Publication Ethics

The publication and editorial ethics policy of the journal Ekonomichna ta Sotsialna Geografiya is based on the COPE principles. The journal supports the principles of the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA). We evaluate submitted materials solely on their scientific content, methodological quality, and contribution to science, rather than on journal indicators or author citation rates.

Ethical Responsibilities of Authors

Authors must submit original scientific research. Simultaneous submission of the same article to multiple journals or republication without appropriate justification is not permitted. Plagiarism, self-plagiarism (submission of previously published material), and data fabrication or falsification are strictly prohibited. Any materials protected by copyright may be reproduced in articles only with written permission from the copyright holder. Authors must provide appropriate citations for all sources used in their manuscript. All individuals who made a significant contribution to the research must be listed as co-authors. The order of authorship should be agreed upon prior to submission. Contributions from individuals whose involvement was minor should be acknowledged in the "Acknowledgements" section after the main text. All sources of research funding must be disclosed. Authors are required to declare any potential conflicts of interest – financial, professional, or personal – that could affect the objectivity of the results. Authors must be prepared to provide raw data upon request by the editorial board and should adhere to open science principles whenever possible. In studies involving experiments with humans or animals, authors must confirm that ethical committee approval was obtained. Authors are expected to actively participate in the peer-review process, including responding to reviewers’ comments in a timely and constructive manner. By submitting to the journal, authors agree that their articles will be published in open access under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0). Authors must ensure that the methodology and results of their research are accurately presented (to allow reproducibility by other researchers) and are interpreted objectively. Any limitations related to the quality of empirical data or methods used must be clearly stated. If authors identify a serious error in their published article that affects the reliability of the findings or conclusions, they must immediately notify the editorial board and propose an appropriate solution, such as the publication of a correction notice, retraction, or statement of clarification.

Ethical Responsibilities of Editors

Editors are obliged to evaluate all manuscripts impartially, regardless of the authors’ race, gender, origin, religion, or political beliefs. Editors must not disclose information about submitted manuscripts to third parties, except to those directly involved in the editorial process. Decisions on accepting or rejecting a manuscript must be based solely on the editors’ and reviewers’ assessments of the scientific value, relevance, and quality of the research, and not on personal or commercial considerations. Editors must refrain from handling manuscripts in which they have a personal interest, and they may not use materials from rejected manuscripts for their own benefit. Editors must not disclose the content of a submitted manuscript, its review status, reviewer comments or suggestions, or any intermediate or final review results to anyone other than the authors and reviewers involved. Any third-party requests for access to or use of submitted manuscripts will be declined by the editorial board. The journal does not retain copies of rejected manuscripts. The editorial board ensures reviewer confidentiality in the double-blind peer-review process. Reviewer comments may not be published or disclosed in any form without the permission of the reviewer, the author, and the handling editor. In cases of complaints, suspected plagiarism, or unethical conduct, editors must act in accordance with COPE recommendations and, if necessary, retract the publication.

Ethical Responsibilities of Reviewers

All materials submitted for review are confidential. Reviewers are not allowed to use or discuss the content of a manuscript with third parties. Reviews must be objective, constructive, and well-reasoned. Personal criticism or offensive remarks are unacceptable. Reviewers must notify the editorial board if they detect signs of plagiarism, use of artificial intelligence for text generation, duplicate publication, data falsification, or any other ethical violations. They are also required to inform the editors of any relevant sources not properly cited by the authors. Reviewers must decline to review a manuscript if they have a conflict of interest with the author(s) or the subject matter of the article. They must not use any information obtained during the review process for personal purposes, including gaining any form of personal advantage. Reviewers are expected to submit their evaluations within the agreed timeframe, or promptly notify the editorial office if they are unable to do so. The role of reviewers is not only to help the editorial board make informed decisions on publication but also to assist authors in improving the content of the article and the quality of the underlying research.

Neutrality Toward Geopolitical Disputes

The journal maintains a neutral stance regarding all political and geopolitical conflicts. Editors are not permitted to express personal preferences or show bias toward a manuscript or its authors based on their country of origin, residence, or institutional affiliation. All decisions concerning the publication of a manuscript must be made independently of its origin, including the nationality, ethnicity, political beliefs, race, or religion of the authors. Editorial and publishing decisions must not be influenced by the policies of governments or institutions outside the editorial board of the journal.

Authors are expected to depoliticise their research, avoiding provocative remarks, contentious geopolitical statements, and controversial map representations. If such elements cannot be avoided, the journal reserves the right to flag them as disputed during or after publication, to publish an editorial comment, or to reject or retract the article.

At the same time, the editorial board reserves the right to reject manuscripts without peer review if:
- the authors are affiliated with an organisation or institution located in a state designated as an aggressor or a state sponsor of terrorism;
- the research is funded by an organisation or institution located in a state designated as an aggressor or a state sponsor of terrorism;
- the manuscript contains calls to violate constitutional order or the rule of law, promotes human rights violations, terrorism, ideological propaganda, politicised content, or denies the sovereignty of subjects of international law, including the state of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders.

Conflict of Interest Policy

A conflict of interest is understood as any situation that interferes with or could interfere with the full, proper, and objective process of reviewing and making decisions regarding the publication of research articles or other materials. A conflict of interest is deemed to exist when individuals involved in the editorial process have personal or other relationships with each other that could potentially compromise their impartiality or influence decisions related to publication.

During the editorial process, a conflict of interest may arise between the editor-in-chief and/or handling editor, reviewers, and authors in the following cases:
- the author and the handling editor and/or reviewer are employed in the same department or research group;
- the author is a student, and the reviewer is their instructor or academic supervisor;
- the author is a student, and the reviewer and/or editor is the supervisor of the student’s research project.

Upon submission, the author must disclose any potential conflicts of interest with the journal's editors. Once a manuscript is assigned for review, reviewers are asked to inform the editor of any conflicts that may arise.

The corresponding author, designated by the co-authors as responsible for communication with the editorial office, must declare any conflicts of interest on behalf of all authors.

Conflicts of interest may also relate to employment, funding sources, personal financial interests, membership in relevant organisations, or other circumstances that may result in bias and affect the judgment of responsible parties.

Reviewers must not evaluate manuscripts in which they have a conflict of interest arising from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or institutions associated with the manuscript.

Editors must not handle or edit manuscripts in which they have a conflict of interest due to competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, or with companies or institutions linked to the research.

All conflict of interest disclosures made by authors, reviewers, or editors are assessed by the handling editor and/or the editor-in-chief. In the case of justified conflict of interest claims involving the editor-in-chief, such cases are reviewed with the participation of two members of the editorial board.

Bioethics Policy

Research involving human participants, animals, or their biological materials, as well as the processing of personal or confidential data, must be accompanied by a mandatory approval from an appropriate ethics committee or other authorized body, where such research falls under applicable Ukrainian legislation. The author(s) bear responsibility for obtaining and complying with all relevant approvals and permits.

In particular, research conducted by authors affiliated with Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv must obtain approval (an expert opinion) from the Committee on Bioethics of Scientific Research at Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv:
https://science.knu.ua/old/komitet-z-bioetyky-naukovykh-doslidzhen.html

Declaration on the Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Tools

The journal requires that all authors disclose the use of artificial intelligence (AI) or AI-assisted technologies in the preparation of their manuscripts. AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Grammarly, DeepL, etc.) may be used only as research instruments as well as to support language editing, translation, or data processing (e.g. creation of visualisations). They must not be listed as authors and must not be used to generate scientific content, data interpretations, or conclusions.

The editorial policy allow AI-assisted improvements to human-generated texts for readability and style, and to ensure that the texts are free of errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation and tone, without specific declaring. These AI-assisted improvements may include wording and formatting changes to the texts, but do not include generative editorial work and autonomous content creation.

Authors remain fully responsible for the originality, accuracy, and integrity of their work, including any parts prepared with AI assistance. Failure to disclose AI use when it requires by the aforementioned rules may be considered a breach of publication ethics.