Publication Ethics

The journal Proceedings of the Department of Theology adheres to recognized standards of publication ethics, admits that ensuring compliance with the principles of publication ethics is one of the main aspects of reviewing and editorship, and states its intention to avoid cases of abuse of official position or conflict of interest.

The journal Proceedings of the Department of Theology states that adherence to ethical norms and rules that are accepted by leading international scientific publishers is mandatory for all participants in the process of publishing scientific materials: authors, reviewers, members of the editorial board, proofreaders, editors and employees of the publishing house.

The following editorial policy of the journal Proceedings of the Department of Theology follows the recommendations of the International Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE Code of Conduct).

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF AND EDITORIAL BOARD

1. The general management of the journal is carried out by the editor-in-chief and the editorial board.

2. The editor-in-chief is responsible for deciding which of the manuscripts submitted to the editors of the journal should be published.

3. The decision to publish a manuscript is made on the basis of peer reviews received and opinions of the members of the editorial board. The evaluation of a submitted manuscript should be based solely on its intellectual content and the quality of the scientific results obtained, regardless of the gender, race, sexual orientation, ethnic origin, citizenship or political views of the author.

4. The editor-in-chief and the editorial board of the journal should require the authors of the journal to provide information on conflicts of interest, and publish refutations or corrections in the journal if a conflict of interest is revealed after publication.

5. Publication in the journal is free of charge. The editor-in-chief and the editorial board of the journal should exercise control over the absence of any financial interactions between the authors and the staff of the journal (including any peer reviewers).

REVIEWERS AND THE PEER REVIEW PROCESS

1. The process of review should help the editor-in-chief and the editorial board of the journal in deciding whether to publish an article.

2. Reviewing through the editorial communication with the author should help the author to improve the quality of the article.

3. In case of a refusal to publish an article, the editor-in-chief and the editorial board of the journal should not enter into negotiations with the author.

4. The identity of the reviewers should not be disclosed to the authors and the identity of the authors should not be disclosed to the reviewers. This practice is called “double-blind peer review”.

Efficiency of the Review Process

A reviewer who considers himself not be competent to review a submitted manuscript, or who believes that he is unable to review it in a timely manner, should immediately notify the editor-in-chief or the editorial board of the journal in order to exclude himself from the review process.

Confidentiality and objectivity

1. Each manuscript received for review must be treated as a confidential document.

2. The manuscript may not be shown or discussed by the reviewer with third parties, with the exception of persons specifically authorized by the editor-in-chief or the editorial board of the journal.

3. Reviews should be carried out in an objective manner.

4. Any feedback or comments of the reviewer designed to hurt or offend the author are unacceptable.

5. During the process of reviewing the manuscript, a reviewer should express his point of view clearly, succinctly and reasonably, avoiding language that allows for arbitrary interpretation.

Disclosure of Information and Conflicts of Interest

1. It is unacceptable for a reviewer to use in his own work any previously unpublished information set forth in an article submitted for review.

2. It is unacceptable for a reviewer to use for personal gain or in any other personal interest any confidential information or scientific ideas learned by him while reviewing a manuscript.

3. A reviewer is not allowed to participate in the review process in the event of a conflict of interest arising from any kind of competition, cooperation or other relationship between him and the author, scientific organization or institution involved in the authorship of the article.

AUTHORS

Originality and Plagiarism

1. Plagiarism – submitting someone else’s work as one’s own, copying or paraphrasing essential parts of someone else’s work (without reference to the source), or claiming intellectual rights over the results obtained in studies performed by others – is unethical behavior and is unacceptable at any stage of the publication process.

2. The author of an article is required to guarantee that the submitted work is completely original. If it relies or in some way uses the work of other authors, this must be appropriately marked by references or directly indicated in the text.

3. Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal at the same time is unethical behavior and is unacceptable.

4. The author should recognize the works of other researchers and provide references to publications that have influenced the content of the submitted manuscript.

Authorship of an Article

1. The authorship of an article should be limited only to those persons who have made a significant contribution to the concept, development and writing of the submitted manuscript. Such individuals should be listed as co-authors or collaborators.

2. Any person who took part in any significant part of the research project should be given acknowledgements or should be included in the list of co-authors or collaborators.

Disclosure of Information and Conflicts of Interest

1. Authors should disclose in the manuscript any financial or other significant conflicts of interest that could be interpreted as affecting the results of the review and evaluation of their manuscript.

2. All sources of financial support, in one way or another connected with the article, should be disclosed by the author.

Errors in Published Works

1. When an error or inaccuracy is found in a published article, its author is required to urgently inform the editor-in-chief of the journal about this error in order to publish a refutation or correction to the article.

When errors or inaccuracies are found in a published article by the editor-in-chief of the journal, including upon receiving information about such errors from third parties, the author is required to urgently take action to publish a refutation or correction of the article, or to submit evidence to the editor-in-chief demonstrating the correctness of the ideas published in the article.