Publication Ethics

The Editorial Board of Acta Universitatis Lodziensis. Folia Sociologica is committed to provide the highest ethical standards at every stage of the publishing procedure. Acta Universitatis Lodziensis. Folia Sociologica is a Committee on Publication Ethics member since 2019 and strictly follows the rules of that organisation. The review process in Acta Universitatis Lodziensis. Folia Sociologica is arranged by double-blind system. Every text is subject to at least two reviews. 

For further information, cf. the rules below and the sections: Guidelines for authors and Guidelines for reviewers. 

Editorial Procedure — Schedule

Texts are accepted for the journal "Acta Universitatis Lodziensis. Folia Sociologica" via the journal's website and the OJS platform (see: Make a submission).   

A Managing Editor is appointed to the submitted text (assigned in the OJS system). After reading the text, the editors assess whether there are any circumstances violating ethical principles or other premises that require refusing to accept it for further proceedings.   

During the editorial board meeting, the Editor-In-Chief and the editorial board discuss the submitted texts, decide on implementing further procedures, or refuse to accept the text. Each text is assigned two reviewers (double-blind review). Review requests are directed to potential reviewers through the OJS system, where the progress of editorial work can be tracked. Correspondence with authors is also carried out on the OJS platform.   

After receiving complete reviews, the Managing Editor, the Editor-In-Chief, and the editorial board will read the content. If two negative reviews are received, the text is rejected. If one positive and one negative review are received, the editorial board may decide to appoint a third reviewer.   

The Managing Editor makes the content of the review and the reviewers' comments available to the author, and after receiving the corrected article, the Editor-In-Chief and the editorial board assess whether the reviewers' comments have been duly taken into account by the author of the article.   

The Managing Editor collects the accepted final versions of the texts, prepares the final table of contents, and submits the entire journal volume to the publisher after the Editor-In-Chief approves.   

Guest Editors who are specialists in a given scientific and research area can also participate in preparing thematic issues. They participate in the publication process by providing opinions on the editor's submitted texts. They also suggest external reviewers to whom articles can be submitted.   

After completing the review process, the Guest Editor, the Editor-In-Chief, and the Managing Editor check whether the author has appropriately considered the suggestions and comments in the reviews.   

The final decision on the publication of articles selected for the special issue is made by the journal's Editor-in-Chief in consultation with the Guest Editor and the Managing Editor.  

However, the Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Team reserve the right to withdraw an article if it exceeds the journal's thematic scope, does not meet the definition of a scientific article, contains false information, or if the author has violated the journal's ethical principles.  

The Editor-in-Chief and the editorial board ensure the timely placement of the new volume in reference and index databases.    

The following policy was created in accordance with COPE standards.   

Policies and Guidelines for Authors

  1. Authors submitting results of their original research in Acta Universitatis Lodziensis. Folia Sociologica should present an accurate account of the work performed as well as an objective discussion of its significance in the field of sociology. Underlying data should be represented accurately in the manuscript. Sufficient detail and references are necessary to verify and replicate the work. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behaviour and are unacceptable. 
  2. Acta Universitatis Lodziensis. Folia Sociologica publishes exclusively original research results. Authors should therefore ensure that they have written entirely original works and, if they have used the work and/or words of others, that this has been appropriately cited or quoted.  
  3. Manuscripts describing essentially the same or redundant research in more than one journal or primary publication generally should not be published. Parallel submission of the same paper to more than one journal constitutes unethical publishing behaviour, and it will not be accepted in Acta Universitatis Lodziensis. Folia Sociologica. 
  4. The work of others must be always properly acknowledged. Authors should also cite the sources that have been influential in creating the reported work. 
  5. It is requested to limit the authorship only to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. The corresponding author must ensure that all contributors are listed as co-authors (according to the above definition) and that no inappropriate names are included in the submitted authors list. Where there are others who have participated in certain substantive aspects of the research project, they should be named in an Acknowledgement section. 
  6. All co-authors should approve the final version of the paper and agree to its submission for publication in the Acta Universitatis Lodziensis. Folia Sociologica. 
  7. The financial or other substantive conflicts of interest that might be construed to influence the results or their interpretation on the part of all of the co-authors should be made known in the manuscript submitted to Acta Universitatis Lodziensis. Folia Sociologica. All sources of financial support for the project should also be disclosed.  
  8. When the authors discover a significant error or inaccuracy in their own published work, they are obligated to promptly notify the Acta Universitatis Lodziensis. Folia Sociologica editorial team and collaborate with the editors and publisher to retract the paper or to issue an appropriate erratum.  
  9. Publishing the photographic image of people performing public functions who are not widely known and who were not presented against the background of the landscape or immortalized among other people during a public event requires obtaining their consent for the dissemination of the image and the processing of personal data (GPRD - obligation to provide information about personal data protection). 
  10. To publish the research that contains personal data (including surveys and social media) in Acta Universitatis Lodziensis. Folia Sociologica, the authors must obtain approval and a positive opinion from their institutional committee of ethics. Authors affiliated with the University of Lodz must obtain approval of the audit commission operating at the University of Lodz as a form of supervision to establish ethical standards and suggested forms (e.g., in the context of sensitive questions). The authors should provide the Editorial Board with proof that the research was conducted with the informed consent of respondents and in accordance with General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 (EU) 2016/679, abbreviated GDPR). 
  11. Publishing the photographic image of people performing public functions who are not widely known and who were not presented against the background of the landscape or immortalized among other people during a public event requires obtaining their consent for the dissemination of the image and the processing of personal data (GPRD - obligation to provide information about personal data protection).  
  12. The submission must not violate the rights of third parties, in particular other copyrights, and all necessary permissions regarding the use of copyrighted materials have been obtained by the Author(s) and submitted to the Editor. 
  13. The authors may be requested to share the research data and should be prepared to provide access to unprocessed research results, including for a period after the article is published.
     

Policies and Guidelines for Editors

Editorial Team of  Acta Universitatis Lodziensis. Folia Sociologica    

  1. The editor of Acta Universitatis Lodziensis. Folia Sociologica is responsible for deciding which articles submitted to the journal should be published, and, moreover, is accountable for everything published in the journal. In making these decisions, they may be guided by the policies of the journal’s editorial team as well as by legal requirements regarding libel, copyright infringement and plagiarism.  
  2. When making publication decisions the editors may confer with each other or with the reviewers. 
  3. The editor should maintain the integrity of the academic record, preclude business needs from compromising intellectual and ethical standards, and always be willing to publish corrections, clarifications, retractions, errata and apologies when needed. 
  4. The editor Acta Universitatis Lodziensis. Folia Sociologica should evaluate manuscripts for intellectual content without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the author(s). 
  5. Any information about a manuscript under consideration is confidential and should not be disclosed to anyone other than the author(s), reviewers and potential reviewers, and in some instances the editorial team members, as appropriate. 
  6. The editors cannot use unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript in their own research without the express written consent of the authors. 
  7. Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage. 
  8. The editors of the Acta Universitatis Lodziensis. Folia Sociologica should ensure a fair and appropriate peer review process.  
  9. The editors should withdraw from the editorial process for the manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships and connections with any of the authors, companies, or (possibly) institutions connected to the submitted research; i.e. they should ask co-editor, associate editor or another member of the editorial team to replace them in reviewing the submission. 
  10. The advertising, reprint or other commercial revenue should not have any impact or influence on editorial decisions. 
  11. Those who submit complaints and appeals (whistleblowers)are kindly requested to help the editors of Acta Universitatis Lodziensis. Folia Sociologica to record and document the claim (e.g. data manipulation or fabrication, text recycling, plagiarism, research misconduct). The report should include:  
    – specific information about the case (who, what, when, where, why),  
    – in case of plagiarism and text recycling, details should be given about the relevant texts/articles.  
  12. The editors should take reasonably responsive measures when ethical complaints about both the submitted manuscript and published paper have been presented. When considering retracting, issuing expressions of concern and corrections pertaining to articles that have been published in Acta Universitatis Lodziensis. Folia Sociologica the editors will be guided by COPE’s Guidelines for Retracting Articles.   
  13. The editors should guard the integrity of the content published in the Acta Universitatis Lodziensis. Folia Sociologica by issuing corrections and retractions when needed. 
  14. If competing interests of any of the contributors are revealed after publication, the editors should ensure that relevant information will be disclosed and issue erratum. If needed, other appropriate action should be taken, such as the publication of a retraction or expression of concern. 
  15. The editors should investigate and pursue suspected or alleged research and publication misconduct as well as reviewer and editorial misconduct.  
  16. The editor is obliged to inform other members of the editorial team about any ethical concerns with the submitted manuscripts (lack of consent or reservations of the ethical committee regarding the protection of image, personal data, patient’s or animal rights). In such a situation, the editor is obliged to ask the author to provide relevant certificates and documents. When the answer is satisfactory, the publishing process could be resumed, in the absence of clarification or in case of any objections – the review of the manuscript should be suspended, and the misconduct – reported to COPE and/or persons responsible for supervision over the research in the appropriate institution. If the matter has not been clarified after 3 to 6 months, it should be reported to other authorities (i.e. medical research register, ethics committee, disciplinary spokesman of the university where the author is affiliated). 
  17. Editorial team members who are authors or co-authors of a scientific article submitted for publication are excluded from both the internal and external review processes to avoid a conflict of interest. 

Policies and Guidelines for Guest Editors

  1. The Editorial Team may invite Guest Editors to oversee selected issues based on their expertise and fields of interest.
  2. All submissions overseen by Guest Editors must adhere to the general submission guidelines and be submitted through the editorial platform.
  3. Guest Editors are responsible for sending out review requests, collecting the reviews for the articles they have selected for publication, and informing the Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Team about the progress of the review process.
  4. After the peer-review process is completed and the Reviewers' recommendations have been taken into account by the Authors and the Guest Editor, the articles, along with the completed review forms, are forwarded to the Editorial Team.
  5. The Editor-in-Chief and Managing Editors verify the compliance of the articles' content with the journal's thematic scope and whether the review process was conducted correctly.
  6. The final decision on the publication of articles selected by the guest editors is made by the Editor-in-Chief of the journal in consultation with the Guest Editor. However, the Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Team reserve the right to withdraw an article if that article exceeds the thematic scope of the journal, does not meet the definition of a scientific article, contains false information, or if the author has violated the ethical principles adopted by the journal.
  7. In other matters, the principles of publication ethics adopted by the Editorial Team apply (See the rules above: "Editorial Procedure – Schedule" and "Policies and Guidelines for Editors").


Policies and Guidelines for Reviewers

The peer review process Acta Universitatis Lodziensis. Folia Sociologica is arranged by a double-blind system. Every text is subject to at least two reviews.  

  1. The reviewers assist the editor in making editorial decisions and, through the editorial communication with the author, may also assist the author in improving the manuscript. 
  2. If the researchers invited to peer review the manuscript feel unqualified or know that its timely review will be impossible, they should immediately notify the Acta Universitatis Lodziensis. Folia Sociologica editors so that alternative reviewers can be contacted. 
  3. The referees are kindly requested to treat any manuscripts received for review as confidential documents. They must not be shown to or discussed with others except if authorized by the editors of Acta Universitatis Lodziensis. Folia Sociologica. 
  4. The review process should be conducted with objectivity. Personal criticism of the author is unacceptable. The opinions and recommendations should be expressed clearly with appropriate supporting arguments. 
  5. The 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 a suitable citation.  
  6. The reviewers should also call to the editor’s attention any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and any other published data of which they have personal knowledge. 
  7. Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage. 
  8. The reviewers should refuse to evaluate the 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 submission. 
  9. The reviewers are obliged to inform the editorial team Acta Universitatis Lodziensis. Folia Sociologica about any ethical concerns with the submitted manuscripts (lack of consent or reservations of the ethical committee regarding the protection of image, personal data, patient or animal rights). In such a situation, the editorial team is obliged to ask the authors to provide relevant certificates and documents. When the answer is satisfactory, the publishing process could be resumed, in the absence of clarification or in case of any objections – the review of the manuscript should be suspended, and the misconduct – reported to COPE and/or persons responsible for supervision over the research in the appropriate institution. If the matter has not been clarified after 3 to 6 months, it should be reported to other authorities (i.e. medical research register, ethics committee, disciplinary spokesman of the university where the authors are affiliated). 

Policies and Guidelines for the Publisher

Lodz University Press is obliged to collect and share with the editors all complaints and appeals received against the Acta Universitatis Lodziensis. Folia Sociologica, its staff and the editorial team or the publisher itself. The publisher is also obliged to inform COPE when there is any violation of Publication Ethics or any other ethical policies followed by the University of Lodz.  

Sources: https://publicationethics.org/guidance