The Publication Ethics The editors of the "INSTRUMENTS" Journal work in accordance with the international publication ethics principles, including but not limited to privacy policy, vigilance over the scholarly publications, consideration of possible conflict of interests, etc. The editorial board follows the recommendations of the
Committee on Publication Ethics and valuable practice of world-leading journals and publishers.
Duties of authors
Reporting standards 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. Review and professional publication articles should also be accurate and objective, and editorial 'opinion' works should be clearly identified as such.
Data access and retention Authors may be asked to provide the raw data in connection with a paper for editorial review. They should also provide free access to such data, if possible, and should in any event be prepared to retain such data for a reasonable time after publication.
Originality and plagiarism The authors should ensure that they have written entirely original works, and if the authors have used the work and/or words of others 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 publishing behavior and is unacceptable.
Multiple, redundant or concurrent publication Authors should indicate that his/her paper is published for the first time ever. If some parts of the manuscript have been published in the earlier article, authors should make the appropriate reference and indicate the difference of the new one from the previous one. Copying and paraphrasing of own works are unacceptable. They can be used only as the basis for new findings. Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal concurrently constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable.
Acknowledgement of sources Proper acknowledgment of the work of others must always be given. Authors should cite publications 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 or grant applications, must not be used without the
explicit written permission of the author of the work involved in these services.
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 co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the paper and
have agreed to its submission for publication.
Disclosure and conflicts 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 disclosed.
Examples of potential conflicts of interest which should be disclosed include
employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patent
applications/registrations, and grants or other funding. Potential conflicts of interest
should be disclosed at the earliest stage possible.
Fundamental errors in published works
When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in his/her own published
work, it is the author's obligation to promptly notify the journal editor or publisher and
cooperate with the editor to retract or correct the paper. If the editor or the publisher
learns from a third party that a published work contains a significant error, it is the
obligation of the author to promptly retract or correct the paper or provide evidence to
the editor of the correctness of the original paper.
Duties of editors Publication decisions The article submitted should contain new nontrivial academic results, published for
the first time ever. Each article should be reviewed. The process of the paper review is
confidential and anonymous: the reviewer does not know the author but the author does
not know the reviewer. Reviewers can freely make motivated critical comments
concerning the level and presentation clarity of the article reviewed, its correspondence
to the magazine specialization, novelty and reliability of the results represented.
Reviewers' recommendations are basis for making final decision concerning the article
publishing. The responsibility for the article publishing rests with the magazine Editorial
Board. The editor of a peer-reviewed journal is responsible for deciding which of the
articles submitted to the journal should be published, often working in conjunction with
the relevant society (for society-owned or sponsored journals). The validation of the
work in question and its importance to researchers and readers must always drive such
decisions. The editor may be 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. The editor may confer with other editors or
reviewers (or society officers) in making this decision. An editor should evaluate
manuscripts for their intellectual content without regard to race, gender, sexual
orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the
authors. The article, if admitted to publishing, is placed on open access; copyright
reserved by authors.
Confidentiality The editor and any editorial staff must not disclose any information about a
submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers,
potential reviewers, other editorial advisers, and the publisher, as appropriate.
Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in an
editor's own research without the express written consent of the author. Privileged
information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not
used for personal advantage.
Disclosure and conflicts of interest Editors should recuse themselves (i.e. should ask a co-editor, associate editor or
other member of the editorial board instead to review and consider) from considering
manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive,
collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies,
or (possibly) institutions connected to the papers. Editors should require all contributors
to disclose relevant competing interests and publish corrections if competing interests
are revealed after publication. If needed, other appropriate action should be taken, such
as the publication of a retraction or expression of concern. An editor should take
reasonably responsive measures when ethical complaints have been presented
concerning a submitted manuscript or published paper, in conjunction with the publisher
(or society). Such measures will generally include contacting the author of the
manuscript or paper and giving due consideration of the respective complaint or claims
made, but may also include further communications to the relevant institutions and
research bodies, and if the complaint is upheld, the publication of a correction,
retraction, expression of concern, or other note, as may be relevant. Every reported act
of unethical publishing behavior must be looked into, even if it is discovered years after
publication.
Duties of reviewers Contribution to editorial decisions Peer review assists the editor in making editorial decisions and through the editorial
communications with the author may also assist the author in improving the paper. Peer
review is an essential component of formal scholarly communication, and lies at the
heart of the scientific method.
Promptness Any selected referee who feels unqualified to review the research reported in a
manuscript or knows that its prompt review will be impossible should notify the editor
and excuse himself from the review process.
Confidentiality Any manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents.
They must not be shown to or discussed with others except as authorized by the editor.
Standards of objectivity Reviews should be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author is
inappropriate. Referees should express their views clearly with supporting arguments.
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 published paper of which they have
personal knowledge.
Disclosure and conflict of interest Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in a
reviewer's own research without the express written consent of the author. Privileged
information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not
used for personal advantage. 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.
