Ethical Principles Applied in “Kultura Media Teologia”

In the quarterly Kultura Media Teologia (KMT), strong emphasis is placed on ethical principles related to the research, editorial, and publishing process, involving editors, reviewers, authors, publishers, and readers. Acknowledging the importance of ethics in scientific research, the principles adopted by the journal are modeled on the Code of Conduct of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

To promote the free dissemination of research findings, Kultura Media Teologia provides its content online and free of charge. Materials published on the KMT website, hosted on the UKSW journal platform, are made available in open access under the Creative Commons Attribution–NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-ND 4.0) license. Selected articles may also be published prior to their inclusion in the final issue as Early Access.

The Editorial Board takes great care to prevent any unethical or undesirable practices (e.g., conflicts of interest) at any stage of publication. When beginning work on a manuscript, the Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Team ensure that assigned reviewers have no conflict of interest with the author. A conflict of interest is defined as any direct personal relationship (family ties up to the second degree, legal relationship, marriage), professional subordination, or direct academic collaboration within the two years preceding the year of manuscript submission.

The ethical rules regarding the use of artificial intelligence tools and content generators in publications are specified in the Appendix to Ordinance No. 70/2024 of the Rector of UKSW dated November 8, 2024. See: Rector’s Ordinance, UKSW. More details can be found in the AI Policy section.

Below is a set of principles aimed at ensuring transparency in the procedures and activities undertaken within the framework of Kultura Media Teologia. The Editorial Board recognizes that the final outcome of its work contributes to the dissemination of scientific knowledge and is therefore aware of the great responsibility this entails.

Editorial Team

1. Ensures efficient electronic communication channels enabling authors to submit their scientific papers free of charge.
2. Through the selection of topics, including thematic and special issues, seeks to address current and significant needs of the academic community, disciplinary development, and society.
3. Ensures high quality of published materials at every stage of editorial work, review, and publication.
4. Guarantees a high substantive and formal standard of published materials.
5. Is prepared to publish corrections, clarifications, retractions, and apologies when necessary.
6. Allows authors to publish clarifications or apologies related to their previous publications.
7. In the interest of academic freedom, publishes polemical content responding to articles, reviews, or corrections appearing in KMT.
8. Strictly ensures the anonymity of authors and reviewers during and after the review process.
9. Ensures compliance with regulations concerning anonymity and the proper storage and archiving of personal data.
10. Carefully archives documentation related to the publication process and ensures its completeness.
11. Uses an electronic plagiarism detection system (Uniform Anti-Plagiarism System – JSA) to verify the originality of submitted texts.
12. Refers manuscripts to the Ethics and Bioethics Committee of UKSW if ethical approval is deemed necessary.
13. Periodically evaluates the quality of reviews and develops reviewer guidelines to enhance academic rigor and unify evaluation criteria.
14. Members of the Editorial Team and others involved in the publishing process participate, whenever possible, in training to maintain high organizational and academic standards.

Authors

1. Disclose research funding sources, identifying sponsors and specifying the scope of financial support for the research work.
2. Prepare manuscripts with due respect for scholarly reliability and academic integrity.
3. By submitting a manuscript to KMT, declare that it is original, authored by them, and free from unethical practices such as data falsification, plagiarism, or self-plagiarism. In cases of doubt, the Editorial Board reserves the right to request access to research data.
4. Ensure that their manuscripts are free from legal defects and that all necessary licenses and permissions for the use of materials (including visual content) have been obtained.
5. Retain and securely archive their research data.
6. In co-authored works, specify the contribution of each author by describing their tasks and roles in the research process; percentage contribution statements are also permitted.
7. Personally sign all documents required for publication (listed in a separate section) and send them to the journal’s editorial address or deliver them to the Faculty of Theology, UKSW.
8. Provide ethical approval from a competent ethics committee when required.
9. May report any breaches of personal data protection via the UKSW website.
10. Have the right to withdraw or correct an article if it receives justified criticism, or to publish a polemical article responding to other content published in KMT.
11. Are entitled to deposit the submitted, accepted, and published versions of their articles in institutional or other repositories of their choice, without embargo.
12. Are obliged to consider reviewers’ comments and revise their manuscripts accordingly. If they disagree with the reviewer’s conclusions, they may present their position to the Editorial Board in a polemical note.
13. Must disclose the use of AI-assisted tools and content generators in their manuscripts.

Reviewers

1. Ensure the highest quality of peer review, based on the current state of research and knowledge in the field.
2. Maintain confidentiality regarding the reviewed manuscript and do not use any information obtained during the review process prior to publication.
3. Express their opinions in a respectful and constructive manner, whether positive or negative.
4. Cooperate closely with the Editorial Team and have access to the ethical guidelines applied in Kultura Media Teologia.
5. The list of reviewers collaborating in the publication of each volume is published annually on the journal’s website.
6. Have the right to re-evaluate a revised manuscript if they have indicated such a need in their initial review.
7. Should decline to review a manuscript if it falls outside their academic expertise or competence.
8. Must inform the Editorial Board of any potential conflict of interest.
9. Should notify the Editorial Board of any substantial similarity between the reviewed manuscript and previously published works not cited in the article.

Readers

1. When reading materials published in KMT, readers should receive high-quality academic content that has undergone a thorough and impartial review process.
2. Should be informed about sources of research funding and any influence of sponsors or institutions on the research process.
3. Have free access to all KMT content in electronic (.pdf) format.
4. Can trust the reliability of published research results through clear presentation of methods, citation of sources, and adherence to academic integrity.
5. Are expected to respect the rules of copying and attribution in accordance with the Creative Commons CC BY-ND 4.0 license.