Code of ethics

As the publisher, WSB Merito University in Poznań (hereinafter UWSB Merito) commits to conducting publishing activities in accordance with applicable national and international regulations and established publishing standards, with particular emphasis on expected ethical conduct. UWSB Merito adheres to the ethical standards developed by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE): https://publicationethics.org/resources

Should a violation of the ethical principles governing the journal “The WSB University in Poznan Graduate Research Journal” be detected, appropriate steps will be taken regarding the authors to clarify the matter. If the issue is resolved, the review process will resume; otherwise, the process will be suspended until all doubts are cleared. If the explanations provided by the authors are deemed unsatisfactory by the editor-in-chief, the editor will notify the authors' employing institutions or other relevant authorities of the situation.

1. Procedure for handling complaints, objections, and comments regarding published articles

The principle is adopted that the decision to accept or reject an article submitted to the journal is made solely and independently by the editor-in-chief. When selecting articles, the editor-in-chief is guided by the journal’s editorial policy and the article's scientific merit, while also taking into account legal regulations concerning defamation, copyright infringement, and plagiarism. As a general rule, published articles remain unchanged and are archived at UWSB Merito and the National Library in Warsaw. Exceptions include rare instances where a published article is withdrawn or removed from the journal; such actions are also recorded in the archives.

2. Authorship and co-authorship of an article

UWSB Merito applies principles that clearly define the authorship or co-authorship of published scientific articles and the method for resolving disputes arising in this regard. Authorship is attributed to individuals who have made a significant contribution to the conception, execution, and interpretation of the research described. Authors of a scientific article retain the right to use and share the published article. Should an author become aware of plagiarism, fraud, or an infringement of their copyright, they should notify the publisher immediately.

3. Register of complaints and requests

UWSB Merito maintains a register of complaints and requests concerning the fulfillment of publishing obligations by the parties involved in the publishing process.

4. Publisher's obligations

The publisher plays a particularly important role in the process of scholarly communication. Primarily, the publisher acts as an investor in and promoter of scholarly publishing activities, which are inherently non-profit in nature. The publisher is also responsible for creating conditions that foster the application of best practices in its publications. The WSB University in Poznań adopts the principles and procedures of academic publishing recommended by the Act of 20 July 2018 – Law on Higher Education and Science (Journal of Laws, item 1668). These aim to support editors-in-chief, reviewers, and authors in the ethical fulfillment of their professional duties.
The publisher’s responsibilities include:
– ensuring editorial independence,
– maintaining and archiving appropriate publishing records,
– implementing industry best practices,
– providing technical, organizational, and legal support to editors-in-chief and WSB

staff,
– educating and providing further training to academic staff regarding the principles of

academic publishing and publishing ethics.

5. Responsibilities of the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal

The editor-in-chief of the scientific journal published by UWSB Merito is appointed and dismissed by the Rector of WSB University in Poznań. The responsibilities of the editor-in-chief include:
– qualifying submitted articles for publication under their sole and exclusive responsibility (internal review) – checking the text using an anti-plagiarism tool,
– ensuring the impartiality, timeliness, and anonymity of the article review process by at least two external and independent reviewers, and seeking expert opinions in case of doubt. Article reviewing may only be entrusted to individuals with appropriate competencies, at least those with a doctoral degree,
– collecting, analyzing, and assessing information on the existence or absence of conflicts of interest – all authors submit a relevant declaration to this effect,
– acting fairly when qualifying articles for publication (fair play) – the scientific value of the text should be the primary criterion for selecting articles for publication. During the review process, the editor-in-chief uses a standard electronic review form, identical for all authors, ensuring anonymity. In consultation with the publisher and the journal's editorial board, the editor-in-chief establishes a transparent appeals mechanism for editorial decisions. The editor-in-chief also adheres to the principle of non-discrimination against authors based on gender, race, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, ethnic origin, citizenship, political involvement, etc.
– Indexing the journal in significant bibliographic databases – the editor-in-chief strives to increase the journal's national and international reach but may not take any actions aimed at increasing the journal's ranking in various rankings, for example, by providing false data in the journal's evaluation surveys or manipulating citations.
– Maintaining confidentiality – the editor-in-chief protects the confidentiality of all materials submitted to the journal, particularly the identity of reviewers and the content of correspondence with them. Information obtained from articles submitted for publication and during the review process may not be used in the editor's own research without the author's written consent. This information may not be used for the personal benefit of the editor or other persons associated with him,

– obtaining written declarations regarding the absence of conflicts of interest from parties involved in the review process, and collecting written information about potential conflicts of interest throughout the entire publishing process. The editor-in-chief may not participate in decisions concerning an article they have authored or co-authored, or one written by family members or colleagues. In such cases, they must submit a written statement confirming they played no part in the decision to accept the article for publication,
– editorial oversight following article publication – the editor-in-chief monitors and collects reader feedback regarding both the substantive quality of the work and the authors' adherence to publication ethics, and establishes clear procedures for handling instances of unlawful or unethical conduct. These procedures are available on the publisher's website.

6. Reviewer responsibilities

A properly conducted review is widely recognized as an essential element of sound scholarly communication. Reviewers must be competent academics possessing extensive and formally documented expertise in the relevant field (holding at least a doctoral degree).
Reviewer responsibilities include:
– assisting in the timely assessment of submitted articles for publication (external evaluation),
– providing a formal review that aids the editor-in-chief in making the correct decision regarding acceptance and helps the author improve the article. Reviewers should not accept assignments for articles they cannot review thoroughly and in a timely manner. The review process is described on the journal's website: https://journals.wsb.poznan.pl/index.php/dnswsb/recenzja,
– maintaining confidentiality – the reviewer treats articles submitted for review as confidential documents and does not disclose information regarding the review's content to anyone other than the editor-in-chief and UWSB Merito staff designated by the publisher. Unpublished content may not be used by the reviewer without the author's written consent. Neither the reviewer nor any third parties associated with them may use the provided content in their own research without the author's written consent. Furthermore, such information may not be used for the personal gain of the reviewer or others associated with them,
– exercising particular care and diligence regarding ethical issues – the reviewer should identify potential ethical issues in the article and, if any arise, report them to the editor-in-chief and the Rector of UWSB Merito in Poznań (plagiarism, self-plagiarism, lack of citations, incorrect citation practices, etc.),
– maintaining objectivity and avoiding conflicts of interest – reviews must be prepared objectively, without personal bias, and in a courteous, professional tone. Criticizing the author rather than the text under review is inappropriate. Critical remarks must be expressed clearly and always supported by specific arguments. As a general rule, the review should focus on the content actually present in the text, not on what is missing.

The review must conclude with a clear statement regarding the article's acceptance, conditional acceptance, or rejection for publication. The reviewer must inform the editor-in-chief in writing of any actual or potential conflict of interest.

7. Author responsibilities

The author’s responsibilities include:
– adhering to established publishing standards – the author of an original research article should provide an accurate description of the work performed (research material and methodology) and an objective discussion of the research's significance. Source data should be included directly in the article. The article must contain all information necessary to replicate the research. Including false or inaccurate information is unacceptable and unethical,
– retaining source data for the period specified in the publishing agreement and providing access to it upon the request of the publisher, editor-in-chief, or reviewer,
– submitting an original text (not previously published elsewhere) and acknowledging sources through appropriate citations and/or bibliographic references (in accordance with the editorial guidelines for authors). – committing plagiarism constitutes a form of author conduct that is both legally impermissible and highly unethical (self-plagiarism of one’s own work is equally reprehensible; however, translations into foreign languages ​​do not, as a rule, constitute self-plagiarism),
– ensuring the originality and quality of illustrations and citing their sources,
– identifying within the article any unconventional research methods that pose a risk to humans or animals, and attaching the legally required documentation,
– maintaining the confidentiality of the process regarding publishing matters specified by the publisher,
– clearly and accurately indicating the nature of the contribution to the article (authorship, co-authorship, or other forms of participation), as reflected in the publishing agreement and the published article,

– submission of a statement regarding the absence of conflicts of interest (sources of financial support for conducting research and/or preparing the article; assistance with data collection, analysis, and interpretation during the writing of the article),
– notification of significant errors in the published article and cooperation with the publisher to rectify them.

8. Conflicts of interest / competing interests

UWSB Merito defines a conflict of interest as follows:

a conflict of interest arises when a party involved in the publishing process (author, reviewer, or editor) has personal, financial, or other ties (e.g., biases) that could inappropriately influence their conduct during the publishing process (manuscript submission, peer review, editorial decisions, communication between authors, reviewers, and editors). UWSB Merito outlines the procedure for handling conflicts of interest or competing interests involving authors, reviewers, editors, journals, and publishers—both before and after publication. All participants in the publishing process must disclose any affiliations or ties that could give rise to a conflict of interest.

9. Data

The journal “The WSB University in Poznan Graduate Research Journal” publishes articles that specify data sources, in accordance with the editorial requirements for authors.

10. Ethical Oversight

The journal “The WSB University in Poznan Graduate Research Journal” requires all necessary approvals for publication, including those regarding the handling of confidential data in compliance with applicable law.

11. Intellectual Property

The publishing policy mandates the publication of only new texts that have not been published elsewhere. Authors are required to certify that their articles are entirely original; if they have utilized the work of others (in whole or in part), they must disclose this in bibliographic references, enclose direct quotes in quotation marks, and cite the sources. Authors should not publish articles describing the same research problem in more than one journal (or other publication). WSB does not consider the following to constitute prior publication: bachelor’s theses, master’s theses, doctoral dissertations, habilitation theses, abstracts, or electronic preprints.

12. Journal Management

UWSB Merito is a publishing house that has been operating since 1994. It possesses its own infrastructure and an experienced staff. It operates according to a clear business model based on the efficient management of independent journals and the publication of academic books.

13. Post-Publication Discussion and Corrections

The journal “The WSB University in Poznan Graduate Research Journal” accepts letters from readers and adheres to a policy of correcting substantive errors. Upon discovering a significant error in a published article, the author is obliged to promptly notify the editor-in-chief or the journal publisher and cooperate in correcting the content.

14. Anti-plagiarism procedure

All articles submitted to the journal “The WSB University in Poznan Graduate Research Journal” undergo an anti-plagiarism procedure.