As a publisher, the Institute of Slavic Studies, Polish Academy of Sciences is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and aims to follow its standards and procedures.
In the event of ethical misconduct on the part of the author(s) – such as plagiarism, falsifying data or self-plagiarism (a type of plagiarism where the author republishes his/her own work in its entirety or reuses portions of his/her previously written text while authoring a new work) – the Head of the Publishing Centre requests an explanation and undertakes appropriate steps as specified in COPE guidelines (see COPE flowcharts).
Authorship
Books
Authorship credit is based on: making substantial contributions to conception or analysis and interpretation of data, drafting the work and revising it critically for important intellectual content, and final approval of the version to be published.
“Ghostwriting” and “guest authorship”
The following authorship problems should be prevented before submitting the manuscript of a monograph or a chapter in a multi-author volume: “ghostwriting” and “guest authorship”. The term “ghostwriting” describes a situation in which a person who has made a substantial contribution to the work is not credited as an author or, in the case of purely technical support insufficient for authorship credit, the person is not acknowledged in the work. “Guest authorship”, in turn, means that a person appears as an author of the work although his/her contribution to the text has been insignificant or none at all.
In the event of suspected ethical misconduct of this nature, the Head of the Publishing Centre requests explanations in writing from the persons identified as the authors. If he/she concludes that the persons in question are in breach of authorship criteria, he/she suggests changes to authorship information according to the procedure outlined in the section „Changes in authorship”.
Contributorship
In the case of multiple contributorship to the text and the research on which it is based, contribution of each author must be specified in the manuscript (e.g. “Contribution of particular authors: AB is responsible for the concept of the study; CD gathered the data. Both authors jointly drafted the manuscript”; or: “The authors have made the following declarations concerning their contribution to the study: concept of the study: AB; data analysis: CD; drafting the manuscript: AB and CD”). This information will be published along with the text.
Journals
Information about issues concerning authorship of journal articles is available in the description of each journal on the Institute’s ISS PAS Journals platform: About [O czasopiśmie], section: Editorial policies [Polityka wydawnicza].
Changes in authorship
Books
In line with COPE guidelines, any changes to authorship information concerning manuscripts submitted for publication or texts which have already been published require written consent from all co-authors. This should be expressed by each author in a separate (electronic) letter of consent addressed to the Head of the Publishing Centre. The responsibility for providing clear reasons for the change(s) as well as for coordinating interaction between the authors and the Head of the Publishing Centre rests with the author(s) requesting the change(s).
If no satisfactory agreement can be reached between/among the authors, they should contact their home institution(s) for a final decision; the Publishing Centre does not engage in resolving such disputes.
If a change to authorship information concerns a text which has already been published, a new version containing corrections should be issued.
Journals
Information about issues concerning changes in authorship of journal articles is available in the description of each journal on the Institute’s e-journal platform: About [O czasopiśmie], section: Editorial policies [Polityka wydawnicza].
Competing interests
Books
Conflict of interest (also known as dual commitments and competing loyalties) exists when an author of a monograph or a monograph chapter, or an editor of a multi-author volume, has financial (e.g. employment, commissioned projects, consultancy or expert fee income) or personal relationships with a reviewer of the publication, the head editor of the publishing series or a member of its editorial advisory board, and when these relationships may inappropriately influence his/her actions. Such relationships are most likely to undermine the credibility of not only the authors but also their research.
Conflict of interest also exists when an author or editor is at the same time the head editor of the series or a member of its editorial advisory board. In such cases, the editor should be excluded from the decision-making process concerning the review of the publication (see Publishing process) and his/her role should be performed by other members of the editorial advisory board of the series.
The potential impact of a conflict of interest on academic judgment ranges from negligible to substantial. Competing interests may exist regardless of whether or not an individual is aware of it.
All authors and editors are required to inform the Head of the Publishing Centre about any conflict of interest they may have. This information should also appear in the publication.
Journals
Information about issues concerning conflict of interest in the case of journal articles is available in the description of each journal on the Institute’s e-journal platform: About [O czasopiśmie], section: Editorial policies [Polityka wydawnicza].
Funding
Books
All authors of monographs or chapters in edited volumes and all editors of multi-author volumes are required to provide information concerning the funding of research on which the publication is based.
Information concerning the funding of research and publication appears on the editorial page of the volume.
Journals
Information about issues concerning the funding of research and preparation of journal articles is available in the description of each journal on the Institute’s ISS PAS Journals platform. All authors of journal articles are requested to provide information about funding when making their submission on the ISS PAS Journals platform.
Information concerning the funding of a particular issue of a journal appears on the editorial page of the issue.