptly correct it or provide evidence supporting the original manuscript.

Plagiarism, data fabrication, and image manipulation are unacceptable.

Plagiarism includes copying or paraphrasing another person’s text, ideas, images, or research results without proper attribution. Any form of plagiarism is considered unethical behavior. If detected during review, the manuscript may be rejected. If detected after publication, the editorial board may publish a correction or retract the article.

Responsibility for copyright violations and non-compliance with standards lies with the author(s).

 Responsibilities of reviewers

To ensure objectivity, the journal applies a double-blind peer review process.

Reviewers must notify the editor if they feel unqualified to review a manuscript and return it.

All manuscripts received for review are confidential documents and must not be shared or discussed with others except as authorized by the Editor-in-Chief.

Review must be objective and free from personal criticism. Comments must be clear and supported by arguments where necessary.

If a reviewer suspects plagiarism or significant overlap with previously published work, they must inform the editor with supporting references.

Reviewers must not use or disclose unpublished information from manuscripts under review.

Reviewers must submit their reviews within the established deadline.

 Procedure for handling ethical complaints

This procedure defines the handling of complaints regarding ethical violations by authors, reviewers, or editorial board members. It covers plagiarism, data manipulation, conflicts of interest, and other breaches of academic integrity.

  1. Submission of complaint
    Complaints are submitted via email to zbirnyk-das@odaba.edu.ua. The complaint must include contact details, reference to the article/material, and detailed description with evidence. Anonymous complaints are not considered.
  2. Review of complaint
    The Editor-in-Chief forms a committee of three independent experts within 10 working days. The review period does not exceed 30 calendar days, ensuring confidentiality.
  3. Possible decisions:
  • Reject complaint;
  • Confirm violation and suggest correction;
  • Confirm serious violation and apply measures (rejection, retraction, submission ban, etc.).
  1. Parties may provide explanations and appeal decisions.
  2. Appeal is reviewed within 20 calendar days. The Editor-in-Chief’s decision is final.

 Policy on AI use

Artificial intelligence may only be used for language improvement, editing, or translation. Authors must verify results and disclose AI tools used. The editorial board may check manuscripts for AI use. AI is not used for decision-making requiring critical judgment.

 Retraction policy

Articles may be retracted due to plagiarism, errors, duplication, falsification, conflict of interest, or ethical violations. Retraction follows COPE guidelines. The process includes investigation, author response, and committee decision. Retracted articles remain in the archive with a clear mark and notification.

 Archiving and long-term open access policy

The journal is open access, meaning all content is freely available to readers and institutions.

All published articles remain permanently available for reading, downloading, copying, and distribution.

The editorial board ensures long-term preservation through backup systems, DOI assignment, format monitoring, and deposition in national and international repositories.

User rights are governed by the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license, allowing reuse with proper attribution and DOI reference.

Authors retain copyright, while the journal holds publication and distribution rights.

Full-text access is available in the “Archives” section, in accordance with the Budapest Open Access Initiative.