General principles

The publisher of the journal Current Problems of Forensic Science (PTK Publishing House) declares that applies the ethical standards developed by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and recommended by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education (MNiSW). The COPE standards help publishers to disseminate ethical publishing practices. They guarantee the application of publication ethics, including transparency and integrity in science. Adherence to these rules applies to the publisher as well as to authors and reviewers. A detailed description of the standards can be found at Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Each publication submitted to the PTK Publishing House is peer-reviewed prior to publication for compliance with publication ethics, reliability, and scientific merit.

Publisher rules

Criteria for accepting texts for publication

The editor decides which texts will be published. Acceptance for publication is based on the reviewers' opinions regarding the scientific value of the work, the originality of the approach to the problem, the clarity of the argumentation, and the compatibility of the content of the publication with the thematic profile of the journal. The publisher checks the publications submitted for publication in the anti-plagiarism program.

Controlling ethical standards

The Publisher is constantly vigilant to ensure compliance with applicable publishing standards and publishing ethics, and to prevent practices that are inconsistent with accepted standards. Ensures rigorous ethical review of the publishing process, following the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Publication Ethics (COPE), and adheres to the principles of transparency and good practice in scientific publishing. The publisher is committed to preventing misuse of the publication process and remains available to answer any questions or concerns that may arise regarding the publication process.

Fair play

Race, gender, religion, national origin, citizenship, or political beliefs of the authors will not be considered in any way. Entries will be judged solely on their merits.

Addressing conflicts of interest

The Publisher shall apply the principles of respecting the moral rights of authors, in particular, respecting the right to decide how to indicate authorship, taking care of the reputation and good name of authors and publications.

Unpublished texts may not be used by employees of the publishing house or other persons involved in the publishing process without the written consent of the authors.

Withdrawal of publication

The publisher reserves the right to withdraw a publication after it has been published if:
– there is evidence of unreliability of test results and/or falsification of data, as well as unintentional errors (e.g. methodological errors, calculation errors);
– the work shows the signs of plagiarism or violates the rules of publishing ethics.

Confidentiality principle

The Publisher guarantees the confidentiality and security of the personal data processed. The Publisher shall not disclose any information about the works submitted for publication to unauthorized persons. Persons authorized to receive such information are: the author, designated reviewers, editors, and other persons involved in the publishing process. The review of a work is an internal document of the publisher.

Text proofreading, additions

The author, as well as the editor and reviewers, may revise the text through discussion at the stage of the editorial process (before the text is published). By submitting a text for publication, the author undertakes to actively participate in the discussions of the editorial board of the journal.

The editors reserve the right to correct texts submitted for publication without notifying the authors. This applies only to minor changes. Minor changes include, for example, improved formatting and spelling. These are not major changes that affect the reception or scope of the presented content.

Major changes, such as retraction of an article due to an error, addition or removal of an author, improvement of data that affect the interpretation of research results after publication, may be made according to the procedures indicated by COPE.

Authors are encouraged to promptly report and correct any perceived errors, inaccuracies, or misleading statements.

Post-publication discussions

The editors invite all interested parties to participate in a discussion of the published content. The editors may publish the content of the discussion in the magazine. The author declares his willingness to publish the article and at the same time declares that he will fulfill his obligation to respond to the discussion, if requested by the editor.

Addressing reported or identified violations of publication ethics, research integrity, and the integrity of the scientific literature

The publisher will consider any report of unethical publishing behavior, even if it is discovered long after the publication date. In the case of violations of the rules of publishing ethics, in particular with regard to a reasonable suspicion or statement:
– plagiarism,
– reproducing someone else's work to a lesser extent,
– duplicate the author's own work,
– crafting the data,
– unauthorized use by the reviewer of the author's work for his own publication,
– "ghostwriting" and "guest authorship"
– other violations,
The publisher collects evidence and takes appropriate action in accordance with COPE guidelines, depending on the scope and severity of the breach of publishing ethics. These activities include, but are not limited to:
– discontinuance of the proceedings due to the non-occurrence of ethical violations,
– issuing a letter to the author or reviewer requesting an explanation and indicating a violation of ethics, along with a warning about the need for future due diligence,
– publication on the publisher's website of an official notice including details of the author's or reviewer's ethical violations,
– publishing a correction of the work,
– withdrawal of text from publication,
– notification of the case to relevant entities, including the author's employing institutions, scientific associations, and, if necessary, law enforcement or other entities,
– imposing a formal embargo on the author or reviewer with the publication of information about such fact on the Publisher's pages,
– taking other actions appropriate to the circumstances.

Whenever a breach of ethics is reported, the addressee (author, reviewer) has the right to respond to all allegations made. The decision on the nature and scope of the action to be taken will be made by the Editor-in-Chief in consultation with the other members of the Scientific Editorial Board of the journal and, if necessary, after obtaining the opinion of the Scientific Council.

Conflicts of interest

Any interests that may be considered competing by parties involved in the publication process (from authors and co-authors to reviewers to managing editors and others), whether of a financial or non-financial nature, should be disclosed promptly so that appropriate publication decisions can be made and, if the submission is accepted after the article has been published, to allow readers to form their own judgments about the potential conflict of interest and how to resolve it.

Complaints and appeals

Submitted material will undergo a preliminary formal evaluation by the PWK Scientific Editorial Board, particularly with respect to compliance with the publication requirements and the subject areas of the publication. A negative review by the Scientific Editorial Board will result in the paper not being accepted for publication.  The decision of the Scientific Editorial Board is final. In case of a positive evaluation by the Scientific Editorial Board, the submitted paper will be reviewed by two independent peer reviewers in accordance with the journal's peer review process. The final decision regarding publication or rejection of a submitted paper is made by the Editor-in-Chief in consultation with the Scientific Editorial Board and, if necessary, with members of the journal's Scientific Council who are competent in the field. The Editor-in-Chief's decision is final and not subject to appeal, unless there are genuine concerns supported by strong evidence, such as conflicts of interest or biased reviews. In this case, additional opinions should be sought to reach a final decision. The decision process for new submissions will take precedence over any appeals. For other complaints or comments about the journal, please contact the editors directly, who will take the necessary steps to resolve them.

 

Rules for authors

General principles

The author guarantees that the copyright of the work transferred to the publisher on the day of its acceptance by the publisher is not restricted by the rights of third parties, that the use and disposal of the work by the publisher does not violate the personal rights or the rights of third parties.

Only original, previously unpublished work will be accepted for publication. Submitting the same work to more than one journal is considered inappropriate. The author declares that he/she has not given and will not give permission for the text to be published by another journal. If the above statement turns out to be false, the editors have the right to refuse to publish the text.

The author is responsible for the current legal status of the content of the work, cited regulations, case law and doctrine. If the author discovers an error or inaccuracy in the text after submitting it, he/she is obliged to notify the publisher immediately.

Texts submitted by authors are published on the basis of copyright agreements, which regulate all copyright issues.

The principle of scientific integrity

Authors are required to provide an accurate description of the research performed and an objective interpretation of the results. The paper should include information to identify data sources. Plagiarism or fabrication of data is unacceptable.

The principle of originality of work

Authors may submit for publication only their own original work, which may not be plagiarized or self-plagiarized in any way (in whole or in part from books published in other publications), and the research descriptions, information, or views of other authors used in the publication should be clearly identified in the text of the work, references, or bibliography, or marked to indicate that it is a citation. Plagiarism or fabrication of data is unacceptable.

Principle of reliability of sources

Authors must list the publications they have used in the preparation of the text in the appendix bibliography.

The principle of correctness of text editing and error correction

Authors should compose the text in an error-free, logical, and coherent manner, and if the author discovers errors or inaccuracies, he or she is obligated to inform the publisher so that the errors can be corrected in an erratum, the next edition of the work, or a reprint.

Data sharing and restoration

Where appropriate due to the nature of the research submitted for publication, authors may be required to provide access to the underlying raw data. The methods used must be presented accurately, with sufficient references to allow other researchers to replicate the work and verify the results. The need for a data availability statement may be raised during the editorial process, and its scope and form of presentation will be discussed and agreed with the authors concerned.

In the case of co-authorship, authors are required to indicate the percentage contribution of each author to the publication.

Authors are required to inform the Editorial Board about contributions from scientific research institutions, associations, and other entities. Any cases of "ghostwriting", "guest authorship" are manifestations of scientific dishonesty, and any such cases detected will be disclosed, including notification of relevant entities (institutions employing authors, scientific societies, associations of scientific editors, etc.).

Authors will be asked to provide (in a footnote) information about the sources of funding for a given publication, such as national, international grants, grants from foundations, associations, or commercial entities.

Intellectual property

When submitting their work to the Publisher, the authors, after their text has been qualified for publication, shall submit a written declaration in accordance with the model available on the Publishing House's website, in which they confirm the transfer of copyright to the work and the right to publish and distribute the submitted work in both paper and electronic versions. In case of publication and distribution of the journal on the website of the Publishing House and in other Polish and international online indexing and information databases, the Authors agree to publish and distribute the published work in accordance with the established rules of the Publishing House (license CC BY-NC http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) and other terms and conditions of the indexing databases with which the Publishing House cooperates on a non-commercial basis. The authors also declare that the aforementioned work (in whole or in part) has not been published before, that it is based on reliable statistical, analytical and other information, and that it does not violate the rights of third parties. The authors hold the copyright without any other restrictions.

 

Rules for reviewers

General principles

Articles are peer-reviewed prior to publication. To evaluate each publication, the publisher appoints at least two reviewers from among the members of the Scientific Council or other specialists in the field to which the publication relates.

The names of the reviewers of individual publications are not disclosed to the authors. The list of reviewers cooperating with the journal, without identifying the reviewer of a particular publication, is published on the journal's website and in its print version after the publication of the journal.

Policy to prevent conflicts of interest

The reviewer does not know the personal details of the author(s), but should assess, based on the text of the peer-reviewed article, the possibility of conflicts of interest arising from competition, collaboration or other relationships related to the submitted manuscript. In this case, the reviewer should abstain from reviewing the manuscript. The reviewer may not use the reviewed work for their personal needs and benefits.

Timeliness principle

The reviewer is obligated to submit the review within the specified deadline. If for any reason (content, lack of time, etc.) the reviewer is unable to meet the deadline or perform the review, the reviewer should immediately notify the publisher.

Confidentiality principle

The reviewer should not disclose the review to third parties, except to those who are involved in the publishing process.

The principle of maintaining standards of review integrity

The review should be fair and objective, and comments and conclusions should be adequately justified. The reviewer should identify works related to the subject matter of the text that are not cited by the author but are relevant to the subject matter addressed. The reviewer should also identify and report to the publisher any significant similarities between the reviewed text and other works.