Ethical Guidelines

"Yerevan State University Publishing House" in its publishing activities adheres to the principles of publication ethics accepted by the international community, as reflected in the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE, https://publicationethics.org/guidance/Guidelines ) and the Singapore Statement on the Integrity of Research Work (https://www.wcrif.org/downloads/main-website/singapore-statements/223-singpore-statement-a4size/file).

To avoid any unfair practices in publishing activities (plagiarism, presenting false information, etc.) and to ensure high quality of scientific publications and public recognition of the author’s scientific results, each member of the Editorial Board, publishers, authors, reviewers, and institutions involved in the publishing process shall adhere to ethical standards, rules, and regulations and take any reasonable steps to prevent their violations. Compliance with these ethical guidelines by all the parties ensures authors’ intellectual property rights, improves the quality of the Journal, and excludes a possible misuse of copyright material in the interests of particular individuals.

The editor should respond promptly and take reasonable measures when an ethical complaint occurs concerning a submitted manuscript or a published paper, and the editor should immediately contact and consult with the author. In these cases, editors are obliged to publish a written formal retraction or correction when needed.

When submitting to the journal, authors (groups of authors) are aware that they bear responsibility for the novelty and validity of scientific results, which implies adhering to the following principles:

• The authors shall provide reliable research results. Deliberately false or fraudulent statements are not acceptable.
• Authors shall ensure that research results are completely original. Every borrowed fragment or statement must be accompanied by a mandatory reference to the author and the original source. Excessive borrowing and any form of plagiarism including non-documented citations, paraphrasing, or appropriating another person’s research results are non-ethical and unacceptable. The Editorial Board regards borrowings without references as plagiarism.
• Authors shall only provide authentic facts and data; give enough information for other researchers to be able to verify and repeat experiments; not use information obtained privately, without open written consent; not allow data fabrication and falsification.
• Authors shall avoid manuscript duplication. If some elements of the manuscript have been previously published, the author shall refer to the earlier work and specify the differences.
• Authors shall not submit the manuscript that has been submitted to another journal and is under consideration, as well as the manuscript already published in another journal.
• It is important to recognize the contribution of all persons who, in one way or another, participated in the research; in particular, the manuscript should contain references to works that significantly influenced the research.
• All those who have made significant contributions are to be described as co-authors. It is not acceptable to list persons who did not take part in the research.
• Authors shall respect the work of the Editorial Board and reviewers and eliminate the indicated inaccuracies or justify them.
• Authors shall submit and prepare their manuscripts in compliance with the Journal standards.
• If the author finds significant errors or inaccuracies in the manuscript under consideration or after its publication, they should immediately inform the Editorial Board.
• Authors shall prove to the Editorial Board or the Publisher that their initial manuscript is valid or correct substantial errors if the Editorial Board has become aware of them from a third party.
• The author can request withdrawal of the manuscript after submission within the time span when the manuscript is still in the peer-reviewing process. After the manuscript is accepted for publication, withdrawal is not permitted.
• Content changes and clarifications made in the text are agreed with the author. In case of disagreement with editorial interventions, the parties have the right to refuse the publication of the material or come to a mutual agreement
• The editorial board is under the obligation not to use the information contained therein and provide it to a third party, except for the reviewers.

To check and prevent plagiarism, the journal uses a service provided by Crossref and maintained by iThenticate.

 The Editor-in-Chief shall evaluate the intellectual content of the manuscript regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, origin, citizenship, social status, or political preferences of the author.

The Editor-in-Chief shall not allow the paper to be published if there is sufficient evidence to believe that it is plagiarism.

The Editor-in-Chief shall decide on the publication of materials according to the following main criteria:

• appropriateness of the manuscript for the Journal;
• relevance, novelty, and scientific significance of the submitted manuscript;
• clarity; reliability of results and completeness of conclusions.

The Editor-in-Chief shall:

• take all necessary steps to provide a high quality of published materials and protect the confidentiality of personal information;
• consider recommendations of reviewers when making a final decision on publishing the manuscript. The Editorial Board of the Journal takes the entire responsibility for a decision on the publication or rejection of the manuscript;
• justify decisions regarding acceptance or rejection of the manuscript;
• allow the author of the reviewed material to substantiate their research viewpoint.

Manuscripts are peer-reviewed by a minimum of two peers in the same field. The reviewers submit their reports on the manuscripts along with their recommendations to the Editor-in-Chief. The manuscript received for review shall be treated as a confidential document that cannot be passed for discussion or examination to a third party unless authorized by the Editorial Board.

The editorial board makes impartial decisions exclusively based on the professional level and quality of the materials provided,

A decision on publication is made on the basis of the quality of the research and its relevance.

Authorship of the manuscript

These authorship criteria are commonly used to determine who should be listed as an author in a manuscript. It ensures that those listed as authors have made substantial contributions to the research and are willing to take responsibility for the content. To be listed as an author, an individual should meet the following criteria:

1. Significant contributions: The individual should have made significant contributions to the conception, design, execution, data acquisition, or analysis/interpretation of the research. This means they have played a substantial role in the research process.
2. Drafted or revised critically: The individual should have participated in the writing process of the manuscript. They should have either drafted the paper or revised it critically for important intellectual content. This ensures that they have actively contributed to the development and improvement of the manuscript.
3. Final manuscript approval: The individual should have seen and approved the final version of the manuscript. They should also agree to its submission for publication. This indicates that they have reviewed the manuscript and are willing to take public responsibility for its content.

By adhering to these criteria, the manuscript can accurately represent the contributions and responsibilities of each author. It also helps maintain ethical standards in scholarly publications.

According to the guidelines on authorship by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) and COPE, individuals who have contributed to the research but do not meet the criteria for authorship should be acknowledged in the "Acknowledgements" section of the manuscript. However, it is important to obtain their written permission before including their names in the acknowledgments.

The corresponding author plays a crucial role in ensuring the integrity of the author list. They should make sure that all individuals who have made significant contributions to the research are included as appropriate coauthors, while also ensuring that no individuals who have not contributed are included. Additionally, the corresponding author should confirm that all coauthors have reviewed and approved the final version of the manuscript before it is submitted for publication.

Informed Consent

The Journal requires its authors to follow ethical guidelines that govern our work, especially including social studies, surveys, social experiments, and communication with various social groups in terms of social work and social assistance. For instance, gathering data from minors usually requires obtaining permission from their parents or legal guardians. All research participants must provide their consent to be part of a study, and they should receive relevant information to make an informed decision about their participation. This means that participants should be fully informed about the study's details before giving their consent. Researchers must obtain explicit permission from the participant (and parents or guardians if the participant is a minor) before interacting with them or making them the focus of the study. Generally, this permission is obtained in writing, although in some cases, completion of a task, such as a survey, may serve as informed consent.

Research participants have the right to decline participation without facing any negative consequences. Universities that fund research projects resulting in submissions to our Journal are encouraged to have an Institutional Review Board (IRB) that oversees all research conducted at the institution. Consequently, anyone conducting research affiliated with the university must submit their study for IRB approval before commencing the research. If a university where the research has been conducted, does not have IRB, we require our author(s) to describe the methodology in detail, including every stage of the research procedure, and stating no conflict with the Research ethics of our Journal.

Researchers are obligated to adhere to a code of ethics that includes the following protections for research subjects:

1. Protection from physical or psychological harm, including the preservation of dignity, autonomy, and self-esteem.
2. Safeguarding privacy and maintaining confidentiality.
3. Ensuring protection against unjustifiable deception.

For a research participant's consent to be considered voluntary and informed, the person involved should have the legal capacity to provide consent and must be in a situation where they can freely choose to participate without any form of force, fraud, deceit, coercion, or undue influence. The participant should possess sufficient knowledge and understanding of the study's purpose, method, potential risks, inconveniences, and possible effects on their health or well-being resulting from their involvement in the research.

The consent form that study participants sign should cover the following key points:

1. Clearly state what participants are being asked to do, who is conducting the research, and the purpose of the study. Participants must be aware of the researcher's identity, affiliations if any, and whom to contact for information or if they encounter any issues during the research process. This includes providing contact information for both the researcher and the university's IRB.
2. Inform participants of any potential risks associated with participating in the research.
3. Outline the rights participants have in the research process, especially the right to review the collected data and the right to withdraw from the study at any time.
4. Indicate whether participants' names will be used in the study if any other names will be used, or if pseudonyms will be utilized.
5. Describe how the study's results will be disseminated and whether participants can expect any form of benefit, such as monetary compensation or other advantages, from taking part in the study.
6. Emphasize that participants are free to decide whether or not to participate in the research without facing any negative consequences.
7. In the case of children, the consent form must be signed by their legal guardian, as children cannot be expected to provide informed consent.
8. The consent form should be written in the second person (e.g., "You have the right to…") and use clear and easily understandable language.

Disclosure and conflicts of interest

It is crucial for authors to disclose any potential conflicts of interest that could influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript. This transparency helps to ensure the integrity and credibility of the research. Financial conflicts of interest, such as funding sources or stock ownership, should be disclosed, as well as non-financial conflicts, such as personal relationships or affiliations. It is also important to disclose all sources of financial support for the work, including grant numbers or reference numbers. This level of disclosure promotes transparency and allows readers to assess any potential biases that may exist.