Publication Ethics Policy

Ethical Standards and Patient Consent Policy

General Principles

The Ukrainian Scientific Medical Youth Journal (USMYJ) strictly adheres to international ethical principles for research involving humans and animals.
All submitted manuscripts must include a clear statement confirming compliance with bioethical standards, approval by the relevant ethics committee, and informed consent from participants when applicable.

Ethical Approval of Research

All studies involving human participants or animals must have formal approval from a local or institutional ethics committee, clearly stating:

the approval or protocol number;
the date of approval;
the full name of the institution that granted the approval.

Manuscripts must include an ethics statement such as:

“All human studies were approved by the institutional ethics committee and conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki (2013).”
“Animal experiments were performed in accordance with EU Directive 2010/63/EU for the protection of animals used for scientific purposes.”

The editorial office reserves the right to request a copy of the ethics approval before initiating peer review.

Informed Consent of Patients

Authors who publish clinical materials (case reports, photographs, radiographs, MRI scans, laboratory results, or any other data that may allow patient identification) are required to obtain written informed consent from the patient prior to publication.

A standard statement to be included in the manuscript is:

“Written informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this case report and accompanying images.”

The authors bear full responsibility for obtaining informed consent,
while the editorial office ensures that such a statement is included before the article is sent for peer review.

Confidentiality and Data Anonymization

The journal strictly observes the principles of patient confidentiality and anonymization of personal data.

The publication of any identifiable personal information is strictly prohibited, including:

names, initials, identification codes, hospital numbers;
diagnostic images that reveal facial or recognizable features;
IDs, barcodes, or QR codes that may identify an individual.

Hazards to Humans, Animals, or the Environment

If a study involves chemicals, biological agents, or experimental procedures that may present unusual hazards to humans, animals, or the environment,
authors must explicitly identify these risks in the manuscript and describe the safety precautions taken to minimize them.

Privacy and Data Protection Policy

The journal complies with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR, Regulation (EU) 2016/679) regarding the processing of personal data.

No personal identifiers may be published without the written consent of the individual concerned.
Data provided during manuscript submission (names, email addresses, ORCID IDs, affiliations, etc.) are used solely for editorial purposes and are not shared with third parties.
Authors, reviewers, and editors must handle all personal data in accordance with GDPR requirements and ethical confidentiality standards.

Ethical Assurance

Adherence to these principles ensures that all publications in USMYJ comply with:

the Declaration of Helsinki (2013) — for human studies;
the EU Directive 2010/63/EU — for animal research;
the GDPR (Regulation (EU) 2016/679) — for data protection;
and the COPE, ICMJE, and WHO international ethical guidelines for biomedical

Conflict of Interest

Definition and Principles

The Ukrainian Scientific Medical Youth Journal (USMYJ) adheres to a strict policy of transparency regarding potential conflicts of interest.
A conflict of interest arises when an author’s, reviewer’s, or editor’s professional judgment concerning the objectivity or validity of research may be influenced by financial, academic, professional, or personal factors.

All participants in the publication process — authors, reviewers, editorial board members, and the publisher — are required to disclose any real or potential conflicts of interest.

Requirements for Authors

At the time of manuscript submission, all authors must complete and submit the official ICMJE “Disclosure of Interest Form.”
This form is mandatory for consideration of the manuscript.

Authors are required to promptly disclose any conflicts of interest that could be interpreted as influencing the results or interpretation of the study.
Examples of potential conflicts include, but are not limited to:

Financial conflicts — honoraria, grants, sponsorships, consulting fees, paid expert testimony, stock ownership, patent or licensing arrangements, or participation in advisory boards;
Non-financial conflicts — personal, academic, or professional relationships, affiliations, beliefs, or interests related to the subject matter of the manuscript;
Organizational conflicts — involvement in projects or institutions with competing or related interests.

All authors must also disclose all sources of financial support for the research or manuscript preparation (including grant numbers or other identifiers, if applicable).

Requirements for Reviewers and Editors

Reviewers must inform the editorial office if they:

have financial, academic, or personal ties with any of the authors or their institutions;
are involved in competing research projects or publications;
believe that they cannot provide an objective and unbiased review.

Editors who have a conflict of interest regarding a submitted manuscript must recuse themselves from handling the submission, delegating the editorial process to another qualified member of the editorial board to ensure impartiality.

Disclosure in the Article

All potential conflicts of interest must be explicitly stated within the article under the section “Conflict of Interest Statement.”
If there are no conflicts of interest:

Conflict of Interest: The authors declare that they have no financial, academic, or personal conflicts of interest related to the publication of this article.

If a conflict of interest is present:

Conflict of Interest: Author A received research funding from Company X; Author B provided consulting services for Organization Y. The remaining authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Transparency and Funding Policy

Journal Funding

The Ukrainian Scientific Medical Youth Journal (USMYJ) is published with the support of the O.O. Bohomolets National Medical University.
Funding is provided through university resources, voluntary contributions from the Editorial Board members, and organizational assistance from student and academic societies.
The journal has no external sponsors or commercial partners, ensuring editorial independence and impartiality of decision-making.

No Article Processing Charge (APC)

Publication in the journal is completely free of charge for all authors.
The journal does not charge any fees for submission, peer review, or publication (Article Processing Charge = 0).
This approach ensures equal access to scientific communication regardless of authors’ financial circumstances or institutional support.

Advertising Policy

The journal does not display or accept commercial advertising in any format — print or online.
The website, PDF versions of articles, and supplementary materials are free from advertisements, sponsorships, or commercial content.
Financial considerations do not influence editorial or peer review decisions.

Editorial Independence Statement

The Editorial Board operates in accordance with the principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).
All decisions on manuscript acceptance or rejection are based solely on scientific merit, relevance, and compliance with the journal’s scope, regardless of:

authors’ or institutions’ funding sources;
academic titles, positions, or nationality;
political or commercial factors.

The journal maintains transparency, academic integrity, and editorial independence throughout all stages of the publication process.

Funding Statement (for Authors)

If no funding:

Funding: This research received no external funding.

If funded:

Funding: This study was supported by the Ministry of Health of Ukraine (Grant No. 123/2024) and partially by the European Mycology Research Network (EMRN).

Use of Artificial Intelligence Policy

General Principles

The Ukrainian Scientific Medical Youth Journal (USMYJ) supports the ethical and transparent use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies in scientific writing and research communication.
This policy applies specifically to the manuscript writing process, not to the legitimate use of AI tools for statistical analysis, data processing, or visualization within the research itself.
The journal will continuously monitor technological developments and update this policy as necessary.

Permitted Use of AI

Authors may use AI-based tools or generative models only as auxiliary instruments to support, but not replace, human scholarly work.
Permitted uses include:

improving grammar, style, and linguistic clarity;
assisting in statistical analysis or data visualization under human supervision;
language editing and translation.

Any use of AI tools must be supervised and verified by the authors.
All AI-generated text or content must be thoroughly reviewed, corrected, and approved by a human author prior to submission.

Prohibited Use of AI

AI tools must not be used for:

generating or fabricating research data or results;
drawing medical, scientific, or clinical conclusions;
providing diagnostic or therapeutic recommendations;
replacing human intellectual input in the interpretation of data;
being listed as an author or co-author;
creating manuscript content without human verification.

Authorship implies accountability, critical judgment, and the ability to approve the final manuscript for submission — responsibilities that can only be undertaken by humans.

Mandatory AI Disclosure

If AI tools were used during manuscript preparation, the use must be explicitly disclosed in a dedicated section of the paper (AI Disclosure Statement).
The statement should identify the name of the AI tool, its developer, the purpose of its use, and confirm that all AI-assisted outputs were verified by the authors.

English Example:

AI Disclosure: The authors used ChatGPT (OpenAI, San Francisco, CA, USA) for language editing of the English text. The authors reviewed and verified all AI-generated content to ensure accuracy and integrity.

Ukrainian Example:

Використання ШІ: Автори використовували ChatGPT (OpenAI, Сан-Франциско, США) для мовного редагування англомовного тексту. Усі фрагменти, створені за допомогою ШІ, були перевірені авторами для забезпечення точності та достовірності.

If AI Was Not Used

In the absence of AI involvement, authors should include a clear statement confirming this.

English Example:

AI Disclosure: No AI tools were used in the preparation of this manuscript.

Ukrainian Example:

Використання ШІ: Під час підготовки цього рукопису ШІ-інструменти не використовувалися.

Author Responsibility

Authors retain full responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, and integrity of all content produced or modified using AI tools.
The use of AI does not exempt authors from adhering to academic integrity and ethical publishing principles.

The editorial office reserves the right to request additional clarification regarding the extent and nature of AI use or to reject a manuscript if this policy has been violated.

Authorship and Contributions

Authorship reflects a substantial intellectual contribution by each individual involved in the research and manuscript preparation.
Each author must have an official institutional affiliation (place of employment or study) and a unique ORCID identifier.

Only individuals who meet all four authorship criteria defined by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) should be listed as authors:

Made a significant contribution to the conception or design of the study, or to the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data;
Participated in the drafting or substantial revision of the manuscript;
Provided a critical review of the article with important intellectual input;
Approved the final version of the manuscript before submission and agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

All authors share joint responsibility for the accuracy and integrity of the published content.
Individuals who provided only technical, linguistic, or administrative assistance should not be listed as authors but may be acknowledged in the Acknowledgements section, with their written consent.

Description of Roles According to the CRediT Taxonomy

Each author must specify their individual contribution in the “Author Contributions” section according to the CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) system.
Below is a list of the main roles with concise descriptions:

Conceptualization — development of the concept and overall design of the study.
Methodology — creation or adaptation of methods, approaches, or protocols.
Software — software development, programming, implementation of code, or technical system support.
Validation — verification of the accuracy and reproducibility of results, experiments, or analyses.
Formal Analysis — statistical or mathematical data processing and analysis.
Investigation — conducting experiments, data collection, or fieldwork.
Resources — provision of materials, samples, equipment, or access to data.
Data Curation — management, processing, standardization, and preparation of datasets.
Writing – Original Draft — preparation of the initial version of the manuscript.
Writing – Review & Editing — revision, refinement, and approval of the article content.
Visualization — creation of illustrations, charts, tables, or graphical materials.
Supervision — scientific guidance, consultation, and oversight of the research process.
Project Administration — coordination and organization of research stages.
Funding Acquisition — obtaining financial or grant support for the study.

Example of the “Author Contributions” Section

English Example (CRediT taxonomy):
Author Contributions:
Conceptualization — A.B.; Methodology — C.D.; Data Collection — E.F.; Formal Analysis — A.B. and C.D.; Writing – Original Draft — A.B.; Writing – Review & Editing — C.D. and E.F.; Supervision — G.H.
All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Notes for Authors

All authors must agree with the content and the order of appearance in the authorship list.
Any changes in authorship (addition, removal, or rearrangement) after manuscript submission are permitted only upon a justified written request from the corresponding author, with written consent from all co-authors.
The corresponding author is responsible for all communication with the editorial office and for confirming the accuracy and integrity of each author’s stated contribution.

Misconduct and Academic Integrity Policy

General Principles

The Ukrainian Scientific Medical Youth Journal (USMYJ) upholds the highest standards of academic integrity and ethical conduct in scholarly publishing.
Any form of plagiarism, duplication, fabrication, or falsification of data is considered unacceptable and constitutes a serious violation of research ethics.

Prohibited Practices

The following actions are defined as violations of academic integrity:

Plagiarism — using another person’s text, ideas, data, figures, or tables without proper citation or permission.
Self-plagiarism (duplicate publication) — reusing parts of one’s previously published work without clear reference or acknowledgment.
Data fabrication — creating, inventing, or misrepresenting data or results that did not occur in the study.
Data falsification — manipulating, altering, or selectively reporting results in a way that misleads readers or reviewers.

Anti-Plagiarism Policy

All submitted manuscripts undergo a plagiarism and text-similarity check using licensed software, such as StrikePlagiarism, to ensure the originality of content.
This software evaluates:

the percentage of unique text;
overlap with other published sources;
the presence of improper citations or reused material.

Authors are required to submit original manuscripts presenting their own findings and written in their own words.
Any text, figure, table, or idea derived from other sources must be properly cited in the reference list.
When referring to published data or concepts, authors should paraphrase responsibly rather than copy text verbatim.

Actions in Case of Misconduct

If plagiarism, data manipulation, or fabrication is detected prior to peer review, the manuscript will be rejected immediately.
If ethical violations are identified during peer review or after publication, the editorial office will follow COPE Flowcharts to investigate and, if necessary, retract the article.
Authors found guilty of misconduct may be barred from future submissions to the journal for a defined period.

Principles of Ethical Conduct

Authors are expected to:

provide accurate and verifiable data;
avoid simultaneous submission of the same manuscript to multiple journals;
refrain from fragmenting one study into several overlapping publications (salami slicing).

Editors, reviewers, and members of the editorial board must act with impartiality, confidentiality, and integrity, ensuring that all review and decision processes remain objective and ethical.

Editorial Decisions

In confirmed cases of academic misconduct, the editorial board may:

notify the authors and institutions involved;
issue a retraction or correction notice explaining the reason for action;
update the article’s online record in accordance with COPE Retraction Guidelines (2019).

All decisions regarding ethical violations are made transparently, based on evidence, and in full compliance with international publishing standards.