Editorial Policies

Aims and Scope

The Journal's aim is to generalize scientific and practical achievements in a field of bioethics.

Objectives:

  • Coverage of new results in bioethics.
  • Promotion of openness and availability of scientific works results of scientific and pedagogical workers, postgraduate students in bioethics field.
  • Formation of a stable interest of scientific and pedagogical society, especially of beginner scientists to contemporary issues and problems of bioethics, covered in the Journal.
  • Upgrade of professional level of medical, scientific, and pedagogical workers, by publishing original articles, results of researches on a wide spectrum of bioethics problems.

Enlargement of the audience of authors and readers building with the participation of Russian and foreign scienti sts and experts, who work in the bioethics field, as well.

The main scopes of the journal are:

  • presentation of the results of basic research in the field of bioethics - philosophical, sociological, medical;
  • development of regulations for the ethics of living based on the complementarity of biomedical ethics and medical law;
  • analysis and discussion of specific situations of ethical conflicts in relation to living objects.

The target audience of the journal are:

  • health professionals and patients;
  • researchers working in the field of natural sciences;
  • teachers of humanities;
  • students;
  • media workers.

 

Sections

Theoretical bioethics

Bioethics in this section qualifies as a science. Publications on the philosophical problems of bioethics. These problems are being actively developed, but so far the methodological base of bioethics is insufficient, therefore the purpose of the section is to develop it. Historical and philosophical research, questions of the relationship between truths and values ​​in bioethics, topics of philosophical anthropology and medical anthropology, discussion of the principles of bioethics, discussion of social bioethics - these are examples of the actual topics of this section. Only theoretical articles are published. The selection principle is scientific novelty and problematic. This section contains the largest number of rejected articles due to insufficient philosophical qualifications of the authors and / or lack of scientific novelty. The section is addressed mainly to scientists.

Practical bioethics

In the materials of this section, bioethics acts as a normative discipline. The field of application of its norms and principles is considered, the development of new regulatory documents and modifications of existing ones are proposed. The effectiveness of the application of bioethics norms is evaluated. The main topics: the relationship between doctor and patient, protection of the rights of patients, subjects and medical workers, ethical and legal regulations for the use of new biotechnologies. Cases from the authors' personal practice and those discussed on the pages of other publications are analyzed. The problems of the work of ethics committees are highlighted. The materials of the section are addressed to practical workers - specialists in the field of natural sciences and medicine.

Applied Bioethics

This section examines specific cases from practice and gives their ethical assessment. In the materials of this section, sociological methods are widely used: a narrative approach, case studies, questionnaires.

Events

The final block of the journal's materials reports on past and upcoming events in the bioethical community, and publishes messages from authors participating in international events.

Editorials

Book review

 

Peer Review Process

All scholarly articles submitted for publication in the Bioethics journal are subject to evaluation by peer-review. The evaluation procedure is obligatory and includes the following steps.

1. Expertise of the article. Within 5 working days from receipt of the manuscript its initial assessment for compliance with the topic and requirements of the Journal is performed. If any discrepancies with the requirements are found, the author(s) will be notified and given the reasons for the rejection. Articles rejected at this stage are not peer-reviewed.

2. External and internal peer-review. External review: if a manuscript is considered relevant to the topic of the Journal and its requirements, it is sent for peer-review to several external peer-reviewers. Internal peer-review is performed by the editor-in-chief, deputy editor-in-chief, editorial board members and science editor.
2.1. The decision on assignment of an external peer-reviewer is made by the editor-in-chief or deputy editor-in-chief.
2.2. External peer-review is performed by recognized experts of the relevant field. We ask reviewers to report the scientific, financial or any other potential relationships with the authors and editors of the journal. Peer-review of articles is performed on a voluntary and gratuitous basis.
2.3. A manuscript is sent to external peer-reviewers without mentioning authors and their organizations (double-blind peer-review).
2.4. Reviewers are informed that manuscripts sent to them are the property of authors and are classified as confidential information. Reviewers must refrain from illegal use (including copying) of the materials sent to them for peer-review.
2.5. Within 21 days from receipt of the manuscript reviewers should render a reasoned opinion on the possibility of its publication in the present form, and present any claims about the manuscript in writing.

The review highlights the consistency of the article content with the topic stated in the title, the consistency of the article with the modern achievements of science and theoretical knowledge, evaluating language, style, arrangement of the material, clarity and informativeness of tables, charts, figures and completeness and correctness of literature citations, and advantages and disadvantages of the article. The review also indicates any amendments that should be made by the author.

Criteria for selection of a manuscript to be recommended for publication:

  • scientific originality and compliance with the journal;
  • the scientific validity of the reported results (an exception may be made for materials on theological bioethics);
  • practical recommendations or methods of their development are obligatory;
  • strict adherence to the guidelines of research ethics.

Reviewer's conclusion:

  • the article can be published and does not require revision;
  • the article can be published after minor revision by authors;
  • the article should be revised by authors in accordanse with reviewer's recommendations and re-evaluated;
  • the article cannot be published owing to poor quality, inconsistency with the requirements of article design or topic of the journal, ethical violations, signs of falsification of results or other reasons.

2.6. In the case of the reviewers and the Editor-in-Chief approved publication of the manuscript in the journal, the author(s) will be notified via e-mail that the manuscript is being prepared for publication.
2.7. If the reviewer indicates that corrections to the manuscript are need, the manuscript is returned to the author(s) for revision with the peer-reviews attached and a request to take into account the reviewers’ comments when preparing a revised version of the manuscript. Author(s) should provide responses to all the reviewers’ questions, comments and suggestions. In the case of a disagreement with a reviewer's opinion, the author(s) should clearly justify their point of view. The author(s) responses to peer-reviews should be submitted to the editor within 4 weeks from receipt of the peer-reviews. In the case of absence of a response from the author(s) to a peer-review after this time, the manuscript will be withdrawn by the author(s). Manuscripts revised by author(s) and the responses to a reviewers are sent to reviewers for re-evaluation.
2.8. In the case of reviewers and the Editor-in-Chief recommend not to publish the manuscript in the journal, the author(s) will be notified via e-mail.

3. Final decision on the possibility of manuscript publication is made by the Editor-in-chief or Deputy Editor-in-chief. All manuscripts that receive the approval from the Editor-in-chief or Deputy Editor-in-chief are sent for copyediting, layoutediting, proofreading and publication. 

4. Peer-reviews are kept in the editorial office permanently.

5. The editors send the author(s) of submitted manuscripts copies of peer-reviews or a reasoned rejection. Reviewers and Editors can send peer-reviews to Publons (Clarivate) and/or eLibrary (Russian Science Citation Index).

6. Manuscripts will be rejected if:

  • they are not designed in accordance with the guidelines of the Journal, and if authors refuse to revise the manuscript;
  • the authors do not follow the reviewer’s and editor’s constructive instructions or do not meet them with counterarguments.

7. Rejected articles can not be re-submitted to the journal even after they have been revised by the author(s). 

 

Publication Frequency

The journal publish issues 2 limes a year - semiannually. 

 

Open Access Policy

This journal provides immediate open access to its content on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge.

The Publisher grants usage rights to others using an open license (Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International) allowing for immediate free access to the work and permitting any user to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of articles, crawl them for indexing, pass them as data to software, or use them for any other lawful purpose.

 

Archiving

The journal uses the PKP Preservation Network (PKP PN) to digitally preserve all the published articles. The PKP PN is a part of LOCKSS (Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe) program offers decentralized and distributed preservation, seamless perpetual access, and preservation of the authentic original version of the content.

Also, the journal makes full-text archives on the Russian Science Electronic Library (http://elibrary.ru/) platform.

 

Author Self-Archiving

The journal is compliant with Platinum Open Access mode for articles distribution.

Terms and definitions

We use the following terms and definitions:

  • Preprint: An early version of an article prior to the version submitted for publication in a journal. Theses and dissertations are considered to be preprints.
  • SMUR (Submitted Manuscript Under Review): The version of the article that is under formal review for inclusion in the journal.
  • AM (Accepted Manuscript): The version of the article that has been accepted for publication. This version may include revisions resulting from peer review but may be subject to further modification by Eco-Vector (for example, copyediting and typesetting).
  • VoR (Version of Record): The version that is formally published. This not includes any Online First article that is formally identified as being published online before the compilation of a journal issue. The VoR includes any post-publication corrections.
  • Personal webpage: Web pages created by you, about you and your research which are hosted on a non-commercial website (such as your institute’s website). Personal profile pages in commercial sharing sites (such as ResearchGate, Academia.edu and Facebook) are not considered to be personal web pages.
  • Department or institutional repository: Web pages hosted by an academic or research institute or department to provide access to the work to promote and the activities of the institute or department, at all times operating for a non-commercial purpose.
  • Subject repository: Web pages hosted by an organization to provide access to the work from researchers working in a subject or range of subjects, at all times operating for a non-commercial purpose.
  • Commercial and non-commercialCommercial means any activity for direct or indirect financial gain. When considering whether a use is commercial or non-commercial, we look at the nature of the activity rather than the nature of the site or organization performing the activity.


What can be self-archived, where and when

 

 

Personal
web page

Department or institutional repository

Non-commercial subject repository
(e.g. PubMed Central)

Commercial repository or social media site
(e.g. ResearchGate, Academia.edu, SSRN)

Preprint,
SMUR

At any time

At any time

At any time

At any time

AM

At any time

At any time

At any time

At any time

VoR

At any time

At any time

At any time

At any time

 

Plan S compliance

Our Platinum OA policy is compatible with Plan S, and our License to Publish agreements with authors may not conflict with authors' agreements with their cOAlition S funders. 

Creative Commons and other end-user licenses

Preprints and SMURs can be made publicly accessible under any license terms the authors choose. We recommend a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) or a more restrictive license.

Accepted Manuscripts can be made accessible under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license or equivalent.

Third-party material

Before posting articles online, authors should ensure they have the appropriate permission to include any third party content. When posting articles under a Creative Commons license, the permission should allow the third-party material to be included either (i) under the Creative Commons license or (ii) clearly indicated as being protected by third party copyright, with a clear notice that it cannot be reused without further permissions clearance from the identified third-party rights holder.

Posting content in repositories

We require repositories to include:

  • If an article has not yet been published, a clear statement that the material has been accepted for publication in a revised form, with a link to the journal’s site on https://bioethicsjournal.ru/ .
  • For all published articles, a link to the article’s Version of Record in https://bioethicsjournal.ru/ – for example, via a DOI-based link.
  • A clear statement about the license terms under which the posted version of the article is deposited.

Example statements are:

  • This article has been published in a revised form in "Bioethics" [http://doi.org/XXX]. his version is published under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license. Commercial re-distribution and re-use do not allowed. Derivative works can not be distributed. © Authors.
  • This article has been published in a revised form in "Bioethics" [http://doi.org/XXX]. This version is published under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license. Commercial re-distribution and re-use do not allowed. Derivative works can not be distributed. © Authors.

Citing content in repositories

When citing an Accepted Manuscript or an earlier version of an article, we request that readers also cite the Version of Record with a DOI link, for example: Subsequently published in revised form in "Bioethics" [http://doi.org/XXX].

 

Indexation

  • Russian Science Citation Index
  • Google Schoolar
  • Ulrich's Perodicals Directory
  • WorldCat
  • CrossRef

 

Publication Ethics

The journal "Bioethics" publishes manuscripts that meet international standards of publication ethics in biomedical journals.

The manuscript will be retracted from publication if at any stage of consideration or prepress editorial Board found a violation of the requirements of publication ethics.

If such a violation is found by readers after the publication of the article, it will be rertracted. This will also entail a one-year ban on future publications in our journal for members of the authors team.

Violations of publication ethics include:

  • plagiarism;
  • simultaneous submission of manuscripts to several journals;
  • concealment of conflict of interest;
  • assessment of professional qualities of reviewers;
  • illegal co-authorship.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism can take many forms, from presenting someone else's work as an author's work, to copying or rephrasing essential parts of someone else's work (without attribution), or to claiming ownership of someone else's research. Plagiarism in all forms is unethical and unacceptable.

The manuscript authors should submit entirely original work. References to the results of the works of other authors should be accompanied by references to the relevant primary sources (which should be included in the list of references).

Citation of the text, previously published somewhere, should be framed as a DIRECT SPEECH (the text should be enclosed in quotation marks) with the obligatory indication of the source. The inclusion of large fragments of borrowed text in the manuscript is unacceptable.

The contribution of others to the study should always be recognized. Authors should refer to publications that were of great importance in the performance of scientific work covered in the manuscript.

Data obtained informally (e.g. during a conversation, correspondence or discussion with third parties) should not be used or presented without the written permission of the original source.

Information obtained from confidential sources (for example, grant for research) should not be mentioned in the manuscript without the Express written permission of the author of the manuscript, who is directly related to these confidential sources.

Identification of plagiarism is carried out:

  • in the process of the peer review;
  • using the ANTIPLAGIAT software;
  • after the publication of manuscripts-upon the treatment of readers with the relevant statements.

In establishing the fact of plagiarism of the data (results of scientific work) or ideas, the manuscript (article) will be withdrawn and rejected from publication, even if it has already been published. An official notice will be posted on the journal's website.

Simultaneous submission of a manuscript to several journals or submission of already published data under a different title

Identification of the fact of submission of the same manuscript to more than one journal at the same time will be regarded as a violation of publication ethics. The manuscript will be rejected.

Publication of a certain type of articles (for example, translated articles) in some cases is permissible under certain conditions. When submitting a manuscript for secondary publication, the authors should notify the Editorial Board and justify the expediency of such publication in detail. In the case of a secondary publication, the resolution of issues related to copyright for publication is decided on a case-by-case basis. The General rules of the manuscript for the "secondary" publication are:

  • full bibliographic reference to the primary publication;
  • preservation of the original bibliography of the primary work.

More information on acceptable forms of secondary (repeated) publications can be found on the ICMJE page.

Concealing a conflict of interest

All authors are required to disclose (declare in the relevant section of the manuscript) financial or other obvious or potential conflicts of interest that may be perceived as having an impact on the results or conclusions presented in the work.

Examples of potential conflicts of interest to be disclosed:

  • receiving financial reward for participation in research or writing a manuscript;
  • any connection (work under the contract, consulting, availability of joint-stock property, receipt of fees, provision of expert opinions) with organizations that have a direct interest in the subject of research or review;
  • patent application or registration of a patent for the results of research (copyright, etc.);
  • obtaining financial support for any stage of research or manuscript writing (including grants and other financial support).

Information on conflicts of interest received from the authors of the manuscripts will be available only to the Editorial Board when deciding on the publication of the manuscript. Also, information about conflicts of interest is published in the full text of the article.

Assessment of the reviewer's competence

Evaluation of professional qualities of the reviewer is the exclusive prerogative of the Editorial Board.

Attempts by authors to assess the competence of reviewers will lead to rejection of the manuscript.

Unfairly co-authorship.

The authors of the publication can be only those persons who have made a significant contribution to the formation of the idea of the work, development, execution and/or interpretation of the results of the study, as well as to the process of writing the manuscript (including conducting scientific and stylistic editing and design in accordance with the requirements of the journal).

Authors should ensure that:

  • all participants who have made a significant contribution to the study are presented as co-Authors;
  • those who did not participate in the study are not listed as co-Authors.

Access and storage of raw data

The editors reserve the right to request the Authors of the original (raw) data of the study, including for reviewers and editors. The authors should be ready to provide this kind of information to the editorial staff (according to ALPSP-STM Statement on Data and Databases (link)), as well as to store this data.

Significant errors in published works

In case of significant errors or inaccuracies in the publication, the author should inform the Editorial Board or the Publisher and interact with the Editorial Board in order to remove the publication or correct errors as soon as possible. If the editorial Board or publisher has received reasonable information from a third party that the publication contains significant errors, the author is obliged to withdraw the work or correct errors as soon as possible or to refute the statement of errors by submitting the necessary evidence to the editor.

 

Publication Fees

Articles in the journal are published free of charge for all authors.

The editorial Board does not charge the authors for placing articles in open access, reviewing, preparing the journal for publication, as well as the content of the site and electronic depositing of manuscripts.

 

Adverticement and reprint policy

Our advertising policy is consistent with the principles mentioned in the Recommendations on Publication Ethics Policies for Medical Journals which issued by the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME).

http://www.wame.org/recommendations-on-publication-ethics-policie

  1. The Bioethics journal can generate revenue from advertising to it's Publisher (Volgograd state medical university), which creates a potential conflict of interest. Editors’ decisions do not depend on the cost of advertising or producing reprints. Advertisers and sponsors have no influence over the editor’s decisions, regardless of the terms of advertising or other agreements.
  2. All advertisements are subject to the approval of the Publisher’s staff, which reserves the right to reject or cancel any advertisement at any time.
  3. The functions of editors in Bioethics journal and advertising managers in Volgograd state medical university are separate.
  4. In Bioethics journal professional (physician-directed) publications and web sites, the intentional placement of advertising adjacent to articles discussing the company or product that is the subject of the advertisement is prohibited. Advertising content must be distinguished from editorial and other materials so that the difference between them is obvious.
  5. Publisher will not publish “advertorial” content, and sponsored supplements must be clearly indicated as such. If a supplement did not undergo peer review or underwent a peer review-process different from the rest of the journal that should be explicitly stated.
  6. Bioethics journal's editors have the right to refuse any advertisement that, in its sole discretion, is incompatible with its mission or inconsistent with the values of members, the publication/web site or the organization as a whole, and to stop accepting any advertisement previously accepted. Advertisements are subject to review by the editors and others at the Publisher. In no case shall separate agreements with the Publisher or its subsidiaries supersede this policy.
  7. Once an advertisement has been deployed online, it will be withdrawn from the journal site at any time if the Editor(s)-in-Chief or Publisher’s staff request its removal.
  8. Advertising for the following categories is prohibited:
    • Alcohol
    • Tobacco
    • Weapons, firearms, ammunition
    • Fireworks
    • Gambling and lottery
    • Pornography or related themes
    • Political and religious advertisements
    • Advertisements that claim to have a “miracle” cure or method
    • Advertisements that make unsubstantiated health claims for the products advertised
    • Advertisements directed at children
  9. Advertisements may not be deceptive or misleading, and must be verifiable. Advertisements should clearly identify the advertiser and the product or service being offered. Exaggerated or extravagantly worded copy will not be allowed. Advertisements will not be accepted if they appear to be indecent or offensive in either text or artwork, or if they relate to content of a personal, racial, ethnic, sexual orientation, or religious nature.
  10. All advertisements are accepted and published by Publisher on the warranty of the advertisement agency and advertiser that both are authorized to publish the entire contents and subject matter of the advertisement.
  11. In consideration of publication of an advertisement, the advertiser and the advertisement agency, jointly and severally, agree to indemnify and hold harmless Publisher, its officers, agents and employees against expenses (including legal fees) and losses resulting from the publication of the contents of the advertisement, including, without limitation, claims or suits for libel, violation of privacy, copyright infringement, or plagiarism.
  12. Any references to the Publisher or its products or services in advertisements, promotional material, or merchandising by the advertiser or agency is subject to Publisher’s written approval for such use.
  13. All advertisements for drug-specific campaigns must comply with the relevant Russian legislation that regulates advertising. Advertisers should make available to Publisher the marketing authorization and summary of product characteristics when submitting their advertisement. In the case of drug advertisements, proprietary names of pharmaceutical products must be accompanied by the chemical, generic, or official name; the quantity of all active substances must be stated along with the recommended dosage. Each page of an advertisement for a prescription-only medicine should be clearly labeled as intended for health professionals.
  14. Advertisements for products not approved by the FDA or the Ministry of Health of Russian Federation that make any kind of health claims must carry the following disclaimer: “These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and/or the Ministry of Health of Russian Federation. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.”
  15. While Bioethics journal welcomes and encourages information-rich advertising, advertisements, advertising icons and advertiser logos must be clearly distinguishable from editorial content and may require special labeling to distinguish them as such. All advertisements must clearly and prominently identify the advertiser by trademark or signature.
  16. Reprints should be published only in the form in which they were originally published in the journal (including subsequent corrections), so there should be no additions or changes in them.
  17. Publisher is not responsible for incidental or consequential damage for errors in displaying or printing an advertisement.
  18. Advertisements may not imply endorsement by the Bioethics journal or its publications/web sites except as may be provided for under a separate agreement — in which case advertising must be pre-approved to ensure adherence to the letter and spirit of that separate agreement.
  19. The full rules for any market research or promotion associated with an advertisement must be displayed in the advertisement or available via a prominent link.
  20. The following online advertising formats are prohibited:
    • Pop-ups and floating advertisements.
    • Advertisements that collect personally identifiable information from visitors without their knowledge or permission.
    • Advertisements that extend across or down the page without the visitor having clicked or rolled-over the advertisement.
    • Advertisements that send visitors to another site without the visitor having clicked the advertisement.

Bioethics journal published advertising policies are not exhaustive and are subject to change at any time without notice.

We partner with third-party advertising companies to serve ads and/or collect certain information when you visit our website. These companies may use cookies or web beacons to collect non-personally identifiable information [not including your name, address, email address or telephone number] during your visit to this website to help show advertisements on other websites also likely to be of interest to you.

For contact with the Advertisement department of the Publisher, please, follow the link https://bioethicsjournal.ru/2070-1586/about/contact 


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