CODE OF ETHICS
Publication Ethics
The publication of texts in the biannual journal “Theological-Historical Studies of Opole Silesia” is carried out in accordance with the Code of Conduct of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). All parties involved in the publication process (journal editors, authors, reviewers) are obliged to apply the standards of ethical behavior applicable in the journal.
Author’s Responsibilities
Authorship means people who had a significant impact on establishing the concept, hypotheses, research methods and the implementation of the research idea. In detail, the author of the article is the person who significantly contributed to the creation of the concept of the work or to the analysis and interpretation of data; prepared the original version of the text or critically assessed it, making a significant intellectual contribution; decided on the final shape of the text in the version in which it is to be published. If the text is prepared by several authors, each of them is obliged to submit a declaration of contribution to its creation and requires a separate consent to submit it for publication in the journal “Theological-Historical Studies of Opole Silesia”. Information about the nature of the contribution of each author should be provided (e.g. "Contribution of individual authors: AB is responsible for the research concept; CD collected the data. Both authors co-created the original text of the article"; or: "The individual authors made the following declarations regarding their participation in research process: research concept: first author; data analysis: second author; text creation: first and second authors" This information will be included in the published text. People who participated in some parts of the research that resulted in the article should be listed in the "Acknowledgments" section. The lead author (or the author to whom correspondence should be addressed) should ensure that all co-authors (as defined above) are included as co-authors of the article, that there are no inappropriate persons among them, and that all of them have seen and approved the final version of the article and have agreed for its publication.
If more than one person participated in the creation of the text and the preceding research, in accordance with the COPE guidelines, any changes to the authorship information requires the written consent of all authors. Each of them should express such consent separately in an electronic letter addressed directly to the editor-in-chief of the journal. The consent of each author to change the authorship information of an article submitted for publication or already published must take the form of a written declaration. The obligation to provide a clearly defined reason for the proposed change and to coordinate interactions between the authors and the editor-in-chief rests with the corresponding author. If the authors fail to reach an agreement, they should appeal to their own authorities, which are responsible for making the final decision. The editorial office does not undertake to mediate in such disputes. If the procedure described concerns an already published article, the change of authorship information takes place in the mode of publishing a new article containing a correction.
The reliability of scientific works is a fundamental element of their quality; therefore, authors should present research results in a competent, credible, honest and beyond doubt manner. The author undertakes to publish original scientific works, i.e. those that have not yet been submitted for publication in another journal or publishing house (e.g. a chapter in a monograph). Parallel submission of the same text to another publication constitutes a violation of ethical principles. Multiple, unnecessary, or simultaneous publications of the same text is unacceptable. The key criterion for assessing the submitted text is the objectivity of the analyzes and a clear presentation of the research problem. False statements, falsification of research results, manipulation of data are considered unethical and are not accepted.
Whenever the text refers to statements, research results or data developed by other authors, a footnote must be included, and/or in the form of a citation. The authors should prepare the text based on the latest literature on the subject, which is crucial for the presentation of the research problem. Information obtained in conversation or correspondence with third parties may be quoted in the text only after obtaining the express written consent of such persons.
Before submitting a text, you must submit a declaration that there is no risk of violating the ethics of publishing related to authorship, referred to as ghostwriting and guest authorship. Ghostwriting means a situation when a person who significantly contributed to the creation of a publication was not disclosed as its author or, in the case of a contribution of a strictly technical nature that does not qualify such a person to be an author, his or her contribution was not described in the publication. Guest authorship is the opposite situation, in which a person is listed in the publication as the author, although his or her contribution to the creation of the text is insufficient or missing.
If it is revealed that the author of the publication has committed unethical behavior - such as plagiarism, falsification of data or re-publication of a previously published work or part thereof (so-called self-plagiarism) - the editorial office will ask him for explanations and then take appropriate steps, as provided for in the COPE guidelines. At a later stage of the proceedings, this may mean notifying the authorities of the author's scientific unit, rejecting a given article, or refusing to publish any texts written by a person who has acted reprehensibly in the journal. If the author finds significant errors or inaccuracies in his or her published work, he or she is obliged to immediately notify the journal's editorial office and cooperate with them in order to withdraw the article or publish an appropriate erratum.
Editorial Responsibilities
The editorial staff of the journal “Theological-Historical Studies of Opole Silesia” decides on the publication of the submitted text by taking into account primarily the scientific nature of the analyses, compliance with the thematic profile of the journal, as well as striving to eliminate cases of plagiarism and practices known as guest authorship and/or ghostwriting. The editorial office decides to accept submitted texts for printing solely based on their substantive content, regardless of the race, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political preferences of the author(s). The editor does not disclose any information about the article under consideration to anyone other than the author(s), reviewers, or potential reviewers, and, if necessary, members of the scientific council of the journal.
When deciding to publish a text, the editors are guided by the policy of the journal's editorial committee, as well as legal requirements regulating matters of defamation, copyright infringement and plagiarism. The editors are guided by the standards adopted in academic publications, exclude practices that violate ethical and intellectual norms, and are always ready to publish corrections, clarifications, cancellations, and apologies, if necessary. The editorial office undertakes to ensure that advertising, reprinting or other commercial revenues of the journal do not influence decisions in the editorial process.
The editorial team undertakes to provide a fair and substantive review. Before starting the process of considering an article, the editor should recognize possible conflicts of interest resulting from competition, cooperation or other relationships and connections with each of the authors or institutions related to the articles proposed for publication. If such situations arise, the editor asks the co-editors or other members of the editorial office to undertake the process of considering the article and reviewing it. The editors require all contributors to disclose existing competing conflicts of interest and make corrections when competing interests are disclosed after publication of the article. If necessary, other appropriate action should be taken, e.g. withdrawal of publication or publication of corrections.
In the event of complaints about violations of the ethical principles of scientific publications addressed to the editorial office, the author(s) of the text submitted for publication are informed in writing about the allegations and asked to respond to them. If there is no response, the institution to which the authors are affiliated is informed about the matter.
The text with a positive opinion from two external reviewers is submitted for publication. In the case of conditional admission for publication (when reviewers indicate the need to introduce changes and/or additions), the author is informed in writing about the need to make substantive corrections to the text. A negative assessment of the text by two reviewers results in the rejection of the text, of which the author is informed in writing.
Reviewers Responsibilities
Each scientific article submitted for publication is reviewed by two independent external reviewers. The double-blind reviewing procedure adopted by the journal “Theological-Historical Studies of Opole Silesia” guarantees that the author and reviewers do not know each other's identities.
The reviewer selected by the Editorial Office of the journal “Theological-Historical Studies of Opole Silesia” evaluates the submitted text and is obliged to inform the editorial office about the inability to evaluate the text due to lack of qualifications or lack of time. In such a case, the Editorial Office immediately appoints another reviewer.
The text submitted for review is treated as confidential material. The reviewer may not show and/or discuss the text with persons other than members of the journal's editorial staff. Research results, data, opinions, and statements contained in the text submitted for publication cannot be used by the reviewer in his or her own research until the article is published.
The primary obligation of a reviewer is to objectively evaluate the text. Criticism based on personal reasons is inappropriate. All comments, assessments and suggestions should be indicated clearly and supported by arguments. The following criteria are taken into consideration in the review process: original and scientific nature of the submitted text; compliance with the thematic profile of the magazine; method of achieving scientific goals and clear presentation of the research problem; proper use of subject literature; proper justification of statements and conclusions. Detailed rules of the review procedure adopted by the journal “Theological-Historical Studies of Opole Silesia” are available on the website in the information for authors section.
The reviewer informs the Editorial Office about any suspicion of plagiarism or so-called self-plagiarism by the person submitting the text for publication, indicating a part/parts of the text that raise doubts.
Prevention and detection of plagiarism cases
Plagiarism in all forms is an unethical practice and is not condoned in any way. In case of suspicion of plagiarism, the editorial office of the journal “Theological-Historical Studies of Opole Silesia” applies a checking procedure with the participation of reviewers and the person submitting the text. If the illegal use of the text, theories, research results or data is confirmed, the author of the article submitted for publication is informed in writing about the rejection of the text. If there is no response, the institution to which the author is affiliated is notified. In the case of so-called self-plagiarism, when the author includes previously published fragments of his own text in the article submitted for publication, the editorial office of the journal “Theological-Historical Studies of Opole Silesia” informs in writing about the refusal to publish the article due to the lack of original character of the analyses.
Conflict of interest
A conflict of interest occurs when an author (or the entity he or she represents), a reviewer, or an editor is involved in economic or personal relationships that inappropriately influence their actions. Other, related terms for this phenomenon are: conflict of obligations and conflict of loyalty. Obvious examples of conflicts of interest involve economic relationships, such as employment, receiving remuneration, and providing paid consultations and expert opinions. Situations of this type also carry the risk of undermining the credibility of the journal, the authors, and even the scientific research itself. However, sources of conflict of interest may also include personal relationships or scientific competition, political or intellectual passions, etc. Each author and reviewer with any type of conflict of interest is obliged to report this fact to the editorial office and, if there is a justified reason, to withdraw from the assigned tasks.
