Publishing Ethics

Authors should only submit their research to us if the following conditions are met:
• The study was conducted with integrity standards.
• The work has not been submitted elsewhere and is not under consideration with any other publication.
• The work does not contain libellous, defamatory or illegal statements.
• Authorship was agreed prior to submission, and no one was denied credit.

FOR AUTHORS
• The article must be presented to the editorial board of Mathematical Problems of Computer Science with the information about the author and all the co-authors (if written by co-authors).
• The article must be original research done exceptionally by the author/co-authors; plagiarism is strictly prohibited.
• The article must not be published previously in any other language in the same way, with the exception of particular occasions, with the editor’s consent.
• The article must not be considered for publication or review simultaneously in any other place.
• The article must conform to the rules set by Mathematical Problems of Computer Science.
• The research done in the scope of the article must be based on precise facts.
• The article must have scientific novelty and contemporaneity.
• It is allowed to express gratitude in the article (by reference) to all the people who have assisted the research in any way.
• The author must collaborate with the editorial staff, make necessary changes, additions or reductions, as well as correct the mistakes.
• The author does not have the right to dispute the decision of the editorial board not to publish the article or the negative decision of the review without forcible arguments.

Citation manipulation
Citations and references are important when writing any research, however, researchers should keep the following behaviour in mind:
• Authors should not engage in excessive self-citations of their previously published works. Included citations should be relevant, add value to the article, and should not be included just to increase the citation score of that author.
• During the peer-review process, the author may be recommended to add references. While there may be legitimate reasons for citing other publications, 'forced citation' is unethical (this is when a reference is included as a condition of acceptance or without academic justification).
• It is unethical to 'push citation' , when an author includes redundant or irrelevant links with the intention of increasing the citation score of another person.

Plagiarism
Content submitted for publication should be based on the author’s research and expressed in  own words. There are various forms plagiarism can take.
Verbatim copying - an exact copy or a significant part of a text taken from the work of another person without reference or the use of quotation marks.
Re-using parts of a work without attribution - for example, using a figure, table or paragraph without acknowledgement, references or the use of quotation marks. It is author’s responsibility to obtain the necessary permissions from the copyright holder.
Self-plagiarism or text recycling - the research should only be repeated if it leads to different or new conclusions, or if the author wants to compare it with new data. If any element of submission has been published previously, the author must ensure that the original work is fully referenced and make this clear to the editor at the point of submission.
An accusation of plagiarism can have serious negative consequences for a researcher's career. If we are approached by a third party with a claim of plagiarism, we always seek a response from the original author(s) before deciding on further action.

Fabricated data
If there is reason to suspect that the data is implausible, we reserve the right to reject that paper, and to notify your institution.

FOR REVIEWERS
The articles submitted to Mathematical Problems of Computer Science undergo single blind peer review by two reviewers.
Based on the result of reviews the editorial staff makes decision about the publication of the material.
The reviewer must:
• review the material regardless of personal interests displaying an exclusively scientific unbiased approach,
• complete the form sent for the review in two months,
• in case of conflict of interests inform the editorial board about it.
The reviewed form is kept in the archive of Mathematical Problems of Computer Science, it is not provided to anyone including the author and is not liable to publication. The author is informed about the results, suggestions and observations of the review by the given e-mail.

FOR EDITORIAL BOARD
The editorial board is committed to:
• organize the proper review of the articles presented to Mathematical Problems of Computer Science,
• inform the author about the decision of the editorial board within three months after receiving the submission to the editorial office of the Mathematical Problems of Computer Science,
• follow the publication ethics of the Journal and guarantee a high scientific level of the published works,
• not to publish personal data of the author and reviewers and not to provide such information to both sides.
The editorial board has the right to refuse the publication of the article if it does not meet the requirements set by the editorial board.
The editorial board makes decisions to refuse or publish the materials based on the suggestions and observations of the reviewers and in case the article meets the technical standards of the Journal. After finishing the phase of reviewing and the corrections done by the author, the articles are edited according to the editorial approaches of Mathematical Problems of Computer Science.
The editorial board undertakes not to publish false and unverified data, as well as data containing classified information and personal information about the authors.

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
Authors, reviewers and editors all are required to disclose possible conflicts of interest. Authors should indicate anything that may have influenced the research or could influence the review process or the publication of the article. If there is a question whether it’s a conflict of interest, please check with the editor before submitting.

Possible conflicts of interest include:
• a prior relationship between author and editor,
• a financial or personal interest in the outcomes of the research,
• undisclosed financial support for the research by an interested third party,
• a pending patent.
If we find there is a conflict of interest, the editor or reviewer will no longer be involved with your manuscript.

OUR PROMISE
Whenever a research or publishing ethics issue arises, we promise to:
• Act professionally and efficiently.
• Be fair and objective.
• Always contact the accused party to establish their position before making a decision or taking action.
• Keep all parties informed of decisions.
We reserve the right to withdraw and revoke any consent if a violation of ethical standards is found prior to publication.
It is impossible to please all parties in every case. After a fair and balanced process, the final decision in any disputed case will rest with the editor.
All participating referees and editors are instructed to review submitted scientific works in line with the Ethical Guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).