PUBLICATION ETHICS AND PUBLICATION MALPRACTICE STATEMENT

The following statement presents the standards of expected ethical behavior for all parties involved (the journal editor and editorial board, peer reviewers, and authors) in the publication of the international journal Slavia Centralis.

1. DUTIES OF THE EDITOR AND EDITORIAL BOARD

Members of journal Slavia Centralis editorial board are the editor-in-chief, the linguistics editor, the literature editor, and the editorial board. The editors and members of the editorial board are responsible for deciding which of the articles submitted to the journal are to be published. Editors are also guided by the policies of the journal's editorial board and principles of fair play, i.e., professional correctness, confidentiality, i.e., anonymity, disclosing of unpublished data, conflict of interests, and measures taken against unethical behavior.

Adequacy of Articles

In principle articles are received by the technical editor and addressed to the editor-in-chief and to the appropriate field editor. After the editors approve the adequacy of the article the reviewing process begins. The field editor in agreement with the editor-in-chief suggests two independent reviewers who must not be from the same institution as the author of the article or his/her close collaborator. Only articles which receive two positive reviews shall be published. The editor-in-chief makes the final decision on publishing of the article. His/her decision is based on the reviews; if necessary he/she may additionally consult field editors or reviewers. The editors and members of the editorial board are guided by the policies of the journal's editorial board and constrained by such legal requirements as shall then be in force regarding libel, copyright infringement, and plagiarism.

Principle of Fair Play and Professional Correctness

Editor-in-chief and field editors estimate adequacy of intellectual content and relevance of the articles received. Editorial decision should never be discriminatory (decisions should be made regardless to race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the authors).

Principle of Confidentiality and Anonymity

Editor-in-chief, field editors and members of the editorial board must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone than the corresponding author or (potential) reviewers. All reviews are anonymous meaning that reviewers do not know author's identity, and the author does not know reviewer's identity. Technical editor assures anonymity.

Disclosure of the Unpublished information

Without an explicit permission by the author editors should not use or disclose the unpublished data from the article submitted.

Conflict of Interests

In case of conflict of interests editor-in-chief has the right and duty to abstain from submitted article's evaluation (e.g. reasons of competitiveness, collaboration with the author, i.e. institutions). In such cases members of editorial board can decide on publishing the article.

Measures Against Unethical Behavior

In case of ethical appeal against submitted or published article it is expected that editors react adequately - editor-in-chief must estimate the relevance of an appeal or demand and he/she must contact the author or other adequate institutions if necessary. If the appeal is legitimate the editor-in-chief must provide for correction or withdrawal of the article submitted/published. Editorial board must consider every report about unethical behavior regardless to when it has appeared (even several years after publication).

2. DUTIES OF REVIEWERS

Each manuscript submitted for eventual publication in journal Slavia Centralis should be peer reviewed by two independent reviewers suggested by field editors and in agreement with the editor-in-chief. The reviewing process begins when reviewer accepts the manuscript.

Reviewing Process and its Contribution to Editorial Decisions

Reviewer - expert in regarded field - receives the review form and an anonymized manuscript. In deadline determined by editors, the reviewer fills in the form explicitly stating whether article is suggested for publishing. Decision must be supported by arguments. Reviewer may add remarks and comments which enable the author to identify his/her weaknesses i.e. mistakes and to correct them, i.e. improve the quality of the submitted article. Reviewer should strive in recognizing plagiarism.

With all of the above the reviewer substantially influences editorial decision about publishing.

Resignation from Reviewing Process

Any selected reviewer who feels unqualified to review the article in a manuscript or knows that its prompt review will be impossible should notify the editor in writing and excuse himself from the review process as soon as possible.

Principle of Confidentiality

Any manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents. They must not be shown to or discussed with others. Information or ideas to which he/she has access during reviewing process must be kept confidential and should not be used for personal advantage.

Principle of Objectivity and Respectfulness

Reviews should be conducted objectively and with respect for the author. Reviewers should express their views clearly with supporting arguments. Personal criticism of the author or offending expression is inappropriate.

Acknowledgement of Sources

Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors. Any statement that an observation, derivation, or argument had been previously reported should be accompanied by the relevant citation. A reviewer should also call to the editor's attention any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and any other paper of which they have personal knowledge.

Conflict of Interest

Reviewers should not consider manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the papers.

3. DUTIES OF AUTHORS

Accuracy and Reliability

Authors of reports of original research should present an accurate account of the work performed as well as an objective discussion of its significance. Underlying data should be represented accurately in the paper. A paper should contain sufficient detail and references to permit others to replicate the work. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and are unacceptable.

Considering Reviewer's Remarks and Comments

The editor-in-chief should inform the author in written form about peer reviews by passing on the peer review form with any remarks and comments that must be taken into account in order for article to be published.

Principal of Originality and Plagiarism

Authors are responsible for submitting entirely original work. If the authors have used the work and/or words of others, they must ensure that this has been appropriately cited or quoted. Plagiarism takes many forms, from ‘passing off' another's paper as the author's own paper, to copying or paraphrasing substantial parts of another's paper (without attribution), to claiming results from research conducted by others. Plagiarism in all its forms constitutes unethical, unacceptable and criminal behavior and shall be treated seriously by Slavia Centralis editors.

Multiple and Concurrent Publication

An author should not in general publish manuscripts describing essentially the same research in more than one journal or primary publication. Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal concurrently constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable. In general, an author should not submit for consideration in another journal a previously published paper. Publication of some kinds of articles (e.g. translations) in more than one journal is sometimes justifiable, provided certain conditions are met. The authors and editors of the journals must agree to the secondary publication, which must reflect the same data and interpretation as the primary document. The primary reference must be cited in the secondary publication.

An author may publish again an article that has been primarily published in journal Slavia Centralis (in printed or electronic version) only when the primary reference is cited in the secondary publication. Authors may add published articles to their personal home page, a departmental home page, or an institutional repository.

Acknowledgement of Sources

The author should always cite sources that have been influential in determining the nature of the reported work. Information obtained privately, as in conversation, correspondence, or discussion with third parties, must not be used or reported without explicit, written permission from the source. Information obtained in the course of confidential services (such as refereeing manuscripts) must not be used.

Authorship of the Paper

Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. All those who have made significant contributions should be listed as co-authors. Where there are others who have participated in certain substantive aspects of the research project, they should be acknowledged or listed as contributors. The corresponding author should ensure that all appropriate co-authors and no inappropriate co-authors are included on the paper, and that all co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the paper and have agreed to its submission for publication in journal Slavia Centralis.

Disclosure and Conflict of Interest

All authors should disclose in their manuscript any financial or other substantive conflict of interest that might be construed to influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript. All sources of financial support for the project should be clearly disclosed.

Fundamental Errors in (published) Articles)

When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in his/her own manuscript or published work, it is the author's obligation to notify promptly the journal editor-in-chief and cooperate with him/her to retract or correct the paper, i.e., publish the appropriate statement.