Academic Integrity and Publication Ethics Policy

The editorial board of the journal Synopsys: Text, Context, Media, and Borys Grinchenko Kyiv Metropolitan University, as its publisher, adheres to publication ethics standards and makes efforts to prevent their violation. Our guidelines are the principles developed by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

The journal's purpose is to provide an academic discussion of topics, regardless of their nature (religious, gender, environmental, ethical, political, or other topics related to potentially controversial subjects).

1 Ethical expectations

1.1 Editors' responsibilities

○ To act in a balanced, objective and fair way while carrying out their expected duties, without discrimination on grounds of religious or political beliefs, gender, sexual orientation, ethnic or geographical origin of the authors.

○ Adhere to established procedures in the event of a conflict of interest or complaints of non-compliance with ethical standards. To provide authors the opportunity to respond reasonably to any complaints and comments.

1.2 Reviewers' responsibilities

○ To assist in improving the quality of the published papers, and to contribute to the decision-making process.

○ Not to keep and not to copy a manuscript. To keep and maintain the confidentiality of any information supplied by an editor or an author.

○ To be aware of any potential conflicts of interest and to alert the chief editor to these.

1.3 Authors' responsibilities

○ To submit the most accurate data in the accompanying documents to the manuscript.

○ To ensure that the submitted manuscript is not considered or has not been accepted for publication elsewhere. 

○ To ensure that all research in the submitted manuscript is original and to provide references to all material given in the manuscript from other sources.

○ To declare any potential conflicts of interest

○ To cooperate with the editor and publisher for the fastest possible changes, additions, and clarifications.

1.4 Authorship and AI

○ Large Language Models (LLMs), like ChatGPT, do not meet our authorship requirements. The attribution of authorship carries a responsibility for the paper that cannot be adequately applied to LLMs.

○ The use of an LLM in research should be appropriately documented in the Methods section of the manuscript, or in a suitable alternative part if a Methods section is not available.

1.5 Authorship and contribution

○ Authorship is based on substantial scholarly contribution. The journal applies the CRediT taxonomy, which specifies individual roles such as conceptualisation, methodology, investigation, writing, and editing.

○ All authors share collective responsibility for the content of the publication.

○ Listing as authors individuals who did not make a scholarly contribution is not permitted.

1.6 Conflict of interest

○ Authors, reviewers, and editors must declare any potential or actual conflicts of interest, financial, academic, professional, or personal, that may influence the impartiality of evaluation or editorial decisions.

1.7 Equity and inclusion policy

○ The editorial board upholds the principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion. Decisions regarding manuscript acceptance are made solely on the basis of academic quality, regardless of the authors’ gender, age, nationality, language, ethnicity, religion, political views, social background, or institutional affiliation.

○ The journal is committed to providing equal opportunities for all researchers and fostering an inclusive scholarly environment.

1.8 Plagiarism, duplication, fabrication, and falsification

○ The journal does not accept manuscripts containing plagiarism, self-plagiarism, duplicate publications, or materials based on fabricated or falsified data.

○ All submissions are checked using similarity-detection software. In cases of misconduct, procedures recommended by COPE are applied, ranging from rejection of the manuscript to the retraction of already published articles.

1.9 Use of prior publications and preprints

○ The journal accepts submissions that have preprint versions deposited in recognised repositories or platforms. Authors must declare the existence of a preprint at the time of submission and provide a reference to it.

○ The use of material from prior publications is allowed only with proper citation and in compliance with copyright regulations.

1.10 Policy on advertising materials and external influence

○ The journal does not consider advertising materials and does not allow the inclusion of hidden advertising or sponsored content that lacks scholarly value.

○ Editorial decisions are made exclusively on the basis of academic merit.

○ The journal operates independently of commercial, political, or other external influences that could compromise the integrity of the publication process.

2 Procedures for dealing with unethical behaviour

2.1 Identification of unethical behaviour

○ Unethical behaviour may be identified and brought to the attention of the editor and publisher at any time, by anyone. The informer must provide accurate information and reasonable evidence to initiate an investigation.

2.2 Investigation, handling of complaints

○ The necessary evidence should be collected without public coverage.

○ The editorial board must decide on each application.

○ All complaints are handled confidentially and without undue delay.

○ The Editor-in-Chief initiates an inquiry and, where appropriate, involves members of the editorial board or independent experts. Decisions are taken in line with the principles of impartiality, transparency, and the recommendations of the COPE.

○ The complainant receives a reasoned response describing the outcome.

2.3 Outcomes (in increasing order of severity; may be applied separately or in conjunction)

○ Informing the author or reviewer about the facts and circumstances of a misunderstanding, abuse or misuse of ethical standards.

○ Publication of a formal notice detailing the misconduct.

○ Formal retraction or withdrawal of a publication from the journal, in conjunction with informing the head of the author's or reviewer's department, Abstracting & Indexing services and the readership of the publication.

○ Imposition of a formal embargo on contributions from an individual for a defined period.

○ Consideration of the case and outcome to external official and judicial instances.

2.4 Appeals against editorial decisions

○ Authors have the right to appeal an editorial decision (e.g., rejection, a requirement for substantial revision).

○ Appeals must be submitted in writing and must set out specific grounds for reconsideration.

○ Appeals are reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief together with members of the editorial board who were not involved in the original decision; additional independent experts may be consulted if needed.

○ The decision on appeal is final.