Research Ethics Involving Humans, Animals, and Personal Data

Addendum to the Policy on Ethical Approval for Research Involving Humans, Animals, Biological Materials, and Personal or Confidential Data

Research Ethics Involving Humans, Animals, and Personal Data

The journal requires that research involving humans, animals, biological materials, personal or confidential data be conducted in accordance with the current legislation of Ukraine and international ethical standards.

Authors are required to:

• obtain approval from the relevant ethics committee or Institutional Review Board (IRB) (where applicable);
• obtain voluntary informed consent from research participants (in written or other ethically acceptable form);
• ensure confidentiality, anonymization, and secure storage of personal data in accordance with Ukrainian data protection legislation;
• minimize potential risks to participants and ensure the right to withdraw from participation without negative consequences;
• include information about ethical approval in the Methodology section of the article.

If ethical approval was not required, the author must provide an appropriate justification.

Ethical Approval

If the research was conducted at an institution where an ethics committee operates, the authors must obtain its approval and indicate this information in the Methodology section of the article.

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

• confirm that the research was conducted in accordance with national legislation and international ethical principles;
• describe the procedures for obtaining participant consent and ensuring data protection;
• include a statement in the article indicating that formal ethical approval was not required, with a brief justification (e.g., anonymous survey of adults, use of open-access data, or absence of intervention).

This addendum forms an integral part of the Journal’s ethical and editorial policies.