Publication Ethics

1. General Principles of Editorial Ethics

The editorial policy is based on the principles outlined by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the recommendations of the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ).

All participants in the editorial process — authors, reviewers, editorial board members, and the publisher — are required to adhere to the principles of honesty, impartiality, transparency, and accountability.

The editorial team is committed to ensuring an objective and independent review of submitted materials, maintaining academic quality and alignment with the journal’s focus, which includes visual arts, architecture, sculpture, drawing, design, illustration, painting, decorative arts, and art history.

The journal follows a strict non-discrimination policy: all submissions are evaluated regardless of the author’s nationality, gender, religious or political affiliation, academic degree, or institutional background.

2. Responsibilities of the Editorial Board

The editorial board shares collective responsibility for the academic integrity and quality of the published content. Board members are expected to:

  • Ensure independent and impartial evaluation of manuscripts, basing decisions solely on their scholarly value, originality, and relevance to the journal's scope.
  • Maintain confidentiality regarding manuscript content, reviewer identities, and editorial decisions.
  • Avoid any conflicts of interest; if such a conflict arises, the manuscript must be reassigned to another editor.
  • Organize peer review and editorial decisions within reasonable and agreed-upon timeframes.
  • Respond to potential ethical violations such as plagiarism, image manipulation, or improper authorship practices.
  • Uphold high standards of academic and visual presentation, especially in the context of visual arts, design, and cultural sensitivity.
  • Support the journal’s academic reputation and openness by promoting thematic and geographic diversity among contributors.

If a member of the editorial board, including the Editor-in-Chief, submits a manuscript to the journal, they must not be involved in its editorial handling. Such submissions are reassigned to another editor and undergo standard double-blind peer review.

3. Responsibilities of Authors

Authors bear full responsibility for the accuracy, originality, and academic integrity of the submitted materials. By submitting a manuscript, authors agree to the following principles:

  • The submission is original, has not been published previously, and is not under consideration elsewhere.
  • All sources (texts, images, ideas) are properly cited with appropriate authorship and source references.
  • If visual or archival materials are used, the authors have obtained publication permissions or ensured compliance with open access and licensing terms.
  • Only individuals who have made a significant contribution to the research or publication are listed as authors; all co-authors have approved the final version and consented to its submission.
  • The manuscript contains no discriminatory, offensive, or culturally insensitive content.
  • All sources of funding and any potential conflicts of interest are clearly disclosed.
  • If errors are discovered after publication, authors must promptly inform the editorial office and cooperate in issuing corrections or retractions.

Authors must observe academic and cultural ethics, especially when describing or interpreting artistic objects, historical subjects, and visual content.

4. Responsibilities of Reviewers

Reviewers play a vital role in ensuring the academic quality of publications. They are expected to maintain objectivity, confidentiality, and professional ethics throughout the review process.

  • Provide well-reasoned, unbiased, and constructive evaluations regarding the scholarly merit, originality, and relevance of the manuscript to the journal’s scope.
  • Report any suspicions of plagiarism, unethical authorship, duplication, or copyright violations to the editorial office.
  • Decline to review a manuscript if a conflict of interest exists (personal, professional, financial, or otherwise).
  • Refrain from using any information from the manuscript for personal advantage or sharing it with third parties.
  • Comply with the review deadlines set by the editorial office or notify in advance if a delay is unavoidable.
  • Maintain a respectful, professional, and constructive tone in the review.
  • Be sensitive to cultural context, especially in the discussion of visual materials, art history, and architectural or artistic representations.

A detailed description of the peer review procedure, including the double-blind review model, is available in the Peer Review Policy section.

Violation of ethical standards by a reviewer may result in exclusion from future participation in the journal’s editorial processes.

5. Originality, Authorship, and Acknowledgment

The journal only considers original works that have not been previously published and are not under consideration elsewhere. Authors are expected to adhere to the following principles:

  • All submitted materials must be the result of the authors’ independent academic or creative work.
  • Only individuals who have made a significant contribution to the concept, research, writing, or preparation of visual content may be listed as authors.
  • Contributors who do not meet the authorship criteria should be acknowledged in a footnote or in the "Acknowledgments" section.
  • The order of authors must be agreed upon by all contributors prior to submission.
  • “Guest” or “ghost” authorship is not acceptable under any circumstances.
  • All quotations, references, and borrowed materials must be properly cited with accurate source attribution.
  • Visual content (illustrations, photographs, diagrams) must be either original or used lawfully under appropriate licenses or permissions.
  • All articles submitted to the JOURNAL will be checked using the "iThenticate" plagiarism detection software.

Any violation of copyright or misappropriation of another person’s work will be treated as a serious ethical breach and may result in rejection or retraction of the article.

6. Plagiarism and Image Manipulation Policy

The journal follows the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing. All submitted manuscripts are checked for plagiarism using the "iThenticate" plagiarism detection software prior to publication..

The editorial board adheres to a strict zero-tolerance policy regarding plagiarism, self-plagiarism, and unethical image manipulation. All submitted materials are subject to academic integrity checks.

  • Plagiarism is defined as the use of another person's texts, ideas, images, or other materials without appropriate attribution.
  • Self-plagiarism involves reusing one’s own previously published content without proper disclosure or citation.
  • Image manipulation includes digitally altering, recontextualizing, or modifying illustrations without explanation, or using visual content without permission.
  • The editorial board reserves the right to request original images or permission documentation, and to reject or retract a submission in case of violations.
  • Authors bear full responsibility for the ethical and lawful use of images, photographs, diagrams, reproductions of artworks, and archival or collection materials.

Any identified violation will be addressed in accordance with COPE guidelines and may result in editorial actions, including rejection or retraction of the article.

7. Cultural Sensitivity and Ethical Use of Visual Materials

The editorial board encourages authors to observe cultural sensitivity when creating, using, or interpreting visual content, especially in relation to art, architecture, ethnography, history, and cultural heritage.

  • Authors must avoid offensive, stereotypical, or distorted representations of cultures, social groups, historical events, or religious symbols.
  • When using archival materials, traditional artworks, sacred objects, or artifacts, ethical justification, accurate description, and proper source citation are required.
  • If there is uncertainty about the cultural context, explanatory notes or clarifications should be included in the manuscript.
  • Authors must ensure that the use of images or interpretations does not violate laws, ethical standards, or the customs of the communities represented.
  • When necessary, authors should obtain written permission for image use or document that the materials are in the public domain.

The editorial board reserves the right to reject submissions containing visual content that breaches ethical standards of cultural or historical representation.

8. Conflict of Interest and Editorial Board Limitations

All participants in the editorial process — authors, reviewers, editors, and the publisher — must promptly disclose any actual or potential conflicts of interest that could affect the objectivity of editorial decisions.

  • Authors must disclose all sources of funding, grants, and any personal, professional, or institutional circumstances that could be perceived as conflicts of interest.
  • Reviewers should decline to review a manuscript if they have personal or professional relationships with the authors or other stakeholders that may compromise impartiality.
  • Editorial board members, including the Editor-in-Chief and the Publisher, must not participate in the evaluation of manuscripts in which they are listed as authors or co-authors.

Any such submissions must be handled by an alternative responsible editor and subjected to the standard double-blind peer-review process.

According to the DOAJ recommendations, no more than 25% of the articles published in any single issue may be authored by editorial board members, including the Editor-in-Chief or Publisher.

Each such article must include a dedicated paragraph clearly stating the author’s editorial role and confirming that the review and decision-making processes were conducted independently and without their involvement.

9. Corrections, Retractions, and Clarifications

The editorial board reserves the right to amend published materials if errors, ethical breaches, or issues that compromise the integrity of the publication are identified.

  • Corrections (corrigendum, erratum): If technical or factual errors are discovered, the journal will publish an official correction notice outlining the nature of the changes. The notice will appear in the next issue or on the journal's website.
  • Retractions: Retractions are issued in cases of serious misconduct — such as plagiarism, data falsification, unethical authorship, unauthorized image use, or duplicate publication. A retraction is issued after an internal investigation and is published with an explanation of the reasons.
  • Clarifications (expression of concern): May be issued when there are credible concerns about a publication, but an investigation is still ongoing.

The editorial board follows the COPE guidelines on corrections and retractions and upholds transparency, academic integrity, and accountability to its readers.

10. Complaints and Ethical Concerns Procedure

The editorial board considers all legitimate complaints related to breaches of editorial ethics, as well as other ethical concerns arising during submission, review, or publication of articles.

  • Complaints must be submitted in writing to the journal’s official email address, clearly describing the issue, referencing the relevant publication (if applicable), and providing supporting materials or evidence where possible.
  • The editorial board guarantees confidentiality during the complaint review process and treats all parties impartially.
  • Internal investigations may be conducted, and independent experts may be consulted. In complex cases, the editorial board may contact the institutions affiliated with the individuals involved.
  • All decisions are made in accordance with COPE guidelines, ensuring transparency and academic integrity.
  • Possible outcomes include: a formal warning, publication of a correction or retraction, and temporary or permanent restriction on future submissions to the journal.

The editorial board is committed to maintaining trust in scholarly communication and responds transparently to any concerns related to ethical conduct.

Additional Publication Policies

DOI Policy

Each published article is assigned a unique Digital Object Identifier (DOI) via CrossRef. The DOI ensures permanent access to the article on the Internet.

ORCID Policy

Authors are encouraged to provide their ORCID iD during submission. This helps correctly identify researchers and associate them with their academic contributions.

Open Access Policy

This is an open access journal which means that all content is freely available without charge to the user or their institution. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. This is in accordance with the BOAI definition of open access.

Self-Archiving Policy

Authors of articles are permitted to self-archive the submitted version (preprint) of the article at any time, and may also self-archive the accepted version (postprint) after peer review. The published version (Version of Record) may also be deposited in accordance with the terms below.

Upon submission, authors may deposit the submitted version in personal, institutional, or online preprint repositories. The first page of the manuscript must clearly display the following statement:

“This paper is a preprint of a paper submitted to the journal HUDPROM: The Ukrainian Art and Design Journal.”

If the paper is rejected, authors must remove all references to the journal.

The accepted version of the manuscript (after peer review and content revisions, but before typesetting and copyediting) may be deposited on the author's personal non-commercial website and in their institutional repository, provided the following acknowledgement is included:

“This is an accepted peer-reviewed version of the paper. The published version of the article is available in HUDPROM: The Ukrainian Art and Design Journal at https://doi.org/[doi of the article].”

The published version (final typeset and copyedited version) of open-access articles may be deposited in any repository or shared publicly by any means, provided the following acknowledgement is included:

“This is the published version of the paper, available in HUDPROM: The Ukrainian Art and Design Journal at https://doi.org/[doi of the article].”

Crossmark Policy

The journal may use the Crossmark service to inform readers about updates, corrections, or retractions related to published articles.

Article Processing Charges (APC)

The journal does not charge submission, review, or publication fees. All publishing costs are covered by the hosting institution.

Waiver Policy

The journal does not charge fees for submission, peer review, or publication. All authors are automatically fully exempt from any charges, regardless of their country of origin, financial, or social background. Therefore, waivers or discounts do not apply — publication is free for everyone.

Authors retain copyright and grant the journal a non-exclusive right of first publication. Articles are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which allows others to share, adapt, and use the work, provided that proper acknowledgment of the work's authorship and its initial publication in this journal is given. Authors are permitted and encouraged to share their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their personal websites) before and during the submission process, as this fosters productive exchanges and can lead to earlier and greater citation of published work (see The Effect of Open Access).

All articles and associated materials are published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).