Publication Ethics

The Journal adhere to the Code of Conduct and best practice guidelines for journal publishers set out by the Committee on Publication Ethics.

The editors undertake to evaluate the typescript in terms of its intellectual content (validity, originality, relevance, and transparency) regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnic origin, citizenship or political philosophy of the authors. The Editors’ decision to accept or reject a contribution shall be based solely on the relevance, originality, and clarity of the article and the significance of the research to the field of study covered by the Journal.

Decisions to publish the contributions are not determined by any governmental or other agency policies other than the Journal itself. The Editor-in-Chief has full authority over the entire content of the Journal and the date of its publication.

Editorial Staff and Editorial Board members will not use unpublished information disclosed in a submitted typescript for their own research purposes without the authors’ explicit written consent.

Any forms of the authors’ unethical behaviour, such as plagiarism or an attempt to republish a work in its entirety or to reuse portions of a previously written text (the so-called self-plagiarism), will require explanations before the Editors who then will take steps provided for in the COPE guidelines. This may mean notifying the authorities of the author’s research institute, rejection of the article, as well as refusal to publish any texts by this person in the Journal. The editors also reserve the right to announce the decision on the Journal’s website.

Any reported act of unethical behaviour will be investigated, even if discovered many years after publication.

Policy on the Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

The purpose of this policy is to refine the principles governing the use of tools offered by generative artificial intelligence in scholarly and editorial work. It is addressed to the authors, editors, and reviewers of the journal Studia Geohistorica.

Artificial intelligence may provide support in creative and editorial processes; however, responsibility for the final form of any published content rests with the authors.

AI systems may serve as auxiliary tools in independent scholarly work, but they do not constitute a substitute for critical thinking, personal reflection, or a creative approach to the subject under analysis.

The use of AI systems should comply with the following principles:

1. Compliance with applicable law, including intellectual property law, personal data protection, and the right to privacy.
2. Compliance with ethical values, especially good practice and standards of research integrity.

Rules for authors

1. AI tools may not replace the creative process, nor may they be treated as authors or co-authors. Any use of AI technology must be transparent.
2. Materials generated by artificial intelligence may appear in a submitted text only where their presence is justified.
3. Authors are required to document any use of AI. Textual and visual materials generated by artificial intelligence must be clearly identified, and such identification must include the name of the tool used and the date of creation.
4. AI-generated materials that are not properly identified shall be treated as plagiarism, with all consequences provided for in the journal’s editorial policy.
5. No separate disclosure is required for the use of AI for other purposes, for example at the stage of general inspiration or as a tool supporting literature searches, language correction, text composition, or the generation of keywords and abstracts.
6. Authors are required to ascertain which licences and copyright rules apply to materials generated by artificial intelligence. Where necessary, they must obtain the appropriate permissions from rights holders before submitting the text.
7. Authors are required to verify fully and independently the accuracy, completeness, and impartiality of any output generated by AI. This applies in particular to the verification of sources cited by AI, as references generated by AI may be incorrect or fabricated.