Публикационна етика

The Philologia journal accepts for publishing manuscripts corresponding to the publication ethics. Authors, reviewers, and editors are expected to comply with the best practices in publication ethics.

The journal adheres to the principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Authors should confirm that they are submitting their manuscript solely to the Philologia Journal and that it has not been previously published or submitted elsewhere. They should also confirm that all their research practices correspond to ethical guidelines, including the legal requirements of the country where the research has been conducted. The authors are required to fill the PLAGIARISM DECLARATION and send it to the Journal ‘s Editorial Team via electronic and/or print versions to: philologia@uni-sofia.bg.

The Philologia journal would not consider for publication manuscripts that contain plagiarism, manipulation of data, and texts in which the use of artificial intelligence can be traced or there is a conflict of interests.

Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to:

  • Direct copying of a text from other sources without attribution.
  • Inserting images or data from other sources without attribution. If the author is to borrow figures, they should present a permission for publication in writing from the original author/owner of the visual objects.
  • Rewriting of others’ work.
  • The use of artificial intelligence, including to compile or rewrite two or more previous works.
  • When citing, it is permitted to borrow up to one sentence from scientific or legal texts.

The submitted manuscript would be considered for publication only in the case that it is intended solely for the journal, has not been previously published, and is not submitted for publishing elsewhere. These conditions are also declared by the author(s).

Responsibilities of Authors

Authors do not pay a publication fee to the journal nor to the Publisher. The journal and the publisher do not owe compensation to the author(s). Each author has a right to an author’s copy PDF version of their article.

Before submitting an article, authors should check the scope of the journal. If questions arise, they can contact the editorial board.

The author is expected to be accountable for the presented data and information in their respective article and to take responsibility for its significance.

The author should not repeat any previous research data from themselves or anyone else when submitting an original manuscript for a primary publication in the journal. The research should be based on proper citations from other publications that have an impact in the field of study.

Authors should strictly adhere to the authorship criteria. All listed authors must have made a significant contribution to the research presented in the manuscript and have approved all its claims. In order to be considered an author of an original research article, each person must have contributed in one of the following ways: designed the study, executed the study or conducted the experiments, participated in analysing the data, supported the documentation of the article, or led the project as a principal investigator. It is mandatory to include everyone who has made a significant contribution.

All information about funding together with the details about financial aid and its sources that went into the research should be included in the main text of the manuscript. By submitting an article, authors declare that the article is not under consideration from another publisher, nor has it been previously published.

Responsibilities of Reviewers

Confidentiality: Reviewers should not share any information about the manuscript with outsiders without prior permission from the editor.

Constructive assessment: Reviewer comments should appreciate positive aspects of the work, identify negative aspects constructively, and indicate necessary improvements. The reviewer should explain and support their judgment clearly enough so that editors and authors can understand the basis of the comments. The reviewer should ensure that an observation or argument that has been reported in the text is accompanied by a relevant citation and should immediately alert the editor if they become aware of a duplicate publication. The reviewer should not use any kind of abusive language while commenting on an article. The evaluation of each article should be completed without any bias and personal interest.

Disclosure of conflict of interest: To a feasible extent, the reviewer should minimise the conflict of interest. Any invited reviewer who has a conflict of interest due to a competing relationship or relations with any of the authors, firms, or institutions related to the manuscript must immediately declare their conflict of interest to the editors to allow for the selection of another reviewer. In such a situation, the reviewer should notify the editor by describing the conflict of interest.

Timeliness and responsiveness: Reviewers should provide the review within the due date and be timely in responding to the queries raised by the editor if any such appear.

Responsibilities of the Editor and the Editorial Board

The editor is responsible for the published literature. They must notify the parties concerned as soon as possible in the event of infringements, conflicts, or expressions of unethical behaviour. The editor must comply with the policy guidelines provided by the publisher and fulfil the responsibilities bestowed upon them with integrity.

Review process: Editors are responsible for monitoring and ensuring the fairness, timeliness, and thoroughness of the peer-review and the editorial process.

The editors of the Philologia journal accept and evaluate manuscripts based on their academic value (originality, clarity, relevance, and appropriateness). The Editor-in-Chief has the right to determine the content of each journal and the date of publication of the approved manuscripts.

The editors ensure that all submitted manuscripts considered for publication are peer- reviewed by at least two reviewers who are experts in the relevant field. The decision to publish is based on the significance and value of the manuscript, the reviewers’ comments and recommendations, and compliance with the journal’s requirements and guidelines. The editors consider the interests of authors and readers when working to improve the article or make corrections.

Editors maintain the confidentiality of the review process.

The editors will react to possible violations, regardless of whether they refer to a published or unpublished article, and if necessary, will take the necessary measures to respond – correction, withdrawal, publication of a clarification or other appropriate action.

To readers and the scientific community:

  • To ensure that the content or the author information present in the manuscript is clear.
  • To evaluate all manuscripts and ensure that they are within the scope of the journal.
  • To maintain the journal’s internal integrity by suggesting corrections, responding to situations that demand the withdrawal of articles, the demand for supplemental data, etc.
  • To ensure that all participants in the publication process are informed and are familiar with the technical requirements and the ethical norms.

Role in the Journal

  • Decision making: The Editor-in-Chief is entitled to make decisions after consulting reviewers or members of the editorial board.
  • Impartiality: The editor should evaluate manuscripts for their intellectual content without any bias towards the race, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the authors.
  • Confidentiality: The editor or any member of the editorial board must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, and the publisher, as appropriate depending on the stage of processing.

Role of the Publisher

The Journal published by Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” Press follows a timely rigorous peer review process to present novel scientific information in the best possible form. As a publisher, the following policies are considered:

  • Supporting a fair and timely peer review process with valuable input from the responsible reviewers.
  • Adhering to the guidelines and procedures designed to ensure the fair and best practices incorporated by the academic publishing community.
  • Making constructive recommendations to improve the overall process, along with better production support and global dissemination of the information published in the journal.
  • With the vision to make scientifically valuable information “Open Access”, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” is striving towards designing and launching innovative ways for presentation. Upon receipt of the manuscript, the publisher warrants that they:
    • distribute the current Ethical Publishing Practices among interested parties (authors, reviewers, editors);
    • monitor the implementation of the Ethical Publishing Practices;
    • take all necessary measures in case of violation of the Ethical Publishing Practices;
    • store, arrange and archive the manuscript within the time limit provided by the law;
    • do not allow intentional violation of the Ethical Publishing Practices;
    • reserve the right to make changes in the authors’ guidelines.

Guidelines for Retracting Articles

The Philologia journal assumes responsibility for maintaining the integrity and completeness of the scholarly record of content for all end users. The journal attaches great importance to the authority of articles after publication and the publication policy is based on best practices followed in the academic publishing community.

It is a general principle of scholarly communication that the editor of an academic journal is solely and independently responsible for deciding which article(s) shall be published out of the submitted articles in an allotted time. In making this decision, the editor is guided by the policies of the journal’s editorial board and constrained by the legal requirements in force regarding copyright infringement and plagiarism. Articles that have been published shall remain extant, exact, and unaltered as far as possible. However, occasionally unavoidable circumstances may arise after publication that demand the article is withdrawn or even removed from a particular journal. Such actions must not be undertaken lightly and can only occur under exceptional circumstances, such as:

Article withdrawal: This is only used for “articles in press” which represent the early versions of accepted articles. If any article in the “article in press” stage in any way represents infringements of professional ethical codes, such as multiple submissions, false claims of authorship, plagiarism, fraudulent use of data or similar instances, the article may be withdrawn depending on the editor’s discretion. In this regard, the editor’s decision shall be considered final after thorough assessment and analysis of the situation on a case-by-case basis.

In the case of infringements of professional ethical codes, such as multiple submissions, false claims of authorship, plagiarism, fraudulent use of data and claims, the article is subject to withdrawal. Occasionally, a withdrawal may be considered to correct errors in submission or publication.

Article removal and replacement: Identifying false or inaccurate data presentation, which includes any means of falsification or other deception that hinders honest scientific practice, must be treated with the utmost severity.