Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement
The magazine Priroda is published by the Nature Conservation Agency of the Czech Republic. It is a peer-reviewed professional journal focused on nature and landscape conservation issues. The journal publishes original scientific papers in the field of nature and landscape conservation with a focus on the Czech Republic and Central Europe. The journal focuses on scientific articles concerning the protection of specially protected areas and species protection of animals and plants, as well as research and monitoring results. It is intended primarily for professional nature conservationists and scientific research institutions, as well as for interested non-governmental non-profit organisations, educators and all those interested in nature conservation.
At journal Priroda, the integrity of our content and publishing process is paramount. This document outlines the best practice principles that we apply to our journal. We hope these guidelines will be useful to many different groups, including authors, peer reviewers and editors.
Editorial Process
We are committed to editorial independence, and strive in all cases to prevent this principle from being compromised through competing interests or any other corporate, business, financial or political influence. Our editorial processes reflect this commitment to editorial independence.
We do not discriminate against authors, editors or peer reviewers based on personal characteristics or identity.
Our publishing programme is overseen by the editorial board composed of experts in the field of nature conservation. Editorial decisions on manuscripts submitted to our journals are made by editors and based on independent peer review reports.
We do not tolerate abusive behaviour or correspondence towards our staff and others involved in the publishing process on our behalf. If anyone involved in this process engages in such behaviour we have the right to take action to protect others from this abuse. This may include, for example, withdrawal of a manuscript from consideration, or challenging clearly abusive peer review comments.
Peer Review
Peer review is critical to maintaining the standards of our publications. Every contribution that is accepted by the magazine's editors and the editorial board goes through a review process. In the case of our journal, the suitability of the contribution for publication is assessed by two independent reviewers who are not part of the editorial team. They are selected by the editorial board, taking into account the professional focus of the text, and their names are not disclosed to the authors of the contribution. Each reviewer prepares a professional opinion, which is sent back to the author for processing along with relevant comments. The review procedure usually takes one month, unless the scope of the assessed contribution requires otherwise. In case of missing points, the author may be asked to complete the missing parts of the article (e.g. tables or English labels).
Practices for Peer Review more appropriate:
- support our editors and peer reviewers in investigating and acting on any suspected cases of manipulated or fraudulent peer review
- expect those who oversee the peer review process to be able to recognise warning signs of fraudulent or manipulated peer review, and to raise any concerns by emailing priroda@nature.cz
- protect the confidentiality of participants in the peer review process, anonymity forms part of that publication’s peer review process.
Before the final publication, the editors reserve the right to make minor adjustments to the text, mainly of a formal nature, but the contribution in the final version is always sent to the authors for approval.
Authorship and Contributorship
Only original contributions summarizing the author's own output or original review studies are accepted by the editors.
The corresponding author’s specific responsibilities include manuscript correction and proofreading. Handling the revisions and re-submission of revised manuscripts up to the acceptance of the manuscripts.
We encourage authors to list anyone who does not meet the criteria for authorship in an Acknowledgments section in their publication with permission, for example to recognise the contributions of anyone who provided research or writing assistance.
Affiliations
Any article affiliations should represent the institution(s) at which the research presented was conducted and/or supported and/or approved. For non-research content, any affiliations should represent the institution(s) with which each author is currently affiliated.
Plagiarism
We do not tolerate plagiarism in any of our publications, and we reserve the right to check all submissions through appropriate plagiarism checking tools. Submissions containing suspected plagiarism, in whole or part, will be rejected. We expect our readers, reviewers and editors to raise any suspicions of plagiarism, either by contacting the relevant editor or by emailing priroda@nature.cz
Duplicate and Redundant Publication
Duplicate or redundant publication occurs when a work, or substantial parts of a work, is published more than once by the author(s) of the work without appropriate cross-referencing or justification for the overlap. The journal Priroda accepts only contributions that have not been published elsewhere, the editors consider it unethical if the same text is offered to another journal while the review process for Priroda is in progress.
Retractions, Corrections and Expressions of Concern
If an author is found to have made an error, the journal will issue a corrigendum. If the journal is found to have made an error, they will issue an erratum. Retractions are usually reserved for articles that are so seriously flawed that their findings or conclusions should not be relied upon, or that contain substantial plagiarism. In exceptional cases, we may remove an article from online publication where we believe it is necessary to comply with our legal obligations. Any publication found to include fraudulent results will be retracted.
Image Manipulation, Falsification and Fabrication
Where research data are collected or presented as images, modifying these images can sometimes misrepresent the results obtained or their significance. We recognise that there can be legitimate reasons for modifying images, but we expect authors to avoid modifying images where this leads to the falsification, fabrication, or misrepresentation of their results.
Competing Interests and Funding
Competing interests are situations that could be perceived to exert an undue influence on the presentation, review or publication of a piece of work. These may be financial, non-financial, professional, contractual or personal in nature. We try to ensure that any issue of journal Priroda is free from undue influence.
Data and Supporting Evidence
We support transparency and openness around data, and other materials associated with research. We expect authors to maintain accurate records of supporting evidence necessary to allow others to understand, verify, and replicate new findings, and to supply or provide access to this supporting evidence, on reasonable request.
Autor fees
The content of Priroda journal is freely accessible to readers, there are no fees for accessing the archive of individual issues. Users can download, distribute and link to contributions published in Priroda without the need for the author's prior consent. At the same time, publishing is free for authors, all costs are borne by the Nature Conservation Agency of the Czech Republic.
Freedom of Expression
Freedom of expression is critical to us as academic journal, but we do not support publishing false statements that harm the reputation of individuals, groups, or organisations. We will never be complicit in censorship.
Research with Humans or Animals
Since Priroda is a magazine focused on nature conservation, we do not expect to research involving animals or human. But any potential research in this area should be approved by relevant ethics committee(s) and should conform to international ethical and legal standards for research.