RULES OF CONDUCT IN THE EVENT OF AUTHORS’ UNETHICAL PRACTICES

§1 Suspicion of redundant (duplicate) publication

1. A redundant (duplicate) publication is a text in which the author literally or partially reproduces their own, previously published works or submits an already published text in a different language version for publication.
2. If the reviewer suspects that the reviewed text is a redundant (duplicate) publication, they should inform the Editor-in-Chief.
3. If the reviewer reports a suspicion of a redundant (duplicate) publication, the Editor-in-Chief conducts the proceedings in accordance with the principles set out by The Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) referred to at https://publicationethics.org/resources/flowcharts/redundant-duplicate-publication-submitted-manuscript

§2 Suspicion of plagiarism in submitted manuscript

1. Plagiarism is considered to be the use of large fragments, or even short phrases of someone else’s text and/or data without attribution, presented as if they were authored by the plagiarist.
2. If the reviewer suspects that the reviewed text constitutes plagiarism, they should inform the Editor-in-Chief.
3. If the reviewer reports their suspicion of plagiarism, the Editor-in-Chief conducts the proceedings in accordance with the relevant rules by COPE, referred to at https://publicationethics.org/resources/flowcharts/plagiarism-submitted-manuscript.

§3 Suspicion of fabricated data in submitted manuscript

1. Fabricated data occurs when the author referred to falsified data that was not obtained through reliable academic research.
2. If the reviewer suspects the possibility of using fabricated data in the submitted text, they should inform the Editor-in-Chief.
3. If the reviewer reports a suspicion of fabricated data, the Editor-in-Chief conducts the proceedings in accordance with the principles set out by COPE, referred to at https://publicationethics.org/resources/flowcharts/fabricated-data-in-submitted-manuscript .

§4 Suspicion of ghost, guest, or gift authorship

1. A ghost author is a person who has been excluded from the list of authors despite meeting the authorship criteria.
2. A guest, or gift author is a person who is listed as an author but does not meet the authorship criteria. Guest authors are people included in the list to make it look more impressive (despite having little or no involvement in the research, or preparation of the publication). Gift authorship is related to adding other people to one’s publications in exchange for being credited to theirs.
3. If the reviewer suspects that the manuscript was written by someone who was not listed as the author, or was not properly included in the acknowledgments, or that the work contains undeserving (guest or gift) authors, they should inform the Editor-in-Chief.
4. The concepts and principles set out by COPE (https://publicationethics.org/resources/flowcharts/ghost-guest-gift-authorship-submitted-manuscript) shall apply accordingly to the assessment of the ghost, guest, or gift authorship.

§5 Nieujawniony konflikt interesów w zgłoszonym manuskrypcie/ Undisclosed conflict of interest in submitted manuscript

1. A conflict of interest is considered to be a direct relationship between the reviewer and author, or one of the authors: a) of personal nature (both positive and negative); b) of official subordination; c) resulting from academic cooperation in the last years preceding the preparation of the review.
2. If the reviewer suspects the possibility of an undisclosed conflict of interest in the submitted manuscript, they should inform the Editor-in-Chief.
3. If the reviewer reports a suspicion of an undisclosed conflict of interest in the submitted manuscript, the Editor-in-Chief conducts the proceedings in accordance with the relevant rules set out by COPE, referred to at https://publicationethics.org/resources/flowcharts/undisclosed-conflict-interest-submitted-manuscript.

§6 Ethical issue with submitted manuscript

1. If the reviewer has ethical reservations regarding the submitted manuscript, they should inform the Editor-in-Chief.
2. If the reviewer reports a suspicion of an ethical problem with the submitted manuscript, the Editor-in-Chief conducts the proceedings in accordance with the relevant rules set out by COPE, referred to at https://publicationethics.org/resources/flowcharts/suspected-ethical-problem-submitted-manuscript.