1. ETHICAL GUIDELINES IN PUBLISHING

The JMM quarterly is a research and technical periodical. During editing the periodical, ethical rules and good practices specified in the following documents are abided by: Code of Conduct and Best-Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors, published by the Committee on Publication Ethics in 2011, and Rzetelność w badaniach naukowych oraz poszanowanie własności intelektualnej / Reliability in scientific research and observance of intellectual property developed by the Team for Best Academic Practices that is an advisor to the Minister of Science and Higher Education, and published in 2012.

The following criteria shall solely be taken into account in selection of texts to be published in the Periodical:

• originality of the submitted text and clarity of reasoning,
• value of the submitted text for the development of the field and its compliance with the scope of the journal’s themes,
• compliance with all regulations concerning breach of  copyright, plagiarism or defamation.

The Editorial Team declares that unpublished, original research material submitted to the Editorial Board shall never be used by the Editor or any person having access to the material before its publication for their own research purposes without an explicit written consent of the Author.

2. ANTI-GHOST-WRITING AND GUEST AUTHORSHIP PROCEDURE

The website of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education – Polish Scholarly bibliography provides explanation for ghost-writing:

“Reliability in science constitutes one of its qualitative foundations. Readers should be guaranteed that Authors of publications present the results of their work in a clear, reliable and honest manner, irrespective of the fact whether they are direct Authors of the publication or they benefitted from the support of a specialised entity (natural or legal person).

 Openness of information on any party contributing to the preparation of a publication
(professional, material, financial input) is proof of ethical attitude of a researcher and the highest editorial standards, and that is an indication of both good practice and social responsibility. “Ghost-writing” and “Guest Authorship” constitute opposite examples.

“Ghost-writing” is a situation when a person who contributed significantly to the preparation of a publication was not disclosed as one of the Authors or specified in the acknowledgments.

“Guest Authorship” (“Honorary Authorship”) is a situation when a person whose contribution to the publication is  non-existent is  listed as an Author/Co-author of the publication.

To prevent cases of “Ghost-writing” and “Guest Authorship”, the journal’s editorial team shall  implement proper procedures, characteristic for the represented field or discipline, or implement the solutions specified below:

1. The Editorial Team shall require Authors of publications to disclose contribution of particular Authors to the preparation of the publication (with a list of their affiliations and contribution, i.e. provide information on the Author of the concept, premises, methods, protocol, etc. used in the publication). The main responsibility lies with the Author submitting the manuscript. 
2. The Editorial Team shall explain in the “Instructions for Authors” that “Ghost-writing” and “Guest Authorship” are an indication of scientific dishonesty and all cases of breaching ethics in science will be exposed and adequate institutions (employers, scientific societies, scientific editors associations, etc.) shall be informed.
3. The Editorial Team shall acquire information on sources of financing of the publication, contributions of research institutions or scientific associations and other entities (“Financial Disclosure”).

In view of the above guidelines of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, the Editorial Board of the JMM , at the stage of submission of an article proposal, shall require information on the contribution of particular Authors in the preparation of the paper.

The main Author of the publication shall be obliged to submit a proper statement on acknowledgement of the said concepts as well as principles stemming from documents listed by the Editorial Board of the JMM. The document shall constitute an annex to the application for approval of publication.

[1] Code of Conduct and Best-Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors. http://publicationethics.org/files/Code_of_conduct_for_journal_editors_Mar11.pdf  (accessed on: 4.07.17).

[2] Rzetelność w badaniach naukowych oraz poszanowanie własności intelektualnej. http://www.nauka.gov.pl/publikacje2/-rzetelnosc-w-badaniach-naukowych-oraz-poszanowanie-wlasnosci-intelektualnej.html (accessed on: 4.07.17).