The editorial board of Scientific Progress & Innovations complies with the requirements of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine for peer-reviewed scholarly journals (Category B) and is guided in its work by the international ethical rules of scientific publications, including the rules of decency, confidentiality, supervision of publications, consideration of possible conflict of interest, etc. The publication's policy is based on the recommendations of the Committee on Ethics of Scientific Publications COPE Code of Conduct, approved by COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics).

      EDITORIAL POLICY
      The editorial board reserves the right to make minor reductions and edits to submitted articles, provided that the main conclusions and original style are preserved. The identity of the reviewers of each article cannot be disclosed to the author or third parties under any circumstances. Materials provided by authors for publication in the journal cannot be published in other journals or conference proceedings. The author is fully responsible for ensuring the originality of their article. They are also responsible for any plagiarism. The views expressed in the articles do not necessarily reflect those of the editorial board. Reproduction and translation of articles is permitted only with the author's and editors' consent.

      The editorial board reserves the right to reject articles that do not meet the stated submission requirements, are irrelevant to the journal, contain significant grammatical, spelling and/or stylistic errors, or are otherwise unsuitable for publication in the journal, without providing an explanation for the decision.

      All site visitors have free access to the full text of articles published in the journal. This enables authors to share their research materials with the scientific community.

      Published journal articles are also made available on the Vernadsky National Library of Ukraine website and the ICI World of Journals database. The articles' metadata is placed on international scientometric databases, which increases their visibility and likelihood of being cited.

      ETHICAL PRINCIPLES  

      - FOR AUTHORS
      Duplicate submission and over-publishing
      The authors guarantee that the manuscript is original and has not been submitted to other publications at the same time. Submitting the same work to several journals at the same time is unethical. The journal does not publish materials whose content repeats the author's previously published works by 75 % or more ("self-plagiarism" or "slice science"), except in cases of expansion of conference abstracts (provided that the original source is cited).

      Authorship
      The composition of authors should include only individuals who have made a significant intellectual contribution: in developing the research concept and collecting data; in writing or critical editing of text; approval of the final version for printing.
      All individuals who participated in the work but do not meet the authorship criteria (for example, technical assistance from the trainer during the tests) should be listed in the "Acknowledgements" section. 

      Plagiarism, data falsification, and image manipulation
      The journal adheres to a zero-tolerance policy for plagiarism.
      Plagiarism – Using someone else's texts, ideas, or results without citing the author is unacceptable.
      Falsification – It is forbidden to fabricate test data or manipulate results to achieve statistical significance.
      Image manipulation – Any retouching or alteration of digital photographs that distorts the original scientific content is prohibited.
      All submissions are checked for plagiarism using StrikePlagiarism  or Turnitin software . If plagiarism is detected during the review process, the manuscript may be rejected. If plagiarism is detected after publication, an investigation will be conducted and action will be taken in accordance with our policies.

      Ethical principles for the use of animals in research (according to the journal's cluster)
      The editorial board of the journal requires authors to strictly adhere to ethical standards when conducting experiments on animals. All research must be aimed at obtaining new scientific knowledge that cannot be obtained by other methods.

      All experimental procedures must be carried out in accordance with Directive 2010/63/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes; the Law of Ukraine "On the Protection of Animals from Cruelty to Animals" ; National standards and rules for the maintenance and use of laboratory animals.

      The authors must confirm that they were guided by the 3Rs concept when planning the experiment:
      Replacement – use of alternative methods (in vitro, computer simulation) where possible.
      Reduction – minimizing the number of animals without losing statistical significance of the results.
      Refinement – the use of methods that minimize pain, suffering or distress to animals (use of anesthesia, proper care).

      Approval by the bioethics committee 
      In the "DECLARATIONS" section, authors should clearly indicate the name of the institution where the research was conducted and provide the protocol number of the meeting of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC or equivalent) that granted permission to conduct the experiments.
      The description of the procedures (Materials and Methods section) should include information about the species of animals, their number, methods of anesthesia, and the method of euthanasia (in accordance with humane standards).  

      Refusal to publish
      The editorial board reserves the right to reject the manuscript if: the experiments were accompanied by unjustified animal suffering; the authors did not provide evidence of ethical approval for the study; the methodology contradicts generally accepted global standards for the humane treatment of animals.

      Citation policy 
      Quotation must be appropriate and justified.
      It is forbidden to artificially inflate citation rates ("self-citations" of more than 10 %); forced citation of journal articles ("citation for ranking"); ignoring the works of opponents who have alternative views on the problem under study.

      - FOR REVIEWERS AND EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS

      Objectivity and impartiality 
      Reviewers and editors are required to evaluate manuscripts solely on their scientific content. Personal criticism of the author is unacceptable; all comments must be reasoned and aimed at improving the quality of the work.

      Privacy
      Any manuscript received for review is a confidential document. Reviewers and members of the editorial board are not allowed to: show or discuss the manuscript with others (except the editor-in-chief); use unpublished data, ideas, or techniques described in the article in your own research or for personal gain until the article is officially published. 

      Conflict of Interest (for reviewers and editors)
      A reviewer must decline to review a manuscript if he or she has a conflict of interest as a result of competitive, collaborative, or other relationships with any of the authors, companies, or institutions associated with the article.
      Editors are required to delegate the right to make decisions on an article to another member of the editorial board if they have a conflict of interest regarding the author or research topic (for example, joint grants or affiliation with the same sports federation).

      Identifying ethical violations 
      Reviewers should bring to the attention of the editorial board any signs of ethical violations, including: Significant similarity between the submitted manuscript and any already published article (suspected plagiarism); Doubts about the reliability of the presented experimental results or statistical data; Lack of mention of compliance with bioethical norms (where applicable).

      Meeting deadlines and professional responsibility
      A reviewer who feels insufficiently qualified to evaluate a particular study or cannot provide a review within the established deadline should immediately notify the editorial office.
      Editors are fully responsible for the quality of published materials and are required to act promptly if errors or ethical conflicts are discovered.

      Editorial independence
      The decision to accept or reject an article is based on the reviewers' reports and the scientific significance of the work. The journal's founder, advertisers, or sponsors have no right to influence editorial decisions. The editors have full authority over the journal's content and publication timing.

      - FOR EDITORS
      Editors play a key role in ensuring the scientific integrity of a publication. They act as intermediaries between authors and reviewers, guided by the principles of fairness and professional ethics.

      Responsibility for editorial decisions 
      The editor is personally responsible for recommending acceptance or rejection of a manuscript. The decision should be based solely on: the importance of research for the development of science; originality and clarity of presentation of the material; reliability of the methodology and validity of the conclusions; compliance of the manuscript with the thematic focus of the journal.

      Ensuring the quality of review
      Selection of experts – the editor is obliged to select reviewers who have appropriate scientific qualifications and publication activity on the topic of the manuscript over the past 3–5 years.
      Review Monitoring – the editor should assess the quality of the reviews received. If superficial or biased reviews are identified, he should appoint an additional expert.
      Protection of anonymity – the editor ensures strict adherence to the “double-blind” review regime by removing any identifying information about authors from files before sending them to reviewers.

      Privacy and intellectual property 
      The editor is not authorized to disclose information about submitted manuscripts to anyone other than the authors, potential reviewers, and the editor-in-chief. The use of ideas or statistical models from unpublished works in the editor's own scientific activities are strictly prohibited.

      Managing conflicts of interest 
      An academic editor must independently recuse themselves from reviewing a manuscript if: they are an employee of the same institution as the authors; they have co-published with the authors in the last 3 years; they are the scientific supervisor or opponent of one of the authors; there is direct competition between their own current research and the topic of the manuscript. 

      Responding to scientific misconduct
      If an academic editor suspects plagiarism, data falsification, or a violation of research ethics, he or she is required to suspend consideration of the manuscript and initiate an internal investigation according to COPE protocols.

      Editorial independence from the founder
      An academic editor must make decisions independently of the commercial, political, or personal interests of the journal founder. Scientific truth in research takes precedence over the image interests of the organizations.

      Adherence to these principles guarantees the scholarly value of the journal, protects authors’ rights, and maintains trust in the publication.