„Progress on Chemistry and Application of Chitin and its Derivatives”

The principles of publication ethics adopted by PCACD are aimed at counteracting unfair publication practices and are in line with the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Principles of publication ethics applicable to the Publisher and the Editor-in-Chief/Editorial Office:

1. The journal aims to popularize international and national knowledge in the field of research and the use of chitin, chitosan, and their derivatives in all areas of science and life. The goal is achieved by publishing peer-reviewed scientific articles that significantly contribute to the development of science.
2. All articles submitted for publication are reviewed before they appear in print.
3. The Editor-in-Chief/Editorial Team selects reviewers, taking into account their competencies, scientific achievements, and previous reliability in reviewing.
4. When accepting texts for publication, the reviewers' opinions regarding the original and creative presentation of the issue in the work, as well as conclusions, news regarding research methods, topics, cited literature, and correctness of the scientific apparatus are taken into account.
5. The publisher prevents conflicts of interest that may arise due to connections (family, social, professional) between the author of the work and the reviewer.
6. The publisher uses all available measures to prevent plagiarism and the publication of false data.
7. The publisher counteracts such negative phenomena as: ghostwriting(omission on the author's list of the people who were involved in the creation of the publication) and guest authorship (attribution of authorship to people who did not participate in creating the work).
8. The Publisher documents all manifestations of scientific dishonesty, especially violations and breaches of ethical principles in science. The institutions employing the Authors and all interested institutions will be informed of any detected cases.
9. The Publisher and Editors may make corrections to texts through discussion at the stage of the editorial process (before publication of the text).
10. The Editors also reserve the right to proofread texts without informing Readers and Authors. This applies only to so-called minor changes. Minor changes include, for example, correcting formatting and spelling. These are not significant corrections that affect the reception or scope of the presented content.
11. The editorial office supports the open access policy. The journal is published in open access, which means that all content is available free of charge to users and institutions. All texts are published in electronic form. The editorial office strives to archive texts in various databases.
12. The Editors encourage Authors to archive their research data in open repositories of research data. The Editors do not require Authors to attach research data. In selected cases, however, the Editors may ask the Author to provide research data (e.g. problems reported to the Editors with the integrity of the presented data or data duplication).
13. The Publisher undertakes to respect the personal copyrights of the Authors, and in particular to respect the right of authorship, to take care of the reputation and good name of the Authors and the work.
14. The publisher pursues an independent and impartial publishing policy.
15. The publisher ensures a reliable and professional publishing process, including the editorial process.
16. The publisher maintains high editorial standards.
17. The publisher ensures the confidentiality and security of personal data processing.

Ethical principles applicable to authors:

1. An individual who meets the criteria for authorship may be considered an author if they: (a) has contributed significantly to the conception, design, execution, acquisition of data, or analysis/interpretation of the study; (b) has drafted the manuscript or has made substantial critical revisions for important intellectual content; (c) has seen and approved the final version of the article and has agreed to its submission for publication. All individuals who have made substantial contributions to the work described in the manuscript but who do not meet all the criteria for authorship should not be listed as authors but should be acknowledged in the “Acknowledgements” section. The corresponding author is responsible for the indicated authorship or co-authorship and certifies that all co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the manuscript and have agreed to its submission for publication.
2. Changes to authorship or order in unpublished texts require the consent of all Authors of the text and the Editor-in-Chief, as well as an explanation of the reasons for such changes.
3. Authors are obliged to provide the Publisher with an original work, which may not constitute any part plagiarism, i.e., appropriation of someone else's work, data, or ideas in whole or in part without indicating this in the text, and self-plagiarism(duplicate publication), i.e., publishing one's own work in whole or in part in more than one publishing house.
4. Authors declare that the submitted work is an original work that does not infringe the rights of third parties, was prepared independently, and has not been published anywhere before.
5. Any materials used by other people by the Authors must be appropriately identified.
6. All publications used to create the work must be listed in the list of sources (annex bibliography).
7. Authors should disclose any conflicts of interest that might influence the results or their interpretation in the manuscript. All sources of funding for the work should be disclosed.
8. Authors must actively participate in the review process, responding to editors’ requests for raw data, clarifications, and confirmation of ethical approval, patient consent, and author permissions. In case of an initial decision of “revisions required,” authors should respond to reviewers’ comments promptly and resubmit their manuscript to the journal by the specified deadline.
9. The author/authors may make corrections to the texts through discussion at the editorial stage (before publication of the text).
10. The texts provided by the Authors are published based on free copyright publishing licenses granted to the Publisher, regulating all copyright matters. Failure to submit a declaration granting an unrestricted license to use the work prevents the article's publication in the journal.
11. The Author guarantees that the copyright to the work granted to the Publisher under a free license on the date of its acceptance by the Publisher will not be limited by any rights of third parties, and the use and distribution of the work by the Publisher will not violate personal rights or the rights of third parties.
12. When authors discover a material error or inaccuracy in their published article, they are responsible for immediately informing the Editor.

Ethical principles applicable to the Reviewer

1. A person receiving an offer to prepare a review is obliged to assess their substantive competencies and practical capabilities to prepare the review within the specified time and, in case of doubts in this respect, to refuse to review.
2. The reviewer is obligated to complete the review within the established deadline. If he cannot meet the deadline for reasons impossible to predict in advance, he should immediately inform the Publisher.
3. A reviewer should not undertake their task in conditions of a conflict of interest or circumstances where the parties to the proceedings may be suspected of such a conflict.
4. The reviewers must thoroughly familiarize themselves with the reviewed work and make every effort to assess its value honestly and fairly.
5. The following criteria are taken into account in the review process: original and scientific nature of the submitted text; the manner of achieving scientific objectives and clear presentation of the research problem; proper use of the subject literature; adequate justification for claims and conclusions, compliance with the substantive and formal requirements described in the "Information for Authors."
6. The reviewer does not disclose information about the works submitted for publication to unauthorized persons (except for persons involved in the publishing process). The research results, data, opinions, and statements contained in the text submitted for publication cannot be used by the reviewer in his research until the article is published.
7. At the stage of the editorial process (before the publication of the text), the reviewer may propose corrections to the texts through discussion.

Plagiarism prevention and detection

1. Plagiarism in all forms is an unethical practice and is unacceptable.
2. In case of suspicion of plagiarism, the journal's Editorial Office applies a verification procedure involving reviewers and the person submitting the text. If plagiarism is detected, the author of the article submitted for publication is informed in writing of the rejection of the text.
3. In the case of so-called self-plagiarism, when the author includes previously published fragments of their own text in the article submitted for publication, the journal's Editorial Office informs in writing about the refusal to publish the article due to the lack of originality of the work.

Use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools by the Publisher, Editors and Authors

1. The publisher and editors do not transfer the submitted manuscript or any part thereof to a generative AI tool that may violate the confidentiality and proprietary rights of the authors or data privacy rights.
2. Tools like ChatGPT and other large language models (LLMs) do not meet the authorship criteria and cannot be listed as authors in manuscripts.
3. The editors do not use generative AI or AI-assisted technologies to assist in the evaluation or decision-making process for accepting/rejecting a manuscript. The editorial process, final decision, and its communication to authors are the responsibility of the Editor/Editor-in-Chief.
4. Authors may use generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process before submitting their work, but only to improve the language and readability of their work and after appropriately disclosing the use of AI tools in accordance with the Information for Authors.