Ethical Research Involving Humans

The ethical policy of “Agora. Social Sciences Journal” regarding research involving human participants is based on the international standards of academic integrity and COPE recommendations. The journal considers only those manuscripts that comply with ethical protocols aimed at protecting the rights, safety, and dignity of the research participants.

General Principles

Authors submitting manuscripts based on research involving human participants are required to ensure that such studies comply with the national legislation, ethical standards, and international bioethics conventions. All procedures must be transparent, justified, and must not harm the participants.

Ethical Approval 

  • All studies involving humans must be pre-approved by the appropriate institutional ethics committee or its equivalent. 
  • Authors must provide the editorial office with a clear reference to the ethical approval, including the approval number, date, and name of the issuing authority. 
  • Studies that do not require ethical approval under national legislation must be accompanied by appropriate justification from the authors.

Informed Consent

  • The authors must confirm that voluntary informed consent was obtained from all study participants.
  • In cases where participants are unable to provide consent themselves (e.g., minors or individuals with limited decision-making capacity), consent from their legal representatives is required.
  • Manuscripts must include a description of the consent procedures.

Confidentiality and Anonymity 

  • All participants' personal data were anonymized or presented in a depersonalized form. 
  • The authors are responsible for complying with legislation regarding personal data protection and confidentiality.

Vulnerable groups

Research involving vulnerable groups (minors, elderly people, persons with disabilities, and individuals in difficult life circumstances) must comply with heightened standards of ethical oversight and safety.

Risks and Safety

Authors must describe the potential risks to participants and the measures taken to minimize them. Studies that create unjustified risks are not eligible for publication.

Ethics Violations 

If any breaches of the publication’s ethical standards are identified, actions will be taken in accordance with the COPE recommendations. This may include rejecting the manuscript, publishing a correction, or retracting an already-published article.