The journal "Zeszyty Łużyckie" follows the Core Practices and Principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

ETHICAL STANDARDS
The mission of Zeszyty Łużyckie is to advance knowledge and promote rigorous research in the field of minority studies. Each submitted manuscript is checked using the iThenticate plagiarism detection software.

As a journal dedicated to research on minorities and issues of diversity, the Editorial Team and the Publisher recognize the particular responsibility associated with publishing content concerning minority groups. Therefore, the editorial process is conducted in accordance with the principles of research integrity, impartiality, and respect for human rights, diversity, and inclusion, while ensuring the responsible representation of issues concerning minorities and groups at risk of marginalization and exclusion. To uphold these principles, Authors, Editors, Reviewers, the Publisher, and the International Advisory Board are expected to adhere to the highest ethical standards throughout every stage of the editorial and publication process. The main responsibilities and ethical requirements for Authors, Editors, Reviewers, and the Publisher are outlined below.

ETHICAL REQUIREMENTS

Editors’ Roles and Responsibilities

• The Editor performs their duties in a fair, objective manner, with no bias or discrimination on grounds of age, academic status, gender, sexual orientation, religious or political views, ethnic or geographical origin.
• Editors are required to maintain the confidentiality of all information relating to submitted manuscripts and must not disclose it to unauthorised persons. They must not use unpublished materials contained in submitted manuscripts in their own research without the authors' consent.
• In the event of a conflict of interest, the Editor shall withdraw from handling the editorial process for the manuscript concerned.
• Manuscripts are accepted solely on the basis of their scientific merit, scientific value and the quality of the research they present.
• In the event of suspected ethical misconduct, the Editor shall apply appropriate procedures as developed and approved by the Editorial Team, so as to allow the Author an opportunity to fairly address the allegations. All allegations should be considered regardless of when the manuscript was accepted for publication. Documentation relating to the investigation of such allegations will be retained in the journal's records.

Reviewers' Roles and Responsibilities:

• The Reviewer should participate in the decision-making process regarding the publication of articles and suggest ways of improving the manuscript by conducting the review objectively and in a timely manner.
• The Reviewer should maintain confidentiality of all information provided by the Editor or the Author. They should neither retain nor copy the manuscript.
• The Reviewer should inform the Editor of any substantial similarity between the reviewed manuscript and any publication previously published elsewhere. The Reviewer should also notify the Editor of any suspected plagiarism, self-plagiarism, or other breaches of publication ethics.
• If the Reviewer identifies a potential conflict of interest (e.g. financial, institutional, personal, or arising from any other relationship with the Author), they should notify the Editor and withdraw from the review process.
• The Reviewer should decline to review a manuscript if they do not have the necessary expertise to assess it or are unable to complete the review within the agreed timeframe.

Authors’ Roles and Responsibilities:

• The Author shall confirm that the submitted article had not been submitted to, accepted for publication by, or published in another journal. Should any parts of the submitted article overlap with the Author’s own published or submitted work, the Author should declare this fact and provide the source.
• The Author is obliged to provide accurate description of the research conducted as well as objective presentation of results. The manuscript should contain sufficient information to enable the identification of data sources, the assessment of the reliability of the methodology applied, and the verification of the findings presented. Content reproduced from other sources should be placed in quotation marks (given as a citation). Presenting or interpreting data and research findings in a manner inconsistent with the principles of publishing ethics will result in rejection of the text.
• The Author is to obtain permission for reproduction of content (e.g. images and photographs) from other sources.
• The Authors submitting multi-author manuscripts for publication are required to provide information on each Authors’ contribution to its creation (together with the respective Authors’ affiliation and information specifying authorship of concept, hypotheses, methods etc. used in preparation of the text).
• Ghostwriting and guest authorship are regarded as instances of unfair scientific practice and all detected cases will be disclosed. Relevant entities such as institutions employing the Authors, academic organizations etc. shall be notified of such practices.
• The Author should ensure that all research involving human participants has been conducted in accordance with the applicable laws and ethical requirements in the country where the research was carried out. The Author should obtain the explicit informed consent of the participants for the publication of the relevant materials and respect their privacy and personal data.
• If the manuscript results from research funded by a grant from the National Science Centre (NCN) or other institutions or associations, the Author is required to provide this information, together with the grant number, in a footnote. The responsibility for accuracy and completeness of the aforementioned data rests with the person submitting the text.
• The Author should inform the Editor of any potential conflicts of interest (e.g. in a situation which could be considered or perceived as exerting undue influence on the Editors at any time in the course of publication of their article).
• The Author should inform the Editor immediately if they notice a significant error in their publication and subsequently cooperate with the Editor in preparing and publishing an erratum, addendum, correction, or – where necessary – retracting the article.

Publisher’s Roles and Responsibilities:

• The Publisher of Zeszyty Łużyckie is committed to maintaining good publishing practices and ensuring compliance with the ethical standards set out above.
• The Publisher undertakes to comply with these publication ethics principles and to support the Editorial Team in their implementation throughout all stages of the editorial and publication process.
• The Publisher supports the Editorial Team in investigating suspected breaches of publication ethics and in implementing appropriate measures where justified.

POST-PUBLICATION DISCUSSIONS

The Journal encourages post-publication discussion of published articles. Readers can submit their concerns, opinions, criticism, or letters of support. The Journal reserves the right to subject submitted criticism and responses to peer review and to publish the resulting discussion. The discussions may also take place on third party moderated platforms, such as PubPeer. As the Journal follows the COPE guidelines, the Editors require that criticism should:

• be well-founded,
• not contain libellous or defamatory content,
• be supported by evidence or data.

Readers can send their comments via email at zeszyty.luzyckie.polon@uw.edu.pl. Depending on the nature of the concern and the outcomes of an investigation, the Journal may publish:

• an addendum (significant information disclosed after the publication that enhances the readers’ understanding of the article),
• a correction,
• a corrigendum,
• an editorial note (to inform that an investigation has been started),
• an Editorial Expression of Concern (to alert the readers about serious concerns),
• a retraction.

In all post-publication actions, the Journal follows the current guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Corrections

If an Author notices an error after the article has already been published, they are requested to contact the Editorial Team at zeszyty.luzyckie.polon@uw.edu.pl. Depending on the nature of the error, the Editorial Team will investigate the case and decide whether an erratum or corrigendum needs to be published. The correction procedure will be initiated only in cases where the error affects the content, interpretation, or scientific integrity of the article. Reports concerning punctuation errors or other minor errors that do not affect the overall meaning or scientific integrity of the article will not, as a rule, constitute grounds for the publication of a formal correction.

PROCEDURES IN THE CASE OF UNETHICAL CONDUCT

Identifying Unethical Conduct

• Examples of unethical and inappropriate behavior include:

- plagiarism and self-plagiarism,

- ghostwriting – failure to disclose the contribution of others to the publication,

- guest authorship – listing a co-author whose contribution to the publication was negligible or non-existent,

- fabrication or manipulation of research data,

- failure to disclose conflicts of interest.

• Unethical conduct may be identified and reported to the Editors by any person at any time.
• A person reporting suspected unethical conduct should provide the Editorial Team with information and evidence sufficient to initiate an appropriate investigation. All complaints will be considered and treated in the same manner until a final decision is reached.

Procedure

• The preliminary decision is made by the Editor responsible for the issue, who consults the Editorial Team and, where necessary, the International Advisory Board.
• Evidence relating to suspected unethical conduct will be collected, securely retained, and will not be disclosed publicly, except in cases where publication of the allegations is justified.
• The Author will be given an opportunity to respond to the allegations before a final decision is made, unless the nature of the case requires immediate action.
• Upon completion of the investigation, the Editorial Team will make the final decision regarding further action, taking into account the evidence collected and the positions of all parties involved.

Minor Infringements

In the case of a minor infringement, the Editor may make a preliminary decision without consulting the Editorial Team; however, in every case, the Author must be given an opportunity to respond to all allegations.

Major Infringements

In the case of serious misconduct, the Editorial Team may, where justified, notify the employer of the individual responsible for the misconduct. The Editor or the Editorial Team will decide whether there is a need to involve the employer in analysing the available information or to seek further consultation from experts.

Possible Actions Following the Investigation

• If the Editor has reasonable grounds to suspect a misunderstanding or misapplication of accepted ethical standards, they will inform the Author and/or the Reviewer.
• The Editor will send the Author a letter clearly setting out the allegations concerning the infringement.
• The Editor may send an official letter to the Author's university or the research funding agency.
• The Editor retracts the publication and notifies the Author’s employer of this fact immediately.
• The Editorial Team may prohibit the submission of manuscripts by a person who has engaged in unethical conduct for a specified period of time.

ETHICAL OVERSIGHT

Authors, Editors, Publishers, and Readers adhere to the publication ethics principles described above. The Journal encourages reports on any unethical practices such as, but not limited to, fabrication of data/research/figures/tables, plagiarism, authorship falsification, duplicate publication, peer review manipulation, concealment of conflict of interest, papers produced by paper mills, and others.

When submitting a multi-authored manuscript, the Corresponding Author must obtain the consent of all co-authors. Such consent must be made available to the Journal's Editors upon request and include all necessary permissions for the use of third-party materials. Consent must also be obtained for research involving human participants, the management of confidential data, and any other permissions or approvals required under applicable regulations and research ethics principles.

COMPLAINTS AND APPEALS

Apart from misconduct allegations, Editors encourage Authors, Reviewers, Readers, and other individuals to contact the Editor-in-Chief, Editors, members of the Editorial Team, Scientific Council Members, or the Publisher in the case of complaints against the Journal, the Editorial Team, the International Advisory Board, Publisher, or Reviewers. Individuals wishing to raise a concern or make a complaint may send an email to zeszyty.luzyckie.polon@uw.edu.pl or call +48 22 552 05 46. The appropriate authority will investigate the complaint while maintaining the confidentiality of the proceedings and verifying whether the appropriate procedures have been followed. The complainant will be informed of the outcome in writing.

Complaints may concern editorial decisions, published articles, the peer-review process, delays, unethical behaviour, and any other activity considered significant by the complainant. If the complainant wishes to pursue the complaint further, they may contact COPE directly. The procedure is available at: https://publicationethics.org/facilitation-and-integrity-subcommittee.

FINANCIAL POLICY

The journal is owned by the Faculty of Polish Studies of the University of Warsaw and is funded by the budget allocated to the Faculty.

The source of the Journal's funding has no influence on its editorial policy or on editorial decisions. All decisions regarding manuscript evaluation, peer review, editorial processing and publication are made independently, impartially and solely on the basis of academic merit, in accordance with the principles of publication ethics and transparency.

At no stage of the editorial process does the editorial team charge authors any fees for the submission and editorial processing of their texts.

Authors are not charged any fees at any stage of the publication process. Reviewers perform peer reviews on a voluntary basis and receive no remuneration.

The journal does not engage in advertising or marketing activities.