The Editorial Office of Medical Science of Ukraine considers complaints, appeals and reports of possible misconduct impartially, confidentially and in accordance with the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Submission of a Complaint or Appeal

Complaints and appeals should be sent to:

msu@medjournal.org.ua

The submission should include:

• the complainant’s name and contact details;
• the title and registration number of the manuscript or the DOI of the article;
• a concise description of the issue;
• the grounds for the complaint or appeal and, where possible, supporting evidence.

The Editorial Office acknowledges receipt within five working days and aims to provide a response within thirty working days. Where additional investigation is required, the complainant will be informed that the review period has been extended.

Consideration of Complaints

Complaints may concern:

• breaches of editorial procedures;
• the conduct of editors, reviewers or journal staff;
• conflict of interest;
• breaches of confidentiality;
• delays in editorial assessment;
• potential breaches of publication ethics.

A complaint is considered by the Editor-in-Chief or another independent person who was not involved in the disputed decision.

Where the complaint concerns the Editor-in-Chief, or where the Editor-in-Chief has a conflict of interest, responsibility for its consideration is transferred to the Deputy Editor-in-Chief, an independent member of the Editorial Board or a representative of the publisher.

Appeals against Editorial Decisions

An author may appeal against a decision to reject a manuscript within thirty calendar days.

The appeal must provide specific grounds, including an indication of:

• a substantial factual error;
• an incorrect interpretation of the methods or findings;
• a breach of the peer-review procedure;
• an undisclosed conflict of interest.

Dissatisfaction with an editorial decision alone does not constitute sufficient grounds for reconsideration.

Where possible, the appeal is considered by an editor who was not involved in the original decision. Where necessary, the manuscript may be referred to an additional independent expert.

The decision reached following consideration of the appeal is final.

Reports of Ethical Misconduct

Reports of plagiarism, data fabrication or falsification, inappropriate authorship, duplicate publication, peer-review manipulation or other breaches are considered irrespective of whether they concern a submitted or already published work.

Where necessary, the Editorial Office may request explanations and primary materials, involve independent experts or contact the authors’ institution.

Anonymous and Unacceptable Submissions

Anonymous submissions may be considered where they contain sufficiently specific information and evidence.

Submissions containing insults, threats, discriminatory or defamatory statements may receive no further response. Nevertheless, specific information concerning a potentially serious breach will be assessed by the Editorial Office irrespective of the manner in which it was submitted.

The submission of a complaint or appeal in good faith must not adversely affect the consideration of the complainant’s other manuscripts.