Ethical Principles for Scientific Publications

Guidelines for Research Ethics

The Editorial Board of the Journal “Astronomy Reports” adheres to the ethical standards adopted by the Committee on Publication Ethics (СОРЕ) and requires compliance with them on the part of publishers, editors, reviewers and authors of scientific publications.

Principles of research ethics

The research papers published in the “Astronomy Reports” Journal must comply with the principle of integrity. All participants of the research process are required to demonstrate responsibility, scrupulosity and commitment to high standards as well as respect, transparent interaction and open communication.

If a research paper published in the “Astronomy Reports” Journal was not prepared in accordance with the ethical guidelines, a valid claim should be sent to the Editorial Board by email astrojourn@pran.ru. The appeal will be reviewed according to СОРЕ guidelines.

Editorial process

The Editorial Board strives to ensure independence of scientific research and to prevent conflicts of interest or other corporate, business, financial or political influence.

The Editorial Board does not discriminate authors or reviewers on the basis of personal qualities, but encourages diversity and promotes equity at every stage of the publishing process. The academic publishing program of the “Astronomy Reports” Journal is controlled by NISO RAS (RAS Scientific Publishing Board) which provide independent advice to the Editorial Board.

The editorial decisions on manuscripts submitted to the journal are taken by the Editorial Board on the basis of independent reviewers’ feedback.

The RAS Presidium and NISO RAS approve on the publisher that would assume responsibility for releasing the “Astronomy Reports” Journal. NISO RAS approves the composition of the Editorial Board. NISO RAS may also advise the Editorial Board on changes in policy, ethics or other issues, but decision-making on publication of particular articles is not the responsibility of NISO RAS.

The Editorial Board ensures publicity of its editorial policy and consideration of appeals against negative decisions taken in respect of articles. The Editorial Board considers appeals only if they are provided with information relevant to the editorial decision or if there is a reason to believe that the Editorial Board did not follow the Code of Ethics or the Research Ethics Guidelines. An appeal or a justified complaint may be submitted by e-mail to astrojourn@pran.ru.

The Editorial Board does not tolerate abusive behavior or offensive correspondence towards its staff members and other persons involved in the publication process. In case of such behavior, the Editorial Board has the right to take due measures, including withdrawal of the manuscript from consideration and refusal from further cooperation.

Expert Assessment/Reviewing

Peer assessment/reviewing is crucial for maintaining the high standard of scientific publications. The purpose of reviewing is assessing the theoretical level of submitted articles and assisting the Editorial Board and the Editor-in-Chief in taking a decision on publication.

The Editorial Board:

• ensures a rigorous and fair peer review of all publications in the “Astronomy Reports” Journal;

• expects to be notified in case of evidence of fraudulent or manipulative peer review, by emailing to astrojourn@pran.ru;

• protects confidentiality of review process participants and ensures their anonymity;

• expects the publisher, the authors and the reviewers to comply with all relevant confidentiality rules of the journal and to provide all necessary information.

All reviewers are expected to adhere to the following principles:

• Punctuality. When receiving a material for review, the reviewer assesses its compliance with the level of his/her qualification and the area of scientific interests within a short time. If the reviewer is not in the position to make a review, he/she promptly notifies the Editorial Board about it.

• Confidentiality. Reviewed materials may not be used by reviewers for private purposes or shown to third parties.

• Impartiality. The review process is anonymous. The articles are evaluated in terms of quality of the scientific text, logic of presentation, exactitude of argumentation. Evaluation of the authors’ personality and personal criticism is unacceptable.

• Objectivity. The reviewer provides an objective assessment. The reviewer expresses his/her opinion in a well-argued manner.

Authorship and Participation in Publication-Related Work

Various disciplines and publication formats have different rules regarding authorship. In the absence of other guidelines, the following principles are recommended:

• the author may be a person who has made a significant contribution to the research, took part in the execution of the paper, development of its concept or structure; participated in the collection, analysis or interpretation of data for the paper; and/or

• made a follow-up revision of the manuscript, which added some important intellectual content or deepened the existing scientific knowledge; and

• agreed to be responsible for all aspects of work and to provide due solution of issues relating to its integrity and accuracy of provided data.

Author’s Responsibilities:

• to guarantee the originality of the manuscript: it is assumed that the submitted research paper has not been published previously in other editions in its current form or a form close in content;

• to respect the principle of exclusivity: a manuscript may be submitted only to one journal at a time;

• not to artificially increase scientometric indexes and friendly citation, not to make irrelevant references;

• to correct and revise the manuscript: make corrections and resubmit the corrected manuscript until it is accepted by the Editorial Board;

• to sign the Publication Agreement and/or ensure signing of the Agreement by any third-party copyright holders;

• to act on behalf of the co-authors in responding to inquiries from other sources after the publication, including questions concerning ethics, repeated use of published materials, accessibility of used data and resources.

It is recommended to acknowledge the contribution of anyone who participated in the research or writing of the article, while not meeting the criteria of authorship (with his/her permission) in the “Acknowledgments” section.

Affiliation

The article affiliation is to represent the institution(s) in which the submitted research was carried out and/or supported and/or approved.

Plagiarism

The “Astronomy Reports” Editorial Board adheres to the definition of plagiarism as “the use of others’ ideas, research results, texts or other materials without permission of the authors, and respective references”.

Plagiarism involves incorrect borrowing from all types of sources and media, including:

• texts, illustrations, extended mathematical conclusions, etc;

• material downloaded from websites or copied from manuscripts and other media;

• any published and unpublished materials, including lectures and presentations.

The Editorial Board does not tolerate plagiarism in in any of publications and reserves the right to check all submitted materials with the use of appropriate tools (for instance “Antiplagiat”). Materials containing plagiarism are rejected. The Editorial Board also expects the readers, reviewers and editors to report on suspected plagiarism by contacting the Editorial Board on the e-mail astrojourn@pran.ru.

Self-Plagiarism

A duplicate publication or “self-plagiarism” is a situation when a work or significant parts of it are published more than once by the author(s), in the same or another language, without appropriate cross-referencing or justification of duplication.

The Editorial Board does not support extensive duplication of publications except for the cases when it contributes to academic discussion, with correct source citation.

The Editorial Board expects the readers, reviewers and editors to convey information of any duplication of publication by emailing to astrojourn@pran.ru.

Any manuscript based on an academic thesis should be written in accordance with the style of the journal, and the material should be revised. When citing the thesis or reusing the figures, authors should avoid self-plagiarism by referring to any excerpts from the thesis in a proper manner. If the thesis has been published and is freely available, permission of the publisher may be required. When submitting a manuscript, the author should inform the editor in a cover letter that it is based on the thesis.

Conflict of Interest and Financing

The Editorial Board strives to exclude any undue influence on the scholarly papers publication process. The authors, editors and reviewers of publications in the “Astronomy Reports”  Journal are obliged to report on any potential conflict of interest. The conflict of interest is a situation that may affect the outcome of the peer review or the decision on publication of research results. The conflict may be of financial, non-financial, professional, contractual or personal nature. The Editorial Board expects anyone who has a reason to believe that there is an implicit conflict of interest in respect of a work published or being under consideration by the “Astronomy Reports”  Editorial Office to report it by e-mail to astrojourn@pran.ru.

Libel, Defamation and Freedom of Expression

Freedom of expression is crucial for the “Astronomy Reports” Journal as an academic edition; at the same time, the Editorial Board does not support publication of false statements that can damage the reputation of individuals, groups or organizations. The Editorial Board carries out its activities in accordance with the Constitution and the legislation of the Russian Federation.

Corrections and Retraction

If a correction or retraction is necessary, the Editorial Board will follow the recommendations of СОРЕ for contestation. If a misprint is found or the author is found to have made an error, the Editorial Board will correct it. Retraction is generally applied to articles with erroneous findings and conclusions or articles that contain substantial plagiarism.

The Editorial Board may remove an article from the online source and publish a notice stating the basis for its withdrawal. The possible reason is a finding that the material is defamatory, violates the privacy or confidentiality laws, is a subject of injunction or may pose a serious health risk to the general public. If the problem relates to correctness or accuracy of the material presented in the article the Editorial Board will consider making necessary corrections.

The resolution of a conflict situation may be achieved through negotiations with concerned parties or sending a query to an appropriate institution for expert examination.

Image Manipulation

The editors ask the authors to avoid applying unreasonable changes to images, if possible, since this may lead to distortion of obtained results and decrease their significance.

Clarity/Transparency

The Editorial Board is committed to following the СОРЕ’s Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing and encourages the publishing partners to adhere to the same principles.

Censorship

The “Astronomy Reports” Journal aims to disseminate knowledge to a broad audience and serve the academic community worldwide. The Editorial Board supports the СОРЕ’s statement on censorship and follows the recommendations of RAS.

Marketing Communication

Social media and email are powerful tools for disseminating information about publications in the “Astronomy Reports” Journal, attracting new readers and discussing research findings. However, communication should not be to the prejudice of the journal’s activity. The Editorial Board expects the dissemination of information about the journal to be made in accordance with the Editorial Board’s social media policy, the best media interaction practices and the Russian legislation.

Advertising

The Editorial Board allows for limited advertising, appropriate to the journal’s subject, on the online platforms and in the printed edition. Advertising should be independent and should be strictly separated from the content.

Contacts

One may contact the Editorial Board by e-mail astrojourn@pran.ru for any questions about the “Astronomy Reports” Journal. The messages are handled promptly and confidentially.