Scientific notes of the pedagogical department

Research Ethics Involving Humans, Animals, and Personal Data

The editorial board considers for publication only articles reporting research involving human participants, animals, their biological materials, or personal and confidential data, conducted in accordance with current Ukrainian legislation, international ethical standards, and COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics) guidelines.

 

General Obligations of Authors

Authors are required to:

• obtain approval from the relevant ethics committee or institutional review board (where applicable);
• obtain voluntary informed consent from research participants (in written or other ethically acceptable form);
• guarantee confidentiality, anonymisation, and secure storage of personal data in accordance with Ukrainian data protection legislation;
• minimise possible risks to participants and ensure the right to withdraw without negative consequences;
• indicate information about ethical approval in the 'Methodology' section of the manuscript.

 

Ethical Approval

If the research was conducted at an institution with an active ethics committee, authors must obtain its approval and indicate the relevant details (approval number, date, name of the issuing body) in the 'Methodology' section of the manuscript.

If the institution does not have a formalised ethics committee, authors must:

• independently confirm that the research was conducted in accordance with national legislation and international ethical principles;
• describe the procedures for obtaining participant consent and protecting data;
• include a statement that formal ethical approval was not required, with a brief justification (e.g., anonymous survey of adults, use of open data, no intervention).

 

Vulnerable Groups

Research involving vulnerable groups (minors, elderly individuals, persons with disabilities, persons in difficult life circumstances, including those affected by armed conflict) must comply with heightened standards of ethical oversight and safety. In such cases, the editorial board may request additional supporting documentation.

 

Confidentiality and Anonymity

All personal data of participants must be anonymised or presented in a depersonalised form. Authors are responsible for compliance with data protection and confidentiality legislation. Where full anonymisation is not possible, explicit written consent of the participant for the publication of identifying information is required.

 

Ethics Violations and Consequences

If breaches of ethical requirements are identified at any stage (during review or after publication), the editorial board will act in accordance with COPE recommendations and may:

• reject the manuscript prior to publication;
• initiate publication of a correction (erratum);
• retract an already published article with a mandatory statement of reasons.

The editorial board may notify the authors' employing institutions and relevant oversight bodies of identified violations.