Code of Ethics

The purpose of these ethical policies is to ensure that the highest ethical standards, adopted both in the national and the international academic community, are observed.

1. These ethical policies apply to the relationships between the International Editorial Board of the EDUCATION AND QUALIFICATION journal (EQJ) and the authors of the Journal.
2. The ethical policies regulate the relationships between the International Editorial Board and the members of the Board of anonymous and independent reviewers.
3. The journal’s International Editorial Board requires its authors to submit manuscripts which:
   • 3.1. must be an original single-author or co-authored work;
   • 3.2. clearly indicate the contributions and responsibilities by the co-authoring team in a co-authored article;
   • 3.3. properly credit the scientific achievements of the authors cited;
   • 3.3. have been written in accordance with the standards adopted by the Education and Qualification journal, regarding Author Guidelines and the citation and referencing style linked to these ethical policies.
4. Authors sign a written declaration that their articles comply with the EQJ Code of Ethics and that their manuscripts may be published in the electronic edition of the journal.
5. Articles must be submitted for publication only to EQJ (authors sign the declaration stating that the article has not been submitted to or published in another publication outlet).
6. The editor-in-chief or an appointed by the editor member of the International Editorial Board coordinates the review of the submitted manuscripts by:
   • 6.1. inviting two members of the Board of anonymous and independent reviewers to evaluate the article submitted for publication;
   • 6.2. inviting each of the reviewers to sign a declaration that there is no conflict of interests resulting from any connections and relationships with the respective author and that there are no personal biases in regard to the author academic and scientific competence.
7. Authors are responsible for the originality and scientific significance of their publications.
8. The International Editorial Board accepts for publication in the electronic journal only manuscripts that have received positive reviews by the two members of the Board of anonymous and independent reviewers involved in the evaluation process.
9. The publication will be returned to the author accompanied by a written explanation by the editor-in-chief with a recommendation for minor or major revisions when:
   • 9.1. the Editor-in-Chief or one of the members of the International Editorial Board decides that the submitted manuscript does not meet the minimum requirements for scientific significance;
   • 9.2. reviewers have provided minor recommendations and comments.
10. The International Editorial Board has the right not to publish submitted materials when they:
    • 10.1. contain verbal attacks or offensive language when discussing publications and research of other authors.
    • 10.2. deviate from the principles of academic integrity and manifest political bias.
    • 10.3. deviate both in their conclusions and in their tone from the core values ??of the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria.
11. In the case of rejection of materials or when manuscripts are returned to the corresponding authors for revision, authors’ professional self-worth and reputation are respected, and the reasons for the editors’ decisions are presented by including thorough scientific arguments.
12. The Editor-in-Chief has the right to seek an additional opinion on the originality and scientific significance of a publication if its author has thoroughly substantiated its merits in a written disagreement with the reviewers comments.
13. The International Editorial Board does not disclose information about the manuscript to third parties.
14. Each author has the right to withdraw the manuscript submitted for publication no later than one month following the date of its submission to the Editorial Board.
15. The International Editorial Board considers all allegations of violation of these ethical principles in published articles and takes the following action:
    • 15.1. Requests a written explanation by the author in response to the alert.
    • 15.2. If the International Editorial Board considers that a manuscript has been published in violation of these ethical principles, the editors should apologize in writing to the readers in the subsequent journal issue.

These ethical principles have been adopted by the members of the International Editorial Board of the Education and Qualification journal and approved at a meeting of the Council of the Department for Continuing Education and Qualification of Educators at St Cyril and St Methodius University of Veliko Tarnovo (January, 2020).

The authors of articles published in the Education and Qualification Journal must sign a written declaration stating that they will abide by the ethical standards in their publications. The Declaration is available to download HERE.