Ethics policy
The journal Humanistyka Medyczna / Medical Humanities adheres to the principles of academic integrity and the ethical standards applicable to academic publications. The editorial board, authors and reviewers are required to uphold the principles of integrity, transparency and accountability throughout the publication process.
1. Originality of publications
Authors submitting an article to the journal declare that:
– the text is the original work of the author(s);
– it has not been previously published;
– it has not been submitted for publication in another journal at the same time.
All sources used should be properly cited.
2. Plagiarism
The editorial board does not accept any form of plagiarism. Plagiarism includes, in particular:
– appropriating others’ texts or excerpts without citing the source;
– copying others’ ideas or research findings without proper citation;
– publishing identical or substantially similar content, data, or research results without properly indicating a prior publication.
If plagiarism is detected, the article will be rejected.
3. Ghostwriting and guest authorship
The editorial board combats unethical publishing practices, such as:
ghostwriting – a situation in which a person who made a significant contribution to the creation of the article is not listed as an author;
guest authorship – a situation in which a person who did not make a real contribution to the creation of the article is listed as an author.
Authors should clearly specify their contribution to the preparation of the article.
4. Conflict of interest
Authors should disclose any potential conflicts of interest that may influence the interpretation of the research results or the content of the article.
5. Review procedure
Articles published in the journal are subject to a double-blind peer review process. This means that authors do not know the identity of the reviewers and reviewers do not know the identity of the authors. Reviewers are obliged to maintain confidentiality and to evaluate submitted manuscripts objectively.
6. Responsibilities of reviewers
Reviewers should:
– provide a fair and objective assessment of the article;
– highlight the strengths and any weaknesses of the text;
– maintain confidentiality regarding the content of the article.
A reviewer is obliged to decline to review an article in the event of a conflict of interest.
7. Editorial responsibility
The editorial board decides whether to publish an article on the basis of:
– the reviewers’ opinions;
– the scientific merit of the article;
– the text’s alignment with the journal’s profile;
– decisions are made independently and impartially.
8. Ethical principles in research
Authors should adhere to ethical principles when conducting scientific research, particularly in the case of studies involving patient experiences or online material. Authors should pay attention to ethical issues relating to the use of online material. In particular, it is recommended that:
– data enabling the identification of individuals be anonymised;
– the publication of sensitive information be avoided;
– exercise particular caution when dealing with topics relating to health and illness.
9. Use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools
Authors may use artificial intelligence (AI)-based tools solely as an aid in preparing the text structure, linguistic analysis, stylistic editing or organising the material. The use of AI tools must not replace the author’s own work or lead to the generation of scientific content without critical verification.
The author bears full responsibility for the content of the publication, the accuracy of the data, the interpretation of research results and the reliability of citations.
Artificial intelligence-based tools must not be listed as authors or co-authors of the publication.
In the event of significant use of AI tools in the preparation of an article, the author should inform the editorial board of this in a separate note attached to the manuscript submission.
It is unacceptable to use AI tools to generate fictitious data, bibliographic references or research results.